Oceanport Police Chief Michael P. Kelly, right, was congratulated by FBI Director Christopher Wray during the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony Dec. 20, 2019.
Photo courtesy M. Kelly
OCEANPORT – Four years ago, the future of Fort Monmouth and the viability of the Monmouth Park Racetrack were questionable.
But an economic boom at both sites has led to some “pressing matters” that need to be discussed, according to Oceanport Chief of Police Michael P. Kelly.
One of those matters most likely concerns a Dec. 17 incident at the racetrack, in which local authorities responded to a series of gunshots fired near the main gate around 1:30 p.m. No one was injured during the shooting and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is still investigating.
With more money circulating at the track’s Monmouth Park Sports Book and more Fort Monmouth housing under construction bringing more people to Oceanport, some are concerned that changes need to be made to public safety.
These new challenges prompted Kelly to enroll in the FBI National Academy at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. The 10-week program provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication and forensic science.
“I was down there for about three months, so there’s some things I need to catch up on here and bring back and implement some of the things I learned down there, in terms of best practices,” Kelly said. “It’s all for the betterment of the people in our community.
Since the 1930s, the FBI National Academy has aimed to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge and cooperation worldwide.
Kelly was a member of the 278th graduating class, which included a select group of executive law enforcement officers from around the globe. The chief said his class was composed of representatives from all 50 states, with 37 international participants.
“It’s basically like going back to college,” Mayor Jay Coffey said. “Chief Kelly pretty much earned his master’s in law enforcement and our entire community will be better for it because we do have some unique challenges here, such as Monmouth Park, Fort Monmouth and events like the New Jersey Marathon each spring.”
Leaders and managers of state, local, county, tribal, military, federal and international law enforcement agencies attend the academy. However, participation is by invitation only, by way of a nomination process.
Following graduation, officers like Kelly are able to join the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc., an organization of more than 16,000 law enforcement professionals that works to increase standards of competency, cooperation and integrity.
“They say only 1 percent of law enforcement gets selected to the program and it’s that networking opportunity that’s the biggest thing for our department and our community,” Kelly said. “I now have friends and contacts across the country and in 37 different countries that I can work with a draw knowledge from to contend with different situations concerning our public safety.”
Between online and retail sports wagering platforms, the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill has earned approximately $23 million in revenue since opening its doors in June 2018.
Similarly, since 2016, the opening of 720 new residential units and further retail development at Fort Monmouth is in full swing, with nearly all of Oceanport’s developable fort land accounted for, according Coffey. That development includes the approval of a New Jersey City University satellite campus on a 27-acre parcel formerly known as Squier Hall.
“There’s a lot of changes happening. We’re growing as a town and the police department needs to grow and change with it,” Kelly said.
This story originally appeared in the Jan. 16, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
