In New Jersey Police And Firefighters Face Layoffs

After being routinely protected from job cuts for decades, police and firefighters in New Jersey localities are now beginning to feel the pinch of the economic downturn amidst new demands for lower taxes and less government.
Here's how the Philadelphia Inquirer puts it:

After years of cutting in other areas of government and trimming police and fire departments through attrition, cities throughout New Jersey recently have announced a striking number of layoffs in public-safety workers as municipal leaders seek to fill budget gaps created by lower-than-expected revenue.

Look at the figures: Camden is planning to cut its police force in half. Newark has laid off 167 police officers. Atlantic City is laying off 60. And the number of police officers in New Jersey has declined by about 11% in less than two years. Most of the loss has occurred through attrition.
It's unfortunate. But government has got to tighten its belt everywhere.
It's a safe bet that the police and firefighters are the last to be laid off in most instances and they will probably also be the first to be rehired.
We all know that politicians allowed police and fire departments to grow as they boasted of their crime-fighting and public safety commitments. In good economic times those moves were popular.
But that was then. This is now.