The East Orange Police
Department Will Manage And Use Its Resources With The Emphasis On
Criminal Activity, Quality of Life Issues And Unsafe Driving
Practices That Pose The Greatest
Threat To The Citizens Of East Orange, New Jersey
Friday,
December 21, 2007
Office of
the Attorney General
Anne Milgram
East
Orange Police Director Named Statewide Director of
Gangs, Guns And Violent Crime
Jose Cordero Will Assume Top Law Enforcement Leadership
Role in Implementing Governor’s Anti-Crime Plan
East
Orange, NJ – Governor Jon S. Corzine and Attorney
General Anne Milgram today announced the appointment of
East Orange Police Director Jose Cordero as New Jersey’s
first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent
crime.
The position is part of Governor Jon S. Corzine’s
anti-crime strategy for safe streets and neighborhoods,
which was unveiled in October. Cordero will head the
coordinating council overseeing implementation of the
law enforcement portion of the Governor’s three part
strategy to combat violent crime and gangs, which also
includes prevention and reentry programs. As director,
Cordero will also collaborate with law enforcement
agencies throughout the state and assess the strategies
put into place to investigate and prosecute gang and gun
crimes. “Mr. Cordero’s success in implementing
intelligence-led policing tactics in East Orange speaks
volumes of his leadership and makes him an excellent fit
for this position.” Governor Corzine said. “I’m eager to
work closely with him on implementing the law
enforcement component of the state’s anti-crime
strategy.’’ Cordero, 51, has been serving as the police
director in East Orange since July 2004. In East Orange,
he put in place innovative policing methods to better
combat crime by emphasizing the collection and analysis
of intelligence data to target criminal activity. He is
scheduled to leave East Orange and begin his new
assignment with the state in early January.
Under Cordero’s watch, the violent crime rate in East
Orange dropped 56 percent, decreasing from 16.2 per
1,000 residents in 2004 to 10.6 per 1,000 residents in
2006, according to the state’s annual Uniform Crime
Reports. “I am proud of Police Director Jose Cordero’s
extraordinary record of achievement during his tenure at
the helm of the East Orange Police department,’’ East
Orange Mayor Robert L. Bowser said. “His innovative
approach to law enforcement has fostered a model that
has produced dramatic public safety gains and has
transformed public perception. Today, our City is a much
safer place to live, work, play and worship.’’ “Attorney
General Milgram and Governor Corzine are to be
congratulated for recognizing what we already know about
Director Cordero and his extraordinary capabilities,’’
the Mayor added.
“I have seen the police operations in East Orange first
hand and the results are outstanding,” Attorney General
Milgram said. “The adoption of data-driven,
technologically-supported, intelligence-led policing can
and should serve as a model for police departments
throughout our state. But more important, Joe Cordero is
an incredibly talented police officer and leader who
understands that people need to feel safe on the streets
of New Jersey.’’ Cordero was a member of the New York
City Police Department for 21 years, retiring with the
rank of inspector. He was the first citywide gang
coordinator for the New York City Police Department,
developing the department’s anti-gang strategy. He also
served as the police chief in Newton, Massachusetts.
“I am pleased and honored to have been selected as New
Jersey’s first Statewide Director of Gangs, Guns and
Violent Crime,’’ Cordero said. “I am looking forward to
the challenge and to working with New Jersey’s law
enforcement community, municipalities across the state,
and the people of New Jersey to implement the governor’s
vision for a safer New Jersey. We will work diligently
to devise and implement well-conceived and coordinated
law enforcement strategies to effectively deal with the
growing criminal street gang menace and to reduce
violent crimes across NJ.’’ Since his appointment
as police director in East Orange, Cordero merged
cutting edge technologies with intelligence-led and
real-time policing strategies to achieve increased
productivity and reduced overall crime by 56 percent in
three years. In addition, during the first eleven months
of 2007, overall crime declined another 29 percent.
Cordero began his police career with the New York City
Police Department in 1981, earning promotions to
sergeant in 1984, lieutenant in 1989, and captain in
1992. He was named a deputy inspector in 1995 and an
inspector in 1996. He served as the commanding officer
in precincts in the Bronx and Manhattan. He also
commanded the department’s recruitment unit and
advocate’s office. He served as the Crime Strategies
Inspector for Queens South in New York City with
responsibility of overseeing the design and
implementation of anti-crime strategies for more than
2,000 police officers operating in eight police
precincts serving nearly one million residents. During
his tenure, the borough attained the largest crime
reduction of any patrol borough in New York City.
After leaving the NYPD in 2002, Cordero was appointed
chief of police in Newton, Massachusetts. During his
term, overall crime in Newton dropped below 1,000 total
yearly crimes for the first time in over 30 years,
capturing a “Safest City in America” award for two
straight years, according to an annual survey by the
Morgan-Quitno research firm, which was recently acquired
by CQ Press. Cordero has lectured at national and
international security forums, and colleges and
universities on a wide-variety of public safety and
management topics. He actively assists other law
enforcement agencies in such areas as gang suppression,
CompStat-driven management principles, and crime
reduction strategies. Cordero is a summa cum laude
graduate of the New York Institute of Technology. He was
honorably discharged from the US Army National Guard in
1994, retiring with the rank of Major after serving 21
years. Cordero is a member of the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, Massachusetts Chiefs of
Police, and the and the American Society for Industrial
Security.