Voorhees Police Chief Bordi retired at the end of the year, but like always he will remain a fixture in town.

Louis Bordi sat back and reflected on his childhood in Voorhees, growing up on North Sunset Drive off Haddonfield-Berlin Road about a half-mile from the old police headquarters where the Royal Farms store now stands.

His friend from the time he was 3 has been Kenneth Sacavitch, whose father was a deputy police chief.

"It's kind of how I got interested in the job," said Bordi, who has spent 38 years on the police force and retired as its chief at the end of the year after 13 years heading the department. Sacavitch, who also joined the department, retired at the same time as a sergeant. 

The Voorhees Township Committee last month appointed Deputy Police Chief April Herrington to succeed Bordi and, like the outgoing chief, the new chief grew up in Voorhees and attended local schools. 

Under a shared services agreement, Bordi also served for more than three years as police chief for Berlin Township, which last year named a new chief. Voorhees has 56 regular police officers and Berlin has 19.

To say that Bordi is simply a Voorhees native grossly understates his relationship with his hometown.

From elementary school to middle school to Eastern Regional High School, where he played catcher on the baseball team, the 57-year-old has been a fixture. He left Rutgers University early to join the police department. He raised three children in Voorhees and has been an ongoing presence in town, including doing a stint of about 10 years running youth baseball for the Gibbsboro Voorhees Athletic Association.

"I live in town." Bordi said. Residents "know where I live. They'll come to my house. Well, that's okay. It doesn't bother me a bit. It's never bothered me. It's okay. I'd rather be integrated in my community," added Bordi, who said the town now has about 31,000 residents and that he does not know everyone.

Bordi said integrating with the community has been just as important for the whole police department.

"I think we have extremely strong community relations. That doesn't happen by accident. It's effort," Bordi said. The department needs a presence at community events, has to hold its own events and needs relationships with community leaders, he said.

His favorite job over the years was as a K9 officer, which "is really my greatest passion ever in police work." Policing has changed significantly in 38 years since he joined the department.

"Recruitment and retention is very difficult right now," Bordi explained. "Attracting new candidates, I've never seen it like this."

After national attention on police problems and the resulting reform, the application "pool turned into a puddle," he said. Ten years ago when the Voorhees department, which is governed by Civil Service rules, ran an entrance exam it would have about 60 candidates on the list. The last time the department ran a test it had about three people.

"That's law enforcement all over New Jersey and maybe across our country. Those struggles we're all facing right now," said Bordi.

In Voorhees, and elsewhere, some crimes like property crime, domestic abuse and car theft always have been an issue and have not disappeared. Bordi said domestic violence laws have improved and victims are better protected.

Technology has birthed other crimes, such as social media victimization, identity theft and other fraud.

As Voorhees and its neighbors have grown, so has traffic. 

The town has about 1,200 accidents a year and, under Bordi, the department has focused on car stops at high-accident intersections. 

Officers will stop vehicles and whether they write a ticket is up to their discretion. Traffic tickets are intended to change behavior and not punish. However, officers often will pull the driver over and simply tell them to slow down so they do not hurt someone, he said. 

While Bordi has ended his career at the Voorhees Police Department, his work in law enforcement continues.

The ex-chief — who returned to school and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University — is going to work for the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, a Marlton-based organization where for years he served on the board.

Bordi's role will be professional services director and he will mentor new police chiefs, assist with police chief orientation and help to develop policies.

Will he be a part of Voorhees, even later in life?

"I don't see myself leaving," he said. "I like Voorhees...it's where my family is."