Mobile command center a second police station
Department has been using vehicle in crisis
situations for two years
By Robert degennaro
Correspondent

OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Once, it was a used tool truck. Now, it is a high-tech mobile command unit.

For the past few weeks, officers of the Ocean Township Police Department (OTPD) have been using the vehicle as a part of their community-awareness efforts. Parked in apartment complexes and housing developments, the truck has served as a launching point for disseminating information on child safety, bicycle theft prevention, and other public safety issues.

"We wanted to get out into the town so people could come and see us, and see what we’re about other than answering calls," said Police Chief Robert Swannek about the program. "We want to be part of the community rather than apart from it."

But that’s not all the mobile command center can do.

Equipped with the latest technology, the mobile command center is designed to serve as a second police station in emergencies, such as a hostage crisis or a prolonged investigation.

Last year, the vehicle served as a base of operations during the investigation at the home of the alleged kidnapper of a Spring Lake girl earlier this year. As one of four county emergency response teams, OTPD can lend the use of the truck to another agency in the county.

The vehicle was designed to act as a mobile base for extended law-enforcement operations. Inside, officers in the field can get out of the weather for a while, even enjoy a cup of fresh coffee from the coffee maker or a cool drink from the minifridge. The truck is fitted with chargers for cellular phones and two-way radios so officers can remain in touch. The truck’s interior walls are made of dry-erase boards, on which plans or messages can be written. Perhaps most important is the mobile dispatching unit, a laptop computer that ties the officers together via cellular modems that cannot be intercepted. This system, while providing secure communications in a crisis situation, enables officers to type text messages to other police departments outfitted with the same system, as well as checking state and national criminal databases. It also is how all OTPD officers are dispatched on calls.

The Mobile Command Center has been deployed over its two-year career mainly for support purposes.

"It’s not a mobile tactical unit," explained Patrolman Alon Bercovicz, who staffed the truck during this weekend’s community program, adding that even though the command center is not a first-response vehicle, it does carry complete first-aid supplies. Also, there are no weapons stored inside.

The command center served as a base for security last August during the state Macabee Games, helping to coordinate the efforts of the FBI and the state police with local law enforcement. The Macabee Games, an athletic competition for Jewish athletes held at the Jewish Community Center on Grant Avenue, merited extra security precautions due to incidents of anti-Semitic violence throughout the world.

Other uses of the command center include the Ocean Township Festival and the Father’s Day 5K race.

The vehicle is equipped for much more serious duty. In the event of a crisis, such as a hostage-type situation, 200 feet of phone line can attach to a land line and activate three conventional phones and a fax machine. The truck has a special phone unit that can connect all the handsets and serve as a speaker phone. In addition, there is also a "throw phone" that can be sent in if there is no phone inside a hostile situation.

The rear compartment can be closed off and serve as an interview room for both witnesses and suspects.

The vehicle has its own electrical power generator, but it also has 400 feet of cord that can plug into a stationary power source, like many RVs.

"We were in need of a vehicle that we could use for a number of purposes," said Swannek. "We had an old ambulance, but it had become useless. This was an old tool truck I saw on the Asbury circle one day."

The money to finance the project came from seized funds, a fact that is proudly painted on the side of the vehicle. Money and assets belonging to criminal suspects can be legally taken from them through civil legal action separate from their criminal trials.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office carries out the legal end of the process, giving the proceeds to the arresting district.

If anything ever happened to headquarters, say police, the department’s operations, including dispatching, could be run from the command center.

The mobile command center only lacks two features that the headquarters on Deal Road has: a weapons locker and a bathroom.