Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson was very clear in his message to the criminals of the city:"We are fully prepared to use the Battleship New Jersey to battle crime in this city." The decommissioned battleship is now a floating museum on the Camden waterfront, but can be reactivated for police work in a short time for only several million dollars. The most decorated American battleship was extremely accurate when firing on targets winning hundreds of the Navy's "Bull's Eye Medals."
When first docking on the Delaware River in 1999 the ship was used to disrupt the drug trade on Camden's streets. The ship's massive 16 inch guns were used to destroy many of the drug houses that littered the city's neighborhoods. "The houses were empty, but we knew there were lots of drugs and weapons in the home. The gun would turn and fire, boom, there would be nothing left. It was hilarious," said officer Brad Muster. And effective.
Philadelphia has similar plans for the ship if crime continues to increase. Pennsylvania law allows for battleships to target many types of suspected crime activity:"Battleships are permitted to combat drug and violent crime. They may also be used as a form of death penalty. However, they may not be used to curb jay walking." Being that the firing range of the guns aboard the ship are 23 miles, many suburban Pennsylvania and New Jersey towns have inquired about fighting crime with the USS New Jersey.
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