The History of the Lower Township Police Department

The Lower Township Police Department was officially incorporated in 1955. The Department has had ten Police Chiefs: John Knecht, Robert Denny, Don Douglass, John Maher, Edward Donohue, Brian Marker, William Mastriana, William Priole, Kevin Lewis, and Donald Vanaman, Jr.  In September of 2023, the Department promoted its first Deputy Chief of Police Donald Vanaman.  Michael Majane became the second Deputy Chief on January 1, 2026.  The Department started with two full-time officers and two part-time officers and has grown with the township.

Officers have operated out of three different police stations in the department's history. The first was on Seashore Road where the Lower Township Department of Public Works (DPW) is currently located. The second station was located on Bayshore Road in the Villas, next to Township Hall. The current Police Department is located in the Public Safety Building in the Cape May County Airport Complex. The department is colocated with Cape May County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Cape May County Dispatch Center, AtlantiCare Rescue, Municipal Court, and the Fire Safety Bureau.

The Lower Township Police Department is an active member of the highly trained Cape May County Regional SWAT and Marksman Observer Teams, assigned officers must pass a rigorous annual physical fitness and quarterly/bi-annual firearms tests, as applicable to specific state requirements. Officer Rocco DeNote was shot and wounded in the line of duty on June 29, 1987.  In 1994, the Police Department lost a member of the Lower Township Police Department SWAT team when Officer David C. Douglass was shot and killed, on February 18, 1994, in the line of duty.

The Lower Township Police Department was one of the first police departments in New Jersey to have School Resource Officers assigned to its grade schools and high school.  The Department was also one of the first departments in the county to implement a Community Policing Unit and Bike Patrol. The Lower Township Detective Division consists of a Detective Sergeant and five detectives. The Command Staff at the police department is made up of the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, Captain, three Lieutenants, a Sergeant First Class, and five additional Sergeants.

The Lower Township Police Department is committed to continuing to serve and protect the citizens, visitors and businesses of Lower Township.