BARNEGAT – Police Chief Keith Germain let residents know that they are welcome to report illegal fireworks.
The chief made a statement on the department’s Facebook page, brought up by an incident of people setting off illegal fireworks in Georgetown Park. Police responded and the subject was charged.
“You’re not bothering us by letting us know about illegal fireworks use – it’s literally what you pay us for,” he said. He thanked the residents for calling it in.
Part of the department’s mission statement is to maintain an open dialogue with the citizens they serve, he noted.
“For those of you concerned that we have ‘better things to do’ – rest assured that our cops are the best in the business and can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said. “They were able to run down fireworks complaints last night while answering all of our calls for service on the same night that we were making major drug arrests.”
“Keep the complaints and information coming. Little quality of life issues turn into bigger quality of life issues. We prefer to solve them before they become bigger issues,” he said.
