Until 1970, the Township of Manalapan had police services provided by the New Jersey State Police. In April of 1970, Thomas Wallace was appointed as the first Chief of Police in Manalapan Township. At that same time, several other police officers from nearby towns formed the Manalapan Township Police Department, which was headquartered in “the barn,” located on Wickatunk Road, just off of Route 9. In 1975, when the State Police vacated the Tennent Barracks (now the Manalapan Senior Center), the newly formed police department moved their headquarters to the old State Police Barracks. The department remained in that building until the current municipal complex was built in 1983.
In 1990, with the retirement of Thomas Wallace, the first Chief of Police, Jimmie Potts, lead the department until 1997 when Jack McCormack became the third Chief of Police for Manalapan Township. When Chief McCormack accepted a position as the Director of the Monmouth County Police Academy in 2003, the leadership of the department was transferred to Chief Stuart Brown who ran the department until his retirement in December of 2010.
The department was led by Chief of Police, Louis Moreto from the retirement of Chief Brown until his retirement on May 1st, 2012. The department was then led by Chief Christopher Marsala, a 25 plus year law enforcement veteran of the department and resident of Manalapan Township, who retired March 31, 2016. Chief Michael Fountain retired on January 31, 2021, after serving with the department for 27 years. Chief Edward Niesz was sworn in on February 1, 2021 and is the current leader of the 56 member organization.
The mission of the department to work in partnership with the community and to provide services, enforce the law, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and enhance the quality of life within the community remains the same.