Jersey Shore town needs 70 part-time cops for next summer. Only 5 have applied.

Like many seaside towns, Atlantic City relies on part-time police officers to handle the swell of seasonal visitors and supervise its boardwalk when temperatures warm.
City authorities, however, say they are struggling to find enough candidates to fill their summer needs, losing potential hires to full-time policing roles in other towns that offer higher salaries and benefits.
The situation has led the city to mull whether or not to end its SLEO Class II program for the additional officers in lieu of full-time officers who’d be hired before next summer.
“We (Atlantic City) have to start moving very quickly and aggressively to start getting ready for the summer,” City Councilman Khaleem Shabazz said during September’s Clean and Safe meeting, an initiative where city dignitaries speak about community issues.
The lawmaker said he was preparing to introduce legislation at an upcoming city council meeting to end the program, giving the city leverage to prioritize staffing full-time officers.
The need for officers overlaps with crime increasing in Atlantic City, officials said. Police Chief James Sarkos said as of the meeting, his department has received over 96,000 calls for service so far this year. Police have arrested 3,883 people in that period, up from 3,049 last year. Sarkos said the change reflects a 27.3% increase year-over-year.
More than 100 firearms have been recovered by police this year, as well.
The city controls enough funding to hire 70 part-time officers through the program, Sarkos said. So far, only five, all of whom are retired police officers, have shown interest, he said.
With fewer officers available, Sarkos said the force has been left to shuffle its personnel around on its assignment, particularly reassigning officers to the boardwalk.
“The only thing that I’m 100% in favor of is retired officers coming back as Class IIs,” Sarkos said. “They’re trained, and I don’t have to put any additional money into them. Getting a young officer as a Class II, we’re just wasting money. As soon we hire them, they go somewhere else.”
The decision to nix the program would mirror a similar move by Ocean City, Maryland, Shabazz said. That town announced intentions to stop offering seasonal police positions at the end of 2024, describing those jobs being at one point one of the most-sought-after summer positions.
Atlantic City remains overseen by the state government as part of a years-long oversight of the resort city’s assets. The takeover, which Gov. Phil Murphy extended in 2021 and is set to expire next year, allows state officials to control the city’s spending, including hiring and firing employees.
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which manages the takeover through its local government services, did not return a request by NJ Advance Media for comment.
Safeguarding the city’s boardwalk, arguably its most vital attraction, has been a priority for police, who in recent years have relied on the specially hired officers. They’ve been placed at substations on the boardwalk to have better oversight of crowds.
Programs like Atlantic City’s traditionally have also been a pathway for emerging officers interested in a law enforcement career. Sarkos said the number have applicants has swiftly diminished, a problem he attributes to a broader drop in interest for police work.
The Class II officers were funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the state agency that oversees Atlantic City’s tourism district, until 2022, according to city officials. It contributed $1.5 million from 2020 to 2022.
This year, the city budgeted $897,000 for those officers.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at [email protected].