During COVID lockdown the United States saw spikes in violent crime after a four-year decline. Trenton, where homicides had been trending downward, was particularly hard hit, with more than double the homicides of 2019. But a contentious relationship between Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and the City Council, particularly surrounding the appointment of Police Director Steve Wilson, has impacted the response.
William Skaggs, Public Information Officer for Trenton Mayor Gusciora tells The VOICE, “The FBI put out some statistics a few months ago showing that homicide has gone up like 30% nationwide. The reason why it’s so unique in Trenton is Trenton was not trending that way when the mayor first became mayor.”
Mayor Gusciora narrowly won the mayorship to become Trenton’s first openly gay mayor as well as Trenton’s first white mayor–with the exception of an interim–since 1990, rendering his position immediately contentious. He inherited a Trenton Police Department with approximately 240 officers, down from 371 when 131 positions were cut in 2011. Then 2020 brought COVID-19, worsening the factors which contribute to homicides.
Skaggs says the “major factors contributing to the violence” in Trenton as a “ready supply of illegal weapons, historic neighborhood conflicts, increased economic hardship from COVID-19, and persistent health and addiction problems.”
Lt. Jason Woodhead, the Community Affairs liaison says, “Trenton is the hub where all these social services go, and a lot of it is concentrated downtown. So, a lot of these vulnerable populations that are coming in for mental health or help with drug addiction issues are all concentrated in certain areas.”
The Mayor has attempted to address these varied factors on multiple fronts, including appointing Police Director Steve Wilson, a nearly 30 year veteran of the Department.
Trenton City Councilman Santiago Rodriguez says “All the officers will be opposing the Director, whoever it is, unless it’s coming from their ranks.”
Director Wilson was confirmed to his position from retirement, but Lt. Woodhead says, “[Wilson] was a seasoned veteran officer when he retired, and he didn’t retire that long ago.”
Skaggs says, “Listen, when we needed a Police Director Steve Wilson came to us… I mean he was a Lieutenant with almost 30 years with the department.”
Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, who has faced criticism for what has been described by Mayor Gusciora as a “laughing attack” during a presentation by Director Wilson, and having previously faced criticism for calling the Mayor a “drug addict pedophile” and a “b**ch-ass” during a coronavirus conference call last May, also objects to Director Wilson and was the sole vote against extending Wilson’s tenure last October.
Asked via email what changes she would like to see brought to policing in Trenton, the councilwoman said, “The City of Trenton needs to diversify its police force, rank and file, and executive-level officers,” adding, “the demographics do not represent the community they serve.”
According to Census.gov Trenton’s population is 40.9% white. Data provided by the office of the Police Director shows that as of Oct. 2021, the Trenton PD was 44.5% White. There is, according to the data, a lower percentage of Black officers than there are members of the general Trenton population.
Councilman Rodriguez has repeatedly indicated his position that Director Wilson is underqualified.
“Mayor Gusciora put him there because of the black votes. That’s it. That’s it. For his re-election,” Rodriguez says.
Lt. Woodhead says “[Wilson is not underqualified] when it comes to policing. The Police Director is a veteran officer who has worked the streets.”
“I was in the military, I was in charge of a unit. With 250 soldiers I could have won a war, if you use them wisely. Trenton is 7 miles by 7 miles…250 police officers should be more than enough.”
-Trenton City Councilman Santiago Rodriguez
Police staffing and budget issues are other issues upon which the Council and the Mayor disagree. On Monday, February 28, the department concluded a recruitment drive seeking 20 new officers. Still, the department has not recovered from the staffing cuts in 2011.
Detective Tamika Veal says, “We need more. Twenty is not enough, we need more. We need as many people that live in the city that care about making the change in their community.”
Councilman Rodriguez disagrees saying, “I was in the military, I was in charge of a unit sometimes…with 250 soldiers; I could have won a war if you use them wisely. Trenton is 7 miles by 7 miles; 250 police officers should be more than enough.”
The Mayor’s office and Director Wilson, often utilizing partnerships with other agencies, have overseen reforms aimed at reducing the factors which contribute to homicide.
Skaggs points to Trenton’s new Real Time Crime Center, which Skaggs describes as a “Wide open major communication section where they basically can…collect and process intelligence that they’re receiving from multiple different law enforcement agencies.”
There is also Director Wilson’s Daytime Task Force which seeks to address the many quality of life issues within the community that contribute to the homicide rate, which according to Skaggs, the community “felt were being ignored.”
Additionally, the Office of Returning Citizens, which aids the formerly incarcerated in finding employment has been expanded.
Skaggs says, “We have a system of government that balances powers and responsibilities. Obviously that system works a lot better when there’s some sort of agreement, some sort of willingness to cross the aisle.”
