Deputy Chief of Detectives, Jose Vendas

In January 1999, Deputy Chief Vendas was admitted to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Academy in Sea Girt.  After successfully completing the Academy, he was assigned to the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor. He was also an In-Service and Recruit Class Instructor at the Division of Criminal Justice Academy and a member of the Attorney General Shooting Response Team, which investigated police-involved shooting incidents.

In June of 2007, after joining the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Deputy Chief Vendas was assigned to the Criminal Case Control Unit until June of 2008 and then briefly assigned to the Insurance Fraud Unit.  In September of 2008, he was assigned to the Homicide Task Force where he remained until March of 2021 being tasked with investigating homicides, suspicious deaths, infant deaths, drug induced/strict liability deaths, motor vehicle fatalities, police involved shootings when a death occurred as well as special investigations from time to time. 

In January of 2018, Deputy Chief Vendas was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in command of the Homicide Task Force overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Unit.

In March of 2021, Deputy Chief Vendas was promoted to the rank of Captain overseeing both the Homicide Task Force and the Special Victims Unit.

In recent years Deputy Chief Vendas has taken numerous courses taught by the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute and the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, with a range of topics including: High Impact Supervision, Police Executive, Leadership Program for Middle Management and Contemporary Issues in Police Administration, to name a few.