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Wednesday, February 22, 2012    Last updated: Thursday February 23, 2012, 1:57 AM

In an attempt to provide more information about crime and general police matters taking place in Saddle Brook, the Saddle Brook Police Department, headed by Chief of Police Robert Kugler and Deputy Chief of Police Robert White, is looking to provide more police information to local press outlets and residents. The department plans on doing this through the use of its website and by providing more daily information to local news outlets.

The police department announcement comes on the heels of a council meeting that saw many residents in attendance asking council members why they read more police news and crime stories in the newspaper about Elmwood Park than they do about Saddle Brook. During the meeting, which took place on Feb. 9, members of the council questioned and complained to Saddle Brook Mayor Karen Chamberlain, Saddle Brook Township Council President Anthony Halko and the rest of the council about what they deemed a lack of transparency and insignificant amount of police information being shared by the department with the public.

At the meeting Chamberlain and Halko both said they would look into the matter.

The police department recently set up an online blotter listing on its website, http://www.saddlebrookpd.com, entitled "The SBPD Briefing Room." The online portal acts as a destination for members of the department to post blotter updates, crime stories and all manners of police information. The portal went live on Jan. 12.

"The truth is we have heard what the public has to say and we are trying to do it on our end, trying to do a better job of getting information out there for public consumption," stated White. "The online briefing room will provide residents with an easy access point to police information which comes directly from members of the Saddle Brook Police Department."

White also stated the department will be working more diligently on a daily basis to provide local press outlets with a more constant flow of information about crimes taking place in town.

"They, as a township, have more crime," said White of Elmwood Park. "Elmwood Park is more closely situated to Paterson and has to deal with a little more than we do. They have more crime and have to focus on that more than we do."

Email: leibowitz@northjersey.com

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Saddle Brook Police Department looking to get word out on crime