Bridgewater, NJ – Tonight, with the recommendation of Mayor Moench and the Township Administration, the Bridgewater Township Council passed a resolution in support of the Bridgewater Township Police Enhanced Training Initiative (ETI).

This training will be delivered by the Rodgers Group, which was recently acquired by Lexipol—both of which are nationally-recognized public safety risk management and education firms with extensive experience developing and delivering training for law enforcement agencies across the United States.

“Bridgewater has very specific requirements, and rather than rush into something that might not ultimately be able to meet them, we wanted to ensure that we contracted with an organization that is both exceptionally well-reputed and able to provide exactly what is required for Bridgewater,” said Mayor Matthew Moench. “This Enhanced Training Initiative will be a long-term, evolving investment for Bridgewater Township. We knew that we wanted to go above and beyond what is required of us, and that is exactly what we are doing here,” he continued.

Just in the first year, training will be delivered in 15 different modules, each of which must be successfully completed by all Bridgewater police officers. These modules will be focused on issues including but not limited to:

Bias in Policing

Use of Force

Vehicular Pursuit

Domestic Violence

Detainee Transportation

Temporary Detention

Leadership

“What the people of Bridgewater should know is that their officers receive a great deal of training. The BPD has their training. The Somerset County Prosecutor mandates and conducts training for all officers in Somerset County. The New Jersey Attorney General requires additional training. Even beyond those, there’s the additional training required for a Department to be accredited by the New Jersey Law Enforcement Accreditation Program—which Bridgewater is and has been for years. On top of all this are the modules we’ll be introducing this year,” said Rodgers Group President Frank Rodgers. 

“These services are for agencies that want to go far above and beyond what is required of them, and both Mayor Moench and Chief Payne have made clear to me that that is what they want for Bridgewater.”

Training modules are tailored specifically to each individual agency; for instance, if an agency has a particularly uncommon piece of equipment, the training will incorporate that equipment. Similarly, the training is constantly being revised both to the newest legal standards and to maintain relevance to the rapidly changing cultural conditions of our society. 

All training is monitored by the Bridgewater Township Police Training Officer.  Rodgers further noted, “Intellectual rigor is a critical component of our training—so much so that upon the completion of this training program the members of the Department are eligible to receive three college credits from Fairleigh Dickinson University.”

 Lexipol and the Rodgers Group have already been formally engaged by Bridgewater Township. Training modules are scheduled to be deployed beginning this month, and the current series will conclude in July 2023, when another annual training cycle can begin.