Camden, New Jersey to Lose Half Its Cops

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS/KYW) Police officers in Camden, New Jersey began turning in their badges Tuesday as part of deep municipal layoffs destined to further erode the quality of life in one of the nation's most impoverished and crime-ridden cities.

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As many as 383 workers, representing one-fourth of the local government work force, are expected to lose their jobs, including about half the police force and one-third of the city's firefighters.

Eighty-three laid-off police officers put their work boots along the sidewalk near police headquarters to symbolize the lost jobs.

Mayor Dana Redd planned a noon news conference to talk about the layoffs in a city facing a huge budget deficit and declining state aid.

A local pastor says "the fear quotient has been raised," and a police union took out a full-page newspaper advertisement last week warning that Camden would become a "living hell" if layoffs were not averted.

The city was the nation's second-most dangerous based on 2009 data, according to CQ Press, which compiles such rankings. Camden ranked first the previous two years. In 2009, the city had 2,380 violent crimes per 100,000 residents - more than five times the national average, the FBI said.