By Donald Wittkowski
If they don’t know him already, there is a pretty good chance the residents of Sea Isle City will meet newly appointed Police Chief Tom McQuillen sometime soon.
McQuillen wants to make sure that all of the officers in the Sea Isle Police Department are well known in town, too.
Only a month after being sworn in as the new police chief, he is taking steps to raise the department’s public profile through a series of initiatives intended to strengthen ties with the community.
“It builds the trust, breaks down barriers and shows that we’re all on the same team,” McQuillen said of the department’s community involvement.
It began with McQuillen, his officers and their families joining other volunteers on April 21 to remove trash from the beaches during Sea Isle’s annual spring cleanup event.
They helped clean up the 14th Street beach in memory of Ptl. Michael P. “Mickey” Cullinane Sr., who was overcome by lethal gases while rescuing a construction worker from a pit on Aug. 26, 1992, becoming the only Sea Isle police officer ever killed in the line of duty. They chose the 14th Street beach because 14 was Cullinane’s badge number.
On Monday, police will be mingling with the public again during a “Coffee With a Cop” mixer from 9-11 a.m. at Mrs. Brizzle’s Buns & Deli at 46th Street and Landis Avenue.
McQuillen noted the event will allow the public to meet him and other officers in a relaxed, informal setting while sharing a complimentary cup of coffee and light refreshments.
“People won’t be intimidated to see us there,” he said. “Anyone can come in and ask us about anything.”
Many residents got to know McQuillen long before he became police chief. Now 45 years old, he has spent his entire life – except for a three-year hitch in the Army – living in Sea Isle. He grew up on 47th Place, the sixth of eight children raised by Joan and Frank McQuillen.
Since joining the department in 1999, he has climbed the ranks, becoming a sergeant in 2009, a lieutenant in 2012 and a captain in 2015. His appointment as chief culminated a dream he always had to become the top cop.
McQuillen succeeded former Police Chief Tom D’Intino, who retired in January after a 28-year career with the department, including the past 10 years as chief.
With his parents, his wife, Maria, and his daughters, Adyson, 11, and Alyssa, 7, at his side, McQuillen was sworn in as chief on March 27 by Mayor Leonard Desiderio and immediately pledged to move the police department forward to the “highest levels we have ever achieved.”
“I stand before you today to make a promise to you: We may not always agree on ideas, methods or the changes we will make, but I hope you each know me well enough to know that I only have all of our best interests in mind,” McQuillen told the audience when he took the oath of office. “There’s no other motivation; I simply want what is best for all of us in Sea Isle.”
In an interview, McQuillen said the plans he has for the police department will include “changing the culture.”
Signs will be installed in the hallways with the words “duty, honor, service, integrity and teamwork” to emphasize a commitment to excellence by all members of the department, he said.
“Every day, they’re getting that subliminal message: ‘This is why we do this. This is what we’re all about,’” McQuillen explained.
As a morale booster, he is starting an Employee of the Month program that will include the department’s officers, dispatchers and secretaries. The winner will be treated to lunch by McQuillen and will also get to use a front row parking spot at City Hall for an entire month.
The police department includes 21 officers, four dispatchers and three secretaries. Seasonal officers are hired during the summer to help with the surge in tourists in the popular beach town.
Inspired by a similar program that is done by Sea Isle’s beach patrol to encourage young people to become lifeguards, McQuillen plans to develop a summer camp for kids who are interested in careers in law enforcement.
“What little kid doesn’t love cops and firefighters?” he said.
McQuillen’s initiatives for more public outreach will also include expanding the police department’s social media presence, including greater use of its Facebook page. Traffic advisories, storm warnings and information about public events in Sea Isle are the types of social media postings McQuillen is planning.
While a public relations-style approach to policing will be part of McQuillen’s reforms, there will be no letup in the serious business of law enforcement, he stressed.
The department is adding two new all-terrain vehicles this summer to help police clamp down on drinking and rowdiness on the beaches.
“Previously, we had only one vehicle and beachgoers would know that it was going to be an hour before they saw the vehicle again,” he said. “We’re going to double our presence on the beaches to step up our enforcement efforts there.”
Sea Isle officials and the police department are also looking to expand the use of video surveillance cameras on the Promenade and at the public recreation centers for crowd control and to prevent crime.
In another law enforcement tool, McQuillen said police will be using license plate readers for both inbound and outbound traffic on the John F. Kennedy Boulevard bridge, Sea Isle’s main gateway. The readers capture an image of the license plates and will help police investigate crimes.
McQuillen acknowledged that the police department can’t simply depend on local tax dollars to fund its programs, so there will be more effort to secure federal and state grants.
For example, the department will seek grants allowing it to participate in the “U Text, U Drive, U Pay” program, which targets distracted driving.
“It’s not an endless well. You’ve really got to prioritize what you want to do,” McQuillen said of how the police department will strategically use public funding for its initiatives.
