The middlesex borough police department two-year recruitment and retention initiative will strengthen its applicant pool, improve hiring outcomes, and enhance long-term officer retention

The Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Program awarded $175,000 to Middlesex Borough (recipient of the Middlesex Borough Police Department) on October 1, 2025, under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants program (CFDA 16.710).

The award funds a two-year recruitment and retention initiative designed to strengthen the police department's applicant pool and reduce officer attrition. Deliverables include marketing campaigns, job fair participation, a professional recruitment video, technology infrastructure upgrades, onboarding kits, mentorship programming, and applicant tracking tools. The project will also generate outcome data and evaluation results to measure effectiveness. The police department currently maintains 30 sworn officers with limited annual hiring capacity and faces applicant volume and retention challenges driven partly by salary competition.

Performance occurs in Middlesex, New Jersey, with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. The assistance type is a project grant.

With 30 sworn officers and limited annual hires, the department seeks to broaden its outreach using marketing campaigns, job fair participation, technology upgrades, and a professional recruitment video. The project will introduce onboarding kits, mentorship programming, and applicant tracking tools, supported by outcome data and evaluation. By addressing challenges like low applicant volume and officer attrition due to salary competition, the department aims to build a more diverse and stable workforce that better serves the community.