The Prosecutor is the Chief law enforcement officer in the County, and by statute, is responsible for the detection, arrest, indictment and conviction of offenders against the criminal laws of the State of New Jersey. The Governor, with the consent of the State Senate, appoints the County Prosecutor in each of the twenty-one counties to a five year term of office, which may be renewed at the Governor’s pleasure. In fact, New Jersey is only one of two states in the nation whose prosecutors are appointed by the Governor and are not elected officials. Our current County Prosecutor, Robert L. Taylor, was sworn into office on October 1, 2004. Prosecutor Taylor was reappointed by Governor Chris Christie on December 13, 2010 for a second term.
The Prosecutor is at the center of New Jersey’s criminal justice system and wields a great deal of discretionary power to resolve matters involving violations of criminal statues within the County’s geographical boundaries. The Prosecutor may pursue criminal prosecution by seeking indictments, or recommend plea bargaining agreements to the Court. The quality and direction of law enforcement efforts in any county is directly related to the actions of the Prosecutor and his staff.
Prosecutor Taylor has taken a proactive approach to law enforcement, maintaining a skilled and proficient response to criminal activity, while at the same time initiating aggressive intelligence gathering such as a monthly information sharing meeting with all law enforcement agencies and subsequent dissemination of intelligence through a newsletter. The Prosecutor’s Office has improved its emergency response programs with the creation of a Rapid Response Team capable of coping with most heavily armed suspects and enhancing school security. Other innovative outreach programs have been initiated by Prosecutor Taylor in the schools and community to address such issues as school security, juvenile bullying, cyber bullying and safety, domestic violence, gang recruitment and activity and human relations.
A County Prosecutor’s Office normally has three sections, legal, investigative and support, with all working closely together to successfully prosecute offenders. Specialized units such as narcotics, child abuse, Megan’s Law, economic crimes, intelligence, etc. are utilized and are particularly effective in complex economic crime or homicide investigations as well as sophisticated narcotics investigations.
Currently in Cape May County, Prosecutor Taylor has a First Assistant Prosecutor, J. David Meyer, and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Robert Johnson, Sr., who supervise a staff of ten Assistant Prosecutors assigned to the legal section. The professional and experienced staff of Assistant Prosecutors is assigned to various duties and responsibilities including Grand Jury preparation, trials, juvenile court, domestic violence and drug court as well as legal liaison to the Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force, Megan’s Law Unit and Child Abuse Unit.
The Investigative Division is currently comprised of a Chief, Eugene Taylor; a Captain, Lynn Frame; three Lieutenants and four Sergeants who supervise twenty-nine detectives and five agents. The division is divided into three sections; Major Crimes; Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force and Special Operations and Planning.
The Major Crimes Section handles all types of criminal investigations occurring in Cape May County with the exception of those specialized cases involving organized criminal networks dealing with gangs, guns and narcotics. This exceptionally skilled group of detectives is assigned to a variety of primary assignments, such as homicide and aggravated assault investigations, official corruption cases, economic crimes investigations encompassing cases such as sophisticated fraudulent schemes to the more common contractor fraud. Child abuse investigations requiring coordination with the Division of Youth and Family Services as well as all of the law enforcement agencies within the County, the tiering and tracking of Megan’s Law offenders, and forensic crime scene investigations are handled by this section. A specialized High Tech Crime Unit investigates crimes in which high technology devices are utilized, such as computers, cellular telephones and other devices. The High Tech Crimes Unit utilizes state of the art technology to investigate computer crimes, child pornography distribution and identity theft as well to assist in the investigation of homicide, white collar crime and a variety of other crimes. An important part of the detective’s assignment to this section is in litigation support, providing the legal staff with the information essential to successful prosecutions. In addition to their primary assignments, detectives are assigned secondary duties such as the Fatal Crash Investigation Unit, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Crisis Negotiations Unit, for example.
Consistent with the Governor’s Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods and the Attorney General’s violent crime reduction initiatives, the existing county wide narcotics task force had been reorganized to create the Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force. The Multi-jurisdictional Task Force is focused on suppressing organized networks engaged in violence, gun possession and narcotics distribution, a top statewide law enforcement priority. The Task Force is supervised and staffed with Prosecutor’s Office detectives comprising operational, intelligence and fugitive components of the section. Also participating and an integral part of the Task Force are Special Agents in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and municipal police officers throughout Cape May County as well as the New Jersey State Police as required to successfully complete the variety of investigative operations initiated. These highly trained detectives utilize a variety of investigative techniques including electronic surveillance and undercover operations. As part of their duties the detectives assigned to this section also coordinate intelligence information with municipal police departments throughout the County including counter terrorism leads and homeland security matters.
The Special Operations and Planning Section was created by Prosecutor Taylor with experienced members of the office assigned to provide coordination and leadership in some of the newly emerging areas of responsibility that the office has been directed to oversee in the County by the Attorney General and the Director of Homeland Security. As an example, members of this section were intimately involved in the implementation of a reverse lane or contra-flow strategy on the Garden State Parkway to evacuate residents and visitors of Cape May County in the event of hurricane or man-made disaster. Coordination of the Regional SWAT Team, Crisis Negotiations Unit, school security and the Prosecutor’s Office Rapid Response Team also fall under the responsibilities of this section. The section also includes the Critical Infrastructure Coordinator and Domestic Preparedness Planner. Homeland Security, preparedness, planning and response and terrorism investigation are part of this section’s duties. Also part of the section is a detective assigned to internal affairs investigations involving criminal complaints against municipal police officers.
In 2010, Prosecutor Taylor authorized the Special Operations and Planning to coordinate the national accreditation of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office by the Commission on the Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. Accreditation by CALEA is designed to ensure that law enforcement personnel are trained to perform their duties in a professional manner and in accordance with the policies, procedures and best practices of the organization. Upon completion of the accreditation process in early 2012, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office will be only the second Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey that has achieved this distinction.
A skilled support staff completes the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office with seventeen experienced legal secretaries, typists and clerks assigned to various areas throughout the office responsible for the transcription of major crime statements, intake of criminal complaints and police reports from the Prosecutor’s Office as well as all law enforcement agencies in the County, data processing, filing and general clerical work. Included with the support staff is an Office of Victim/Witness Advocacy within the Prosecutor’s Office comprised of trained staff of three counselors, supervised by two coordinators offering a wide array of services to victims of crimes. There are five Prosecutor’s Agents assigned to such specialized duties in the office as criminal case preparation, evidence custody and computer network administration. A forensic chemist completes the support services provided by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office providing timely drug analysis and related services to the County’s law enforcement community as well as in special circumstances to federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration and state agencies such as the New Jersey State Police and Alcohol Beverage Control.
More detailed information is provided and can be accessed in the annual reports on the website’s homepage.
- Maintaining high standards of
professional integrity;
- Treating all people fairly and
objectively without regard to race, religion, gender or sexual
orientation,
- Providing each municipality with
additional resources when necessary for challenging investigations,
- Striving for excellence through the
creative application of modern principals and technologies.
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COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Community Outreach by Prosecutor’s Office with Congressman Frank LoBiondo and his Youth Council of High School Students from the Congressional District. Students were able to see vehicles and equipment and interact with the Prosecutor’s Office Detectives in the Crime Scene Unit, SWAT / Rescue Vehicle, Command Vehicle, and Robot Unit.
Chief E. Taylor, Congressman Frank Lobiondo and Prosecutor Taylor Sergeant B. Henfey with Youth Council Students in front of SWAT / Rescue Vehicle in Crime Scene Vehicle
Chief E. Taylor with Youth Council Students SWAT / Detective E. Musick with Youth Council Students
Detective K. Gannon with Youth Council Students (from left-rear) Sgt B. Henfey, Det. A. Sykes, Chief E. Taylor, with Robots Det. M. Weeks, Prosecutor Taylor, Det. J. Caccia, SWAT/ Det. E. Musick, Det. K. Gannon and Det. D. Holt Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office
