For five years in a row, the 47 law enforcement officers and 8 civilian communications officers that make up the Cranford Police Department proudly bagged the top honors at the New Jersey Law Enforcement Challenge 46-75 Officer category.

Aside from winning the first place on the event’s Municipal Agencies’ 46-75 Officer category, a panel of independent national judges also awarded the police department of the Township of Cranford the honor garnering the highest overall score for all department categories for their effort to enforce traffic laws and educate the citizens in traffic related hazards and safety information such as occupant protection, impaired driving, and speeding.

This township also boasted of having a major decrease in injury related crashes for the year 2011, with a huge 32% decline. For all of this, the township’s police department were given Whelen Liberty light bars from Mobile Fleet, LLC., which has a market value of  $3,500 each. They will be used to replace older models within the Cranford Police’s department’s fleet.

The New Jersey Law Enforcement Challenge is an event where similar sizes and types of law enforcement agencies nationwide compete for the recognition of having the best overall traffic safety programs in our country. Awards and rewards are given to enforcement agencies which can perfectly combine outstanding courses of action, planning and implementation in officer training, public information dissemination, and reduce traffic related accidents, injuries and fatalities within their area of coverage.

The competition is made possible through the efforts of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by awarding a grant to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, two admirable enforcement entities who believes prevention is better that a cure. By increasing traffic enforcement, making such programs visible to the public, and faithfully implementing it, will result to lessen motor vehicle accidents. A similar challenge program is also established by The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.

Congrats to the Cranford Police Department!!