The Mantua police department has announced that the township ranks 33rd out of 100 municipalities in New Jersey for drug-related arrests, with 121 in 2024, according to state statistics.
News of the ranking was shared at the April 7 township committee meeting by Police Chief Darren White, who gave credit for the ranking to his officers.
“Mantua has a lot of young, active and highly motivated officers,” he said. “This fact – combined with the nationwide retail theft issue and many roadways in town that lead to or from common areas where one could transport or purchase illegal drugs and or stolen merchandise – leads to our officers being very active.Â
“Retail theft and illegal drugs often go hand in hand,” White added. “The officers want to get out there and do their jobs to the best of their abilities – resulting in a lot of drug arrests.”
Most of the arrestees were not residents of Mantua, according to the chief, but individuals from outside the township caught on major roadways such as Route 55 and Woodbury-Glassboro Road.
“As a matter of fact,” he explained, “Mantua did not even rank in the top 100 departments for Narcan deployments, a drug used to combat opioid overdoses, which has become a leading nationwide epidemic. The fact that they are making so many drug arrests and have become known for being very effective at combatting retail theft leads me to believe that (officers) are creating an extremely safe environment for our residents that criminals will want to avoid.”
Praise for the police was shared at the meeting by Mayor Robert Zimmerman, himself a former police chief.
“You’re eradicating it (drugs) from our community and you’re pushing it out of Mantua Township,” he remarked. “We want those efforts to continue. If you don’t do that, then they (offenders) find a home and it festers here and it becomes more problematic.
“And then it becomes personal with the residential neighborhood and people within their community.”
