Bridgewater’s Top Security Officer Moves On

Bridgewater Township Police Chief Richard Borden
is shown here at a Township Council Meeting on
July 1, 2013, at which one of the topics was the
allocation of an additional School Resource Officer
for the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, with the
school budget picking up the cost.  Accompanying
him in the background are some of the Township
Police Force.

Effective today, Bridgewater Township Police Chief Richard Borden has retired from his post as this community’s top law enforcement officer.

In a brief conversation this afternoon, Bridgewater Township Administrator Mr. James Naples confirmed that yesterday was the Chief’s last day on the job, and that he was now busy going in and out of the Bridgewater Municipal Complex, already in the process of moving on.

Mr. Naples was highly complimentary of Chief Borden, adding that he served for 32 years in law enforcement, and that he was appointed to the position of Bridgewater’s Police Chief in 2006.   

Naples underscored that, under Chief Borden’s guidance, the Police Department was awarded a distinguished accreditation on February 14, 2013, by “the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police and CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies).

This accreditation is not merely an honorary award, but has highly practical results for the operation and quality of the Bridgewater Township Police Force.   The process consisted in a rigorous examination that involved the entire force and which included a review of “one hundred and twelve professional standards mandated by the Accreditation Board of Review.”

An unconfirmed source indicated to me that Chief Borden will be assuming a position that will place him in a job involving security with a group of governmental bodies.  Since I don’t yet have a second confirmable source, I will leave out the details.

The home page of the Police Department’s web site shows that Captain Manny Caravela is now Acting Police Chief for Bridgewater.