Top New Jersey law enforcement officials plan are hiring of a state coordinator of gang, gun, and violent crime activities as part of Gov. Jon Corzine’s $48 million anti-crime effort, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. The job is expected to go to East Orange police director Jose Cordero, 50, a former New York City Police Department Inspector who 3 1/2 years ago came to East Orange and shaped the police force into a widely praised municipal crime fighting agency.
Since Cordero took the helm, the 3.9 square-mile Essex County community has enjoyed nearly a 70 percent overall reduction in the major crime categories of murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts.
Link: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/east_orange_civilian_police_di.html