Captain Ian Bucs
Captain Bucs started his Law Enforcement career in May 1999 with the City of Wildwood Police Department where he attended the Cape May Police Academy for a SLEO II position. He worked at Wildwood until October 1999. In October 1999 he was hired by the Willingboro Police Department as a part time SLEO II police officer. In Sept 2001, he was hired full time and attended the Burlington County Police Academy. Upon completion of the police academy he was assigned to the midnight shift in the Patrol Division. As a patrol officer he became a member of our SWAT Team, Field Training Officer and Bike Officer.
In July of 2006 he was promoted to Sergeant and stayed on the midnight shift. As a Sergeant, some of the programs he implemented were our Patrol Rifle Program and Youth Police Academy. Also during this time he became a Team Leader of our SWAT Team, Field Training
Officer Program Supervisor, K-9 Unit Supervisor, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Range Instructor, Taser Instructor and Patrol Rifle Instructor.
In January of 2015, he was promoted to Lieutenant and remained in the patrol division as the Watch Commander for the day shift but eventually went back to the midnight shift. During his time as a Lieutenant, Captain Bucs was named the SWAT Team Commander, Range Master, FTO Coordinator, and Active Shooter Instructor. He also attended the New Jersey State Association of the Chiefs Police Command and Leadership Academy and graduated in the Fall 2016 Class.
In July of 2019, he was promoted to Captain and oversaw the entire Patrol Division. Throughout his career, Captain Bucs has been awarded several awards such as Cape May County Police Academy Director’s Award, Cape May County Police Academy Physical Fitness Award, Burlington County Police Academy Director’s Award, Burlington County Police Academy Physical Fitness Award, Willingboro Police Department’s Top Gun Award, Officer of the Month, and multiple Letters of Commendation and Unit Citation awards.
Captain Bucs has also served our Country in the United States Coast Guard where he retired as a Chief Boatswain Mate after 22 years of service both on active duty and in the reserves. Some of his accomplishments in the Coast Guard include: serving as a first responder to the TWA Flight 800 plane crash off Long Island, the Duck Boat crash at Penn’s Landing Philadelphia, and the fuel spill of the ATHOS 1 in the Delaware River; serving in Operation Uphold Democracy, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and being recognized as the 2008 Coast Guard Reservist of the Year. Some of his awards during his military career are the US Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, US Coast Guard Achievement Medal, US Coast Guard Basic Training Honor Graduate and US Coast Guard Basic Training Physical Fitness Award.
On December 1, 2021, Captain Bucs was appointed as the Acting Director of Public Safety after the retirement of Director Kinamo Lomon.