Police

Whether you plan to plant a tree or new garden; put in a sprinkler system, mailbox post or fencing; install ground rods for electrical systems; or excavate for a home addition, you need to call beforehand to know where it’s safe to dig. For your own well-being and the safety of our underground utilities, call 8-1-1 or 1-800-272-1000 before you dig. It’s the law. We ask that you take the following into consideration:

• Call Before You Dig: At least four full business days before digging starts, call 8-1-1 or 1-800-272-1000 for a free markout of underground gas, water, cable, telephone and electric utility lines.
• Wait the Required Time: Wait three full business days after calling before doing any digging. Underground utilities will be marked with paint, flags or stakes. If the site does not have underground utilities, you will be notified.
• Respect the Marks: Always hand-dig and locate underground utilities within two feet of marked lines.
• Dig With Care: Making the call before you dig will help prevent property damage and potential injuries. Please be sure to dig safely.

For more information please visit the New Jersey One Call website at http://www.nj1-call.org

Please be advised that all firearms applications will now be processed online directly through the New Jersey State Police website at www.njportal.com/njsp/FARS. When asked to provide the ORI number for the Springfield Police Department, please enter:  NJ0201700

All applicants must be residents of Springfield in order for the Springfield Police Department to process your request. Be advised that an application for a Firearms Identification Card requires the applicant to submit to a background investigation at both the State and Federal level, submission of fingerprints, supply personal references, and consent to a mental health records check. Please allow an average of twelve to fourteen weeks to process all firearms applications. A Firearms Identification Card is required for the ownership of a handgun/pistol, or shotgun/rifle, as well as the purchase of ammunition. Ownership of a handgun/pistol requires a purchase permit in addition to the Firearms Identification Card. If this is your first time applying, and you wish to also purchase a handgun, you may apply for both the Firearms Identification Card and the Permit to Purchase simultaneously. 

If you have any questions regarding the application submission, please contact the Springfield Police Records Bureau at (973) 912-2239. 

In December 2014, Springfield Police Chief John Cook announced that Springfield has joined the New Jersey Attorney General’s “Project Medicine Drop” initiative, and has installed a permanent Project Medicine Drop box in the lobby at police headquarters, 100 Mountain Avenue. Residents may visit the Springfield Police Department at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to dispose of their unused, excess or expired prescription medications anonymously and with no questions asked. This permanent drop box makes it easier and more convenient than ever for Springfield residents to take an active role in the fight against the nationwide epidemic of opiate and heroin abuse, which often is fueled by the abuse of prescription painkillers.

• Only household medications will be accepted.

• Pills, capsules, patches, and pet medications are acceptable.

• Liquids are acceptable provided they are securely held in either a bottle or other type of container.

• Mail, trash or syringes are not acceptable (please see the Safe Syringe Disposal Guide at http://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/safe_syringe_disposal.pdf).

The Police Department also has a mobile drop box that can be brought to locations throughout the township for the convenience of residents. An example is the take-back day held for Senior Citizens at the Chisholm Community Center.

Special Project Medicine Drop Take-Back Days are held throughout the year and are announced on the Township website.

Project Medicine Drop is an important component of the New Jersey Attorney General’s effort to stop the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs, including highly addictive opiate painkillers. Through this initiative, the State Division of Consumer Affairs installs secure “prescription drug drop boxes” at police departments, sheriff’s offices, and State Police barracks across New Jersey, allowing citizens to safely dispose of their unused, excess, or expired prescription medications. This initiative also protects New Jersey’s environment by keeping these drugs out of landfills and out of the water supply. More information about Project Medicine Drop, including the full list of Project Medicine Drop locations, can be found at http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca2/meddrop/.

The Springfield Police Department is an approved agency with the Police Safe Place Program. The Safe Place Program was developed by the Seattle Police Department in 2015 as a means to encourage the reporting of bias crimes and hate crimes, which are crimes based on a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, mental, physical, or sensory disabilities, homelessness, marital status, political ideology, age, or parental status.  It involves local businesses partnering with police departments to offer victims of bias crimes and hate crimes “Safe Places” to remain while police are contacted and respond to investigate the crimes.  Currently, there are well over 7,000 business locations throughout the country that provide these accommodations for crime victims.  Participating businesses conspicuously display a special police badge with a rainbow background which designates their location as a Safe Place for bias crime and hate crime victims.  This aims to help build trust with victims by saying, “you will be heard and you will be treated with care, dignity and respect by the business you enter to find help, as well as the police who respond.”

There is no cost to become an established Safe Place participating business, but there are two requirements:  First, the business must allow victims to remain in a safe, public area within the business. Second, the business must call 911, or assist the victim with calling 911, as soon as possible, to report the crime to the police.   When police arrive, the Safe Place location will be used to bridge the gap between the victim and the police, which will help ensure the crime is investigated to the fullest extent possible.   If a victim becomes uncomfortable and leaves the Safe Place prior to police arriving, the business is asked to contact the police right away and provide a physical description of the victim and their direction of travel, along with a description of any injuries the victim may have sustained.

If your business would like to participate in the Springfield Safe Place Program, please contact Detective Lieutenant James Mirabile at james.mirabile@springfield-nj.us for more information.   Once approved, your business will be provided with Safe Place training materials, fliers to distribute, and a Safe Place decal that should be placed conspicuously on or near the main entrance door to your business.  

The reporting and investigation of bias crimes and hate crimes is taken very seriously by all Springfield Police personnel.   Victims of bias crimes and hate crimes are encouraged to report the crime to police immediately –  by calling 911, by approaching a police officer, or by entering a designated Safe Place –  to ensure the crime can be investigated thoroughly in a timely manner.   If you have been a victim of a bias crime or a hate crime and time has passed, it is not too late to report the incident.   Contact the Springfield Police Department at (973) 376-0400 to speak with an officer and to initiate an investigation.

The Springfield Police Department is an accredited law enforcement agency with policies and procedures that are kept current based on NJ State and Federal Laws, Attorney General Guidelines and Directives, and law enforcement best practices.   As updates occur often, please contact Detective Lieutenant James Mirabile for more information regarding our current bias crime policies and procedures, or for any other policy and procedure inquiries.

The Police Department offers child seat inspections by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Please call 973-376-0400 or 973-921-1996 to make an appointment or for other inquiries.

• Studies show seat belts do save lives and reduce injuries during crashes.
• Seat belts work with air bags to protect occupants. Air bags alone are not enough to safeguard occupants.
• More than 2,000 unbuckled drivers and front seat passengers died on New Jersey’s roadways in the past 10 years.
• Approximately 700 unbuckled drivers and front seat passengers were thrown out of their vehicles during crashes and killed in the past 10 years.

New Jersey’s Seat Belt Law (NJSA 39:3-76.2f)

• Applies to all passenger vehicles including vans, pickup trucks and SUV’s, that are required to be equipped with seat belts.
• Applies to all passengers, who are at least 8 years of age but less than 18 years of age, and each driver and front seat passenger of a passenger automobile, operated on a street or highway. All occupants are required to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt system.
• Makes the driver responsible for proper seat belt use by all occupants who are under the age of 18.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR PERMIT APPLICATION

Please refer to the information listed below regarding the Township of Springfield Municipal Lot Parking Permit Program.

1. The annual cycle is from February 1^st through January 31^st of the following calendar year.
2. The number of Permits issued during any given quarter may not exceed 83, which includes annual Permits issued as well.  All Permits will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
3. There are two (2) Municipal Parking Lots available for use by Parking Permit Holders.

Municipal Lot 1 – (Motor Vehicle Lot) Located on Center Street and Mountain Avenue.  This lot will have thirty-eight (38) spaces available to Parking Permit Holders and will be numbered P108 through P145.

Municipal Lot 2 – (Duffy’s Corner, located behind Hunan Spring Restaurant) Located on Morris Avenue opposite Caldwell Place.  This lot will have forty-five (45) spaces available to Parking Permit Holders and will be numbered P219 through P263.

1. Parking Permit Holders must only use parking spaces designated for Permit Holders Only.  Permit Holders will not be assigned specific parking spaces, but will be required to park only in spaces designated for Permit Holders.
2. Fees for Parking Permits will be as follows:

Resident Permit Fee            Yearly: $300.00   Quarterly: $75.00

Senior Citizen Permit Fee (aged 62 or over)   Yearly: $200.00      Quarterly: $50.00

Non-Resident Fee               Yearly: $400.00   Quarterly:  $100.00

1. Parking Permit Applicants must provide a valid vehicle registration, insurance card, and New Jersey driver’s license along with the completed application form in order to be issued a Parking Permit.  
2. Decals should be affixed to the rear window of the vehicle on the driver’s side.

Reminder: Springfield Parking Permit Holders are permitted to park their vehicle(s) in the designated Municipal Lots and spaces between the hours of 2:00 am and 5:00 am. Vehicles without Parking Permits are not permitted to park in Municipal Lots between the hours of 2:00 am and 5:00 am.

Please contact Police Records if you have any questions – (973) 912-2239.

Law enforcement officials from the Springfield Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers as part of the annual “UDrive. UText. UPay.” Distracted Driving Crackdown. 

Beginning April 1, 2022 and continuing through April 30, 2022, local, county, and state law enforcement officials will conduct roving patrols and fixed checkpoints looking for motorists who may be distracted while driving. 

The national effort is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, to offer deterrence through visible enforcement, and to issue summonses for relevant motor vehicle violations. 

Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. In 2018 alone, 2,841 people were killed in distracted driving crashes. Driver inattention has remained the most frequently cited cause of fatal and incapacitating crashes in NJ, over seven times higher than the total crashes cited for unsafe speed over the past five years (2015-2019). Unsafe speed was the contributing circumstance in 5.4 percent of all crashes in 2019, a decrease from 6 percent in 2018. Driver inattention was a contributing circumstance in nearly 49 percent of crashes in 2019, down from 50 percent in 2018. 

The Springfield Police Department would like to remind all drivers that distracted driving is any activity that diverts a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety. These distractions include: 

• Texting 
• Using a cell phone or smartphone 
• Eating and drinking 
• Talking to passengers 
• Grooming 
• Reading, including maps 
• Using a navigation system 
• Watching a video
• Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player 

But, because using a hand-held cell phone while driving to make calls or send text messages requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, they are by far the most alarming distractions.

The Springfield Police Department takes complaints made against its officers very seriously.  All complaints are reviewed by personnel assigned to the Internal Affairs function, which is overseen by the Operations Captain, and are assigned to supervisory officers or specially trained Internal Affairs investigators for thorough, fair, and objective investigations.  Serious complaints may be referred to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.  The Internal Affairs function is critical in maintaining the trust established between the police and the community, and is essential to ensure law enforcement services are provided effectively, fairly, and impartially.

Complaints are accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can be anonymous.  Complaints can be made:

2020 Internal Affairs Summary Report

2021 Internal Affairs Summary Report 

2022 Internal Affairs Summary Report 

2023 Internal Affairs Summary Report

• 2021 – No major discipline
• 2022 – No major discipline 
• 2023 – Click Here

Early Warning System

• 2021 Demographics 
• 2023 Demographics

Springfield Police Department Recruitment Plan