Belleville PD’s New Com. Center Helps Cops Stay Safe From COVID

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville Police Department recently got an upgrade that will make the job safer for officers trying to stay healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The new addition to the BPD, dubbed the Mark Minichini Communications Center after its current chief, was described as the “nerve center of the police department” in a township news release.

At the center, officers check security cameras in the schools and other locations around the township, monitor the safety of the department’s officers as they perform their daily duties and, of course, respond to calls for immediate help.

Belleville received nearly 60,000 calls in 2020 requiring a response from police, fire or emergency personnel.

Here are some of the changes, according to town officials:

“The center where police, fire and general 911 emergency calls are routed has been moved into a closed space inside police headquarters, taking it from a common area inside the building to a designated place where COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing are easier to follow. The officers who [staff] the communications center every minute of every day will be separated by Plexiglas partitions, and a state-of-the-art filtration system will keep the air clean and safe.”

BPD Captain Nick Breiner who served as project manager, said Chief Minichini had a vision of a “state-of-the-art” communications center from the time he took over as chief in 2016. The project, however, became more pressing when COVID-19 surged across the state and the department needed to find a better way to keep the officers safe inside police headquarters.

The center went from “pencil sketches” to “up-and-running” in about four months, Breiner noted.

Township Manager Anthony Iacono said the center cost about $250,000 to build and was paid for with federal CARES Act funds, rather than local taxpayer funds.

During a dedication ceremony, Minichini was presented with a plaque by Breiner and Deputy Chief Gerard Corbo that will hang in the center, honoring his years of service to the township.

“The plaque was a pleasant surprise,” Minichini said. “I am humbled and appreciative that they decided to name the center after me. It came out beautiful and it will serve as a model for other agencies.”

“The township is proud to help give Chief Minichini and his staff the equipment they need to help keep the residents safe,” Mayor Michael Melham said. “And it is a well-deserved honor for our police chief.”

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