Siddeeq W. El-Amin

Treasurer, Captain (Retired), Plainfield Police Division

Siddeeq W. El-Amin is a graduate of Summit High School, where he excelled in athletics; a graduate of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey (B.S. ’68) and played football. He received his Masters of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Rutgers University Newark in May 1997. He is a former Physical Education Teacher in Woodbridge Township and Piscataway Township, NJ from 1968 to 1971,

From 1971 to 1974, Mr. El-Amin was a Counselor – Special Programs, in the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program at Rutgers College. El-Amin later served as an Administrative Assistant in the Rutgers University Department of Academic Foundations, writing a Training Manual to train other Counselors and Instructors.

As a member of Masjidullah Plainfield, NJ, since 1970, Mr. El-Amin served has as Treasurer/Secretary from 1974 to 1987, during which he was responsible for the supervision of the business and financial growth of the Masjid during that period. Currently he is now a member of the Board of Advisors (Majlis as-Shura).

From 1977 to 1980, Siddeeq W. El-Amin was Executive Director of the New Jersey Association of Black Social Workers, Inc., where he initiated a monthly newsletter, improved a Job Bank Program and implemented a membership pamphlet.

In September 1980, Mr. El-Amin joined the Plainfield Police Division as a Police Officer and graduated from the Police Academy December 1980. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant of Police on January 13, 1989, assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau as Supervisor of the Youth Section, responsible for the investigations of all complaints involving juveniles, missing persons and coordinated all Drug Education and Reduction lectures in the Plainfield School System.

On June 22, 1992, Mr. El-Amin was asked to head a new initiative in the Plainfield Police Division . . . a “Police/Community Partnership Program.” This project involved co-writing the Police Division’s successful State Grant Application (Rated No. 1) for a grant of $600,000 for each of four successive years; Supervising eight (8) Community Oriented Policing Officers; Coordinating with two other city divisions; and Establishing and Directing a Community based “Mini-Station.”

In September 1993, Mr. El-Amin co-authored another State Grant application for the Plainfield Police, receiving $250,000 for a “Safe and Secured Communities Program,” and in November 1993 wrote the Grant Renewal Application for $522,043 for the Police Community Partnership Program for FY 1993-94. Over his career, El-Amin has been successful in writing and receiving grants on behalf of the Plainfield Police Division for more than $10 million dollars.

His advanced training with the Plainfield Police Division includes schools in Drug Enforcement, Major Case Investigations, Basic and Advanced Fingerprinting, Bank Security, Satanism and Ritualistic Crimes, Methods of Instruction and Hostage Negotiation, Leadership and Management of Law Enforcement Agencies, and Dignitary and Executive Protection.

He has been a member of the Hostage Negotiation Unit in Plainfield; a Certified Instructor at the John H. Stamler Police Academy of Union County, Scotch Plains, NJ as an Instructor teaching Recruit Classes and Cultural Diversity for In-Service Training, and taught classes in Community Policing for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. Siddeeq has received numerous commendations and merit awards, including nomination as Officer of the Year by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in 1984 and two Commendations Bars for burglary arrests. In June 1991, Siddeeq was elected President of the Union County Juvenile Officers Association and served for a two year term.

On May 23, 1994, the Honorable Mark A. Fury, Mayor of the City of Plainfield, appointed Siddeeq El-Amin to the position of Acting Director of Public Affairs & Safety, making him the second Muslim to hold a governmental position in the City of Plainfield (his wife, Faheemah, was elected to the City Council in 1989). On November 21, 1994, the Plainfield Municipal Council confirmed El-Amin as Permanent Public Safety Director. He was responsible for the Administration, Budget and Policies for the Police, Fire and Inspections Divisions in the City of Plainfield, NJ.

In October 1995, Director El-Amin returned to the Police Division with his promotion to the rank of Police Lieutenant, and Commander of the Special Operations Group, which included Crime Prevention, Grant Writing, Uniform Crime Reports and Supervision of the Division’s Community Policing Initiatives. On April 14, 1999, Siddeeq was promoted to the rank of Captain and served as Commander of the Uniform Patrol Bureau, the Administrative Bureau, and the Service Bureau. Captain El-Amin retired in Good Standing on May 1, 2010.

Siddeeq W. El-Amin was also a member of the Black Cultural & Historical Society of Union County, served three terms as its President, and received this organization’s highest award, The Frederick Douglas Community Service Award.

Siddeeq W. El-Amin also served as President of the Plainfield Area Ebony Police Association, Inc., a chapter of the National Black Police Association (NBPA.) He served on the NBPA’s 1991 National Education & Training Conference Committee and in November 1991 was elected a National Delegate from the Northeast Region, and served on the National Board of Directors of the NBPA from 1992 to 1993.

Siddeeq is currently a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), having been elected to the offices of Chapter Parliamentarian, Treasurer, and Chapter President from January 2004 to December 2005, for the New Jersey Chapter. Siddeeq also served on the NOBLE National Executive Board as Recording Secretary, Region One Vice President and Special Assistant to the National President.

Siddeeq W. El-Amin was elected to the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Health Services Corporation (NHSC), formerly the Plainfield Neighborhood Health Services Center, Inc., where he has served on the Personnel, Finance and Building Committees as Committee Chairperson. From January 2003 to December 2006, Siddeeq served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. He is the current Chairperson on the Board.

Siddeeq El-Amin has been a panelist and/or moderator for workshops by the National Black Police Association, the N.J. Conference on Minority Males, the Plainfield Municipal Alliance, the Department of Law and Public Safety-Division of Criminal Justice, and for NOBLE. Siddeeq is a member of the International Association of Chief’s of Police, and in March 1995 was appointed a member of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Advisory Committee by Governor Christine Whitman. On May 18, 1995, Siddeeq El-Amin earned the Professional Certificate in Law Enforcement Science and Criminal Justice from the National Commission on Professional Law Enforcement Standards. Siddeeq El-Amin has also served on the Plainfield Planning Board from January 2004 to December 2006.

A few of the many awards and honors El-Amin has received include being a two-time recipient of the NOBLE NNJ Chapter President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Chapter and Community in 2000 and 2006, and the NOBLE National “Robert Lamb Humanitarian Award” for Community Service” in 2008. Captain El-Amin has been recognized by the New State General Assembly with a “Citation of Commendation and Praise” for outstanding contributions to the community in 1999; by the Neighborhood Health Services Corporation for “Outstanding Leadership as Board Chairperson” in 2007 and their “Trailblazer Award” in 2009; and the “Chief’s Leadership Award” from the National Latino Peace Officers Association in 2009. Siddeeq W. El-Amin was a member of the Black Cultural & Historical Society of Union County and served three terms as its President. In February 1989, Siddeeq received this organization’s highest award, “The Frederick Douglas Community Service Award.”

He and his wife owned Faheemah‘s Child Care Center, Inc. in Plainfield from 2001 to 2014. His interests include reading, gardening, bike riding, walking and attending a health club. He is married to Al Hajja Faheemah S. El-Amin, former Plainfield City Councilwoman and Past City Council President. They have three children: Bayyinah, Fa’iq (former NYPD Officer) and Mahasin (Plainfield PD Sergeant), former son-in-law Carl Sylvain, and one granddaughter, Imani Taliah Sylvain. They reside in Plainfield, NJ.