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Essex County orders year-long operational review of sheriff's office; board approves vehicle and ammunition purchases
Summary
The board approved a full operational assessment of the Essex County Sheriff's Office to be conducted by the Ambrose Group, with a preliminary report expected within about 100 days; the board also approved contract awards for vehicle bed caps and ammunition for sheriff vehicles.
Essex County commissioners voted to authorize a full operational assessment of the county sheriff's office and approved related procurement items on the agenda.
Sheriff Jones told the board he has commissioned a “complete operational assessment” of the sheriff's office with the Ambrose Group, a consulting firm represented in the hearing by Anthony Ambrose. Ambrose said the review will include staffing and workload analyses, a look at internal affairs and property/evidence handling, facility assessments and community engagement considerations; a set of critical findings is expected within roughly 100 days, with a broader one-year engagement to follow. “We will be doing a complete operational assessment of the entire sheriff's office,” Ambrose said in presenting the scope.
Commissioners asked about focus areas and community input; Ambrose said operations, internal affairs, community engagement, facilities, forfeiture and the property/evidence room are within the study’s scope and that an initial report to the sheriff and counsel will be made public after their review.
Separately, the board approved three sheriff-office procurement items. County purchasing identified A and K Equipment Company as the vendor to supply five truck-bed caps (for 2024 Ford F-350 beds) at approximately $4,192 each (total not to exceed about $20,960) to outfit canine/bomb unit vehicles. The board also authorized purchase of ammunition from an awarded state contract (Allman's Supply of New Jersey) not to exceed $29,722.60 for 100 cases. Both awards were presented by county purchasing staff, discussed briefly by commissioners and approved by roll call.
The board approved the sheriff-related resolutions and the procurement items in a single meeting without public opposition during the hearings. The Ambrose assessment will report findings to the sheriff and his counsel and, per Ambrose, key items will be available for public review following that internal review period.
The next procedural step noted at the meeting is that the sheriff and his counsel will receive the Ambrose Group's report and determine what portions to publish publicly after their review.
