Police Department Purchases New Squad Cars
UEZ Funds Help Pay for New Cruisers

December 1, 2003

The Jersey City Police Department is beefing up its fleet of cruisers and returning to the old black-and-white style after residents said they preferred that look.

And thanks to funding from the state of New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Program, 15 cars were purchased to augment patrols through the city's UEZ zones, which covers a third of the city.

"This is going to allow the police to be more responsive to calls from within the UEZ zones," said Gene Nelson, chief executive officer of the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation. "This will help upgrade the vehicles and enhance officers' response time and make sure all the zones and commercial areas in the city have the necessary equipment to do the job."

An additional ten cars were purchased through the New Jersey Law Enforcement Trust Fund, a fund that uses forfeiture money to purchase resources for police departments, according to Police Chief Ronald Buonocore.

Each of the cars, which is fully loaded, costs approximately $30,000, Buonocore said.