The whole point of cops: Prevent crime, not just solve it

Bergen Town Center in Paramus uses a fully electric vehicle for its litter patrol, seen here in the parking lot of 24 Hour Fitness on Route 4 east. Unfortunately, the gym's interior and temporary lockers often aren't as clean as the parking lot.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's upbeat Page 1 story on the arrest of a suspect in the shooting death of Genesis Rincon, 12, ignores just how ineffective Paterson police are in preventing such crimes.

Isn't that the whole point? 

Even before 125 officers were laid off in 2011, Silk City was known for drive-by-shootings, drug sales to Bergen suburbanites and prostitution -- as described in numerous stories in The Record and at least two heavily slanted investigative series.

A clear conflict

But the Woodland Park daily has long had a conflict of interest.

For decades, the paper has irresponsibly ignored its mission to question police on how well they protect residents from crime -- whether it is a string of house burglaries in Englewood and Tenafly or a drive-by shooting in Paterson.

Simply put, the lazy, incompetent local editors fear that if they are critical, their police reporters would be denied the Law & Order information the paper desperately needs to fill news columns.

Shaky editing

Today's front page story is unclear on whether it was police work, tips from residents or a combination of both that led to the arrest of a 19-year-old in the girl's death (A-1 and A-8).

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes is quoted as saying Genesis wasn't the intended target, but she withheld a good deal of information on that and other shootings (A-8).

The Record swallowed hook, line and sinker the splashy news conference held by Valdes, acting Police Chief William Fraher and Paterson Mayor Joey Torres, who inspires little public confidence after his checkered first term in that office.

Four reporters and two photographers were assigned to cover it.

Prosecutor gets pass

The prosecutor made a puzzling statement, but none of the reporters challenged her on it.

"Every time my phone goes off with notification about a shooting, I could almost guess where that shooting took place," Valdes said, referring to the city's 4th Ward, which, the story says, has had the highest number of shootings in the city.

Then, wouldn't it be an easy matter to assign more officers to the 4th Ward to prevent such tragedies as Genesis' death, assuming police care anything about protecting residents of the impoverished neighborhood?

Missing the bus

Hackensack reporter Christopher Maag was sent to cover the NJ Transit meeting in Newark, and he dutifully reported top legislators are demanding improvements to the antiquated midtown Manhattan bus terminal used by tens of thousands of New Jersey commuters (A-3).

But Maag apparently missed action by the board of the state's mass-transit agency to hold the line on fares for the fifth straight year, a story that affects every bus and rail user.

Maag's story notes the Port Authority Bus Terminal "has been plagued for years by complaints of long lines, leaky ceilings, inadequate heat and air conditioning and safety concerns."

But The Record doesn't explain why it ignored worsening conditions at the terminal until late last year, when angry commuters starting sending in letters to the editor.

More police news

The paper's reliance on police and court news is clear in today's thin Local section from head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her minion, Dan Sforza, who run Law & Order stories on every page without death notices.