By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The person who will fill a new position in the Ocean City Police Department will be given no rank or salary.
He or she will not carry a firearm or handcuffs and will have no authority to make arrests.
But they will play a critical role, nonetheless.
Ocean City will soon have a police chaplain, a volunteer position to help members of the police department and the public “in times of need.”
City Council voted 7-0 at its meeting Thursday to introduce an ordinance formally creating the police chaplain position. A public hearing and final vote on the proposal are scheduled for Council’s Feb. 24 meeting.
“Police chaplains serve an integral role in providing comfort to members of the Police Department, as well as the public, and aid in community policing,” the ordinance says.
Police Chief Jay Prettyman requested Council to create the chaplain’s position. His proposal received an enthusiastic response from the governing body at Thursday’s meeting.
“I just want to state how important this is,” Councilwoman Karen Bergman said. “The police and fire departments are under huge amounts of stress, and they do need an experienced chaplain to help them get through it – if they need somebody to help them get through it.”
Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. characterized the police chaplain proposal as “long overdue.”
“Given the climate today, I think it’s a great idea,” Councilman Keith Hartzell added.
Members of the Ocean City Police Department, shown here bowing their heads during Memorial Day ceremonies in 2021, will receive support and counseling from the chaplain, if needed.
Prettyman explained that his request for a police chaplain is an outgrowth of the resiliency training and programs required for all New Jersey police officers.
In 2019, New Jersey’s attorney general issued the “Officer Resiliency Directive,” a statewide program touted as the first of its kind in the nation to support the emotional and psychological well-being of law enforcement officers.
“As one part of the program, I want to establish faith-based resources for our staff to take advantage of in times of need – in addition to the psychological counseling and treatment we already offer,” Prettyman said in a text Sunday. “I want to offer a broad base of programs for our staff, and the chaplain program is just one part of the overall program. I am anxious to see what it will grow into.”
Prettyman noted that he does not yet have anyone in mind to become police chaplain.
“Once the ordinance gets final approval, we plan to sit down and figure out the structure of the program,” he said.
The police chaplain will have a three-year appointment and must be in good standing with the New Jersey State Chaplain’s Association, according to the ordinance.
The chaplain’s role will include assisting the police department in “critical incident debriefing, death notification and/or any other duties” that may be assigned by Prettyman.
Ocean City is joining a nationwide trend in which police chaplains are taking on a bigger role in counseling and supporting law enforcement officers and members of the public.
According to news reports, police chaplains often are assuming the responsibility of notifying family members when a loved one has died in an accident or crime investigated by police. That, in turn, has relieved police officers of the emotional anguish of notifying those family members.
The role chaplains fulfill with law enforcement agencies must comply with the standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1971 case. The court ruled that chaplains must have a secular purpose, cannot advance nor inhibit religion, and cannot “excessively entangle” government with religion, according to media reports.
