Indictment & Disastrous Atlantic City Public Safety Director [Opinion]

The position of Director of Public Safety has failed every single time it has been employed in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It is especially disastrous this time, because the state of New Jersey is only implementing it now because Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small is under serious criminal indictment.

In the absence of an appointed civilian director of public safety, the Mayor is the director of public safety.

Because it is untenable for Small to act as director of public safety … the City of Atlantic City now has a director that they don’t need and no one wants.

Sean Riggin retired as Chief of the Pleasantville Police Department in January, 2022 after exactly 25 years (300 months).

Riggin presently earns a public pension of $ 8,525.61 per-month, or, $ 102,306.32 per-year.

Riggin became a state of New Jersey employee in the fall of 2024, as a municipal technical advisor for police matters.

Riggin left his state employ in March, 2025 to become director of public safety for the city of Atlantic City.

Riggin has no experience whatsoever in fire department operations.

The Atlantic City Police Department is trending favorably under the competent direction of Chief Jim Sarkos.

Sarkos can run circles around Riggin in terms of overall police knowledge. All you have to do is put their résumé’s side-by-side and compare.

When comparing Riggin to Sarkos … Riggin is a lot like the television character “Barney Fife” on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

”Barney Fife” is legendary for carrying an unloaded gun in his side holster and one bullet in the top pocket of his police uniform.

The Andy Griffith Show is set in the mythical, sleepy, North Carolina town called Mayberry.

Sarkos is the equivalent of “Andy Taylor,” who is competent and always in charge.

Riggin is apparently making $ 110,000 as Atlantic City’s director of public safety.

The position of director of public safety was eliminated in Atlantic City prior to Don Guardian becoming Mayor.

The position does not properly exist in Atlantic City at this time. But, that didn’t stop the state of New Jersey from hiring Riggin.

Reported crime statistics in Atlantic City are improving under Sarkos. None of the improvement has anything at all to do with Riggin.

Riggin is an impediment to the good order of the Atlantic City Police Department. He takes up unnecessary space and just gets in the way.

Notice, I haven’t mentioned a single word about the Atlantic City Fire Department … because Riggin has no experience whatsoever … which gives Fire Chief Scott Evans, a civilian boss who knows nothing about fire department operations.

Riggin is a disservice to both Sarkos and Evans and mostly to the residents and taxpayers of Atlantic City.

If the state wants this position to exist for now (until Small’s criminal problems are adjudicated) … retired Atlantic City Deputy Fire Chief Vincent “Skip” Granese is the right man for the job.

Granese has decades of the big department experience that Riggin desperately lacks.

Fortunately, a new Governor (Jack Ciattarelli) is right around the corner and this rinse and repeat (Director of Public Safety) bad experiment will be over, soon.