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The Borough of
Sea Girt, as a municipality dates back to 1917. Prior to 1917 Sea Girt was part
of Wall Township, as was most of the area towns. As a community, Sea Girt dates
back to around 1875. At this time a group of Philadelphia land developers
purchased two farms between Stockton Lake and Wreck Pond.
In Sea Girt's early years its inhabitants were
mostly summer time vacationers. As the area around Sea Girt developed people
took advantage of the shore and began to stay throughout the year.
In 1917 the Sea Girt residents took action and
formed their own municipality. This one square mile area still includes the
area between Stockton Lake and Wreck Pond. The only area in town which has not
been developed is the National Guard Camp and State Police Academy which is
located in the southern most area of the town.
Once the Borough of Sea Girt was officially
established a hall was needed to administer the borough's affairs. The site
which the new town council chose to place the new town hall was on the northeast
corner of Fourth Avenue and Baltimore Boulevard. This is still the site of the
Borough Hall.
The Sea Girt Police Department was not
immediately organized. Police protection was handled by Charles W. Roberts who
was appointed as town Marshal. Mr. Roberts was also the Borough
Superintendent. He served the Borough conducting both jobs until his death in
1937.
In 1921 the Borough Council appointed the
first police officer. He was the official "watchman" of Sea Girt. He earned a
salary of $100.00 per month.
William Panz was appointed as a police officer
in 1925. James Enright joined this police force in 1930. That same year
William Panz was appointed Chief of Police. William Panz served as Chief of
Police for the Borough of Sea Girt until his death in 1952. Shortly after the
death of Chief Panz, William Millington, who also served as a Police Officer,
was appointed as the Chief of Police.
By 1967 the Sea Girt Police Department grew into a 13 man department. Keeping
up with the needs of the Borough of Sea Girt, the Police Department held six
full time police officers, a few police dispatchers, along with special
officers.
In later years Hugh W. Hamblet took charge of
the Sea Girt Police Department. He held this position until his retirement.
After Chief Hamblet's retirement, William W. Joule was appointed as the Chief of
Police for the Borough. July of 2005 saw a new change in the leadership of the
Police Department. Chief Joule retired after 37 years of service to the Borough
of Sea Girt and Edward J. Sidley Jr. was appointed the newest Chief of Police.
Somewhere about mid 1980's the Borough Hall
was renovated. An addition was added to the east side of the building which is
currently used to house the police department. This addition added much needed
office space, records room, dispatch area, processing area, holding cells, and a
locker room.
Prior to the acquisition of two-way radio
communications, the police department relied on the Gamewell Signal pull box
system for signaling both the police officers and the fire department. Officers
on their rounds would pull a box to signal for assistance or to alert the
volunteer fire department. In the early years of the police department patrol
was conducted on foot or on horse back. We are currently researching to find
when the first patrol car was placed in service.
The first two-way radio system in place for
the police department gave the Sea Girt Police a great advantage over the
Gamewell Signal System. Originally Sea Girt Police shared its radio system with
Point Pleasant Beach PD, Manasquan PD, and Brielle PD. Each of these towns also
used this channel for their fire departments, there first aid squads, and their
public works. Later, the Sea Girt, Manasquan, and Brielle police departments
acquired a separate channel for the police communication. In 1989 Sea Girt
Police Department received their own police radio frequency from the FCC and
began using their county assigned radio identification.
In 2005 Chief William W.
Joule retired from his post after 38 years of service to the Borough of Sea
Girt. Edward J. Sidley Jr. was appoint to the position of Chief of Police.
Currently the police department consists of 11 full
time police officers, 4 full time police dispatchers, and several part
time special officers and dispatchers. There are two police detectives,
one
sergeants, a captain, and a chief. We operate our own computer network and
store a vast database which records the day to day operation of our police
department to forever record the further history of our agency.
This brief history of the Sea Girt Police was
brought to you through the memories of some of its current members. Accounts of
the early years of Sea Girt and the Sea Girt Police Department as well as images
used on this page were delivered from passages from the "History of Sea Girt -
50th Anniversary" by Richard O. Venino, © 1967. Top
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