By Allison Perrine
TINTON FALLS – With a 32-year career in law enforcement under his belt, Tinton Falls Police Chief John A. Scrivanic decided to retire.
Word of his departure came Jan. 18 during a borough council meeting when Mayor Vito Perillo shared the news and thanked the chief for his years of service.
“I would like to thank the chief for his devotion and strong leadership to our great borough. Really, he’s been an asset to this community,” said Perillo.
Since then, Perillo has appointed and sworn in Tinton Falls Detective Sgt. Michael DeLucia as the new chief. He administered the oath of office Feb. 1 as DeLucia, standing alongside his family, raised his right hand and promised to protect the town and its residents. He is set to earn $204,000 in 2022.
“He’s a great leader. He has community roots,” Scrivanic later told The Two River Times of DeLucia. “A lot of people in town depend on Mike, now Chief DeLucia… he has that focus and that drive to do well for the community.”
Scrivanic, known as “Big John” to many in the community, has made quite an impact on the department since his arrival in 1990. He established a community relations unit within the department, for example, which impacted various groups in Tinton Falls. Consisting of several officers – including administrative members, school resource officers, detective bureau members or other patrols – the unit became responsible for coordinating programs such as Community Day, Coffee with a Cop, Sports Camp for the Youth, toy drives for children in the hospital at the holidays and more.
But one of his favorite partnerships was the annual Shop With a Cop program.
“Business owners in our community make donations to allow the police department to shop with approximately 30 kids in town at the Jersey Shore Outlet Mall for Christmas. And I know Santa Claus loves this event too because he takes the time out of his schedule to come to Tinton Falls to celebrate the holidays with the children on that special day,” Scrivanic said. “The joy of this day would not be possible if it wasn’t for the tremendous business owners in our community and the members of our police department who strive to make this day as memorable as possible for the young children in our community.”
He has also enjoyed working with children in the Junior Police Academy, an annual program that runs three weeks each summer. As part of the program, officers speak with children before they enter high school to talk about peer pressure, leadership and more.
“It’s something that they value. A lot of them today have come back to me and said if it wasn’t for the Junior Police Academy, I don’t know what I would have done, which path I would have taken. But it seems like they went down the right road, which I’m very proud of,” Scrivanic said.
A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Scrivanic settled down in Tinton Falls with his wife Jodi and four children, Hannah, Jack, Matt and Frankie. Because of that, he was able to get involved in town activities beyond policing and served as a coach for Little League, travel baseball, travel basketball and recreation basketball in the area.
“I will treasure those memories and the relationships I have built with the families of Tinton Falls while coaching or watching my kids play in the gyms and on the fields here in town,” he said.
Scrivanic finds the “uniqueness” of the community allowed him to be a strong influence in his capacity as a police officer. Even when he started with the department, Scrivanic found himself going out into town making conversations with families, building relationships with young people to help them feel comfortable confiding in police and “breaking down walls” that allowed him to mold the department into a “modern, innovative and highly effective agency” as chief.
“I hope I succeeded in creating that safe environment for every member (of) our community, young and old,” he said.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and how the department has handled it over the past two years, Scrivanic said he could not be “any prouder” of the borough officers and all others working on the frontlines who have kept their communities safe during this uncertain time.
“We all did not know what we were dealing with at first, but we worked together in creating a schedule that kept us all safe and supported one another when officers or their families were struck” with COVID-19, he said. Every officer ensured the community received “stellar public safety services” during an extraordinarily difficult time, he added.
And there are many others to thank for their hard work during the pandemic and beyond, Scrivanic said. That includes members of the department’s records division, all borough mayors and employees, council members, county dispatch workers, volunteer services and “every police department” in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
“We worked together well, never missing a beat. I have the utmost respect for all our professionals in blue,” Scrivanic said. “The officers of the Tinton Falls Police Department are well disciplined, respectful, properly trained, educated and highly professional. I am very proud of my officers, which makes it very difficult to step away from this job because it has been a true honor to be the leader of this exceptional group. I am forever grateful for their backup.”
Looking ahead, the borough resident said, following his retirement, he intends to pursue work where he can continue to be a service to the community.
Overall, he said he wouldn’t change anything about the “bittersweet journey” he’s been on over the years in the Tinton Falls Police Department. He described the experience as “humbling, satisfying and downright amazing,” and said there’s “nothing” he would change.
“I would proudly do it all over again, but all journeys must come to an end,” he wrote in an open letter to the town. “You have offered me the opportunity to fulfill my dream to serve as a member of Law Enforcement in the town I proudly call home. My family and I will always be grateful for the support our great community has provided over the years.”
The article originally appeared in the February 10 – 16, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
