Borough of Pitman, NJ

History of the Departments


e6dc951c54759a23685036061eac9188The Borough Pitman appointed its first police Chief in 1876 making it one of the first communities in Gloucester County to have a full time police force.  Chief John G. Ayars was appointed for an unknown term. It is believed he served until he was replaced by Harry M. McBurney, Sr. in June 1903 as Chief of Police. Brother Tomlin was appointed at the same time as Town Marshal making it the first time Pitman had a multi-man police force. 

The Police Department has been located at different locations within the town since its inception.  The Department was once housed in the old municipal building located at the corner of Holly 1c7f2248104d4d41d5283d7d97ab921fAvenue and Broadway.   The Department was then moved to Ballard Ave and housed in the building which is now the home of "The Bank of Gloucester County".  The department is now located at  110 S. Broadway in the Borough's municipal building. 

Throughout it's history the Pitman Police Department has been considered one of the most progressive departments within Gloucester County.  Pitman was the first agency to initiate the use of two-way radios and was designated as District one.  Pitman was one of the first departments in the area to issue semi-automatic sidearms to its officers and was one of the original agencies to use d0c2cba8b6b5b393881ee22f2d144d33VASCAR radar .  The department was also one of the first in the area to use aggressive bicycle patrols and implement community policing.

The department currently consist of fourteen full-time sworn members and one civilian employee. The Pitman Police Department constantly strives to be provide the best available services to the citizens of Pitman to maintain the "Quality of Life" that is expected in our community.