Union County Sheriff's Office
Union County Freeholder Christopher Hudak moderated a Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall hosted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey at Kean University in Union. The panelists included Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan and Union County Acting Prosecutor Thomas Isenhour. For more information visit, knockoutopioidabuse.drugfreenj.org. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan and Undersheriffs Michael Frank and Amilcar Colon congratulate the Sheriff’s officers who participated in No Shave November and raised $6,200 for The New Jersey Veterans Network and The Prostate Cancer Foundation. No Shave November challenges participants to forgo shaving for the month in order to raise money for charity. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen, Vice Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholders Bette Jane Kowalski and Vernell Wright joined Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan in welcoming Sgt. Vincent Detrolio as guest speaker at the Union County POW/MIA Remembrance Day ceremony outside the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth. Sgt. Detrolio, a former Union County Undersheriff, served with the US Army’s 1st Cavalry during the war in Vietnam.
The annual event is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to honor and remember prisoners of war and those missing in action (POW/MIA). The National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed each year on the third Friday of September. (Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
The Union County Family Justice Center (FJC) held its grand opening Wednesday afternoon, marking the beginning of a new era in how services are provided to victims of domestic violence in Union County.
A joint venture of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, YWCA Union County, and other partner organizations, the approximately 2,000 square-foot Center is located on the second floor of the newly constructed Union County Courthouse Cherry Street Annex in downtown Elizabeth.
The federally endorsed FJC model provides for a one-stop, community-based approach to enhance the safety and welfare of domestic violence victims while ensuring that they also receive the maximum protections available under the law. The Union County FJC is the third to open in New Jersey, as the Essex County FJC opened in 2010 and Morris County opened its Center last year. There are more than 75 FJCs currently in operation nationwide.
“The County of Union and the Freeholder Board has an established record of providing critical assistance to victims of domestic violence through programs such as our Rape Crisis Center and to children in need through the Prosecutor’s Child Advocacy Center,” Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders Chairman Bruce H. Bergen said. “With the advent of the Family Justice Center, we are proud to join in the effort to create an innovative, one-stop location that will provide a comprehensive response and place to access services for victims of violence and their families.”
Funding for the creation of the Union County FJC and the provision of physical space in the Cherry Street Annex were approved by the Freeholder Board last year, as the County contracted with the YWCA for it to manage and coordinate the Center’s day-to-day operations.
Services to be offered at the Center include counseling, case management, court advocacy, and legal assistance, as well as referrals to a range of additional services in areas such as medical care, mental health, housing, rental aid, employment, immigration services, and more. On-site partner organizations at the Center will include Central Jersey Legal Services, Partners for Women and Justice, PROCEED Inc., the Prosecutor’s Office’s Domestic Violence Unit and Office of Victim/Witness Advocacy, and the YWCA, while off-site partners will include HomeFirst Interfaith Housing & Family Services and Trinitas Regional Medical Center.
“Family Justice Centers are a best practice in the field of domestic violence. For the YWCA Union County, as we approach our 40th consecutive year of providing services to victims, the opening of this Family Justice Center is truly a significant milestone,” YWCA Union County Chief Executive Officer Janice C. Lilien said. “We are extremely happy to be able to provide this next level of comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence in Union County, and to partner with the County, the Prosecutor’s Office, and other community agencies in doing so, and we hope that this program will strengthen the safety net for victims and help reduce domestic violence in Union County.”
Municipal police departments in Union County handle several thousand domestic violence calls annually, making for an average of about 10 every day. But only a fraction of those cases make their way through the criminal justice system, as victims often are financially dependent on their abusers and hesitant to participate in the legal process.
According to the San Diego-based Family Justice Center Alliance, jurisdictions in which FJCs are introduced have gone on to report reductions in domestic violence-related homicides ranging from about 45 to 95 percent. Nearly 20 percent of homicides that took place in Union County during the last five full calendar years were related to domestic violence – including several cases in which victims had previously obtained temporary restraining orders against their killers.
“Today’s ceremony marks the culmination of a vision through which many people and organizations came together to embrace the goal of making a terrible situation easier for some of our most vulnerable victims of crime,” acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park said. “It is my expectation and hope that the Union County Family Justice Center will come to be seen as a sanctuary that can help create a better life for these victims.”
For more information about the Union County FJC, or to inquire about its services, please call 908-527-4980.
Union County Sheriff Joe Cryan congratulates the graduates of the 2017 Union County Sheriff’s Youth Police Academy during a ceremony at the Rahway High School Performing Arts Center. Seventy-five middle and high school students from throughout Union County graduated this year’s program.
Recruits in the youth academy received hands-on experience in a wide variety of emergency services and law enforcement functions and training. During the program, the teens engaged in physical training, attended lectures and through class trips and visits by guest speakers, the recruits met with representatives from several law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff Cryan also thanks the instructors and the law enforcement agencies who were involving in make the 10th Union County Sheriff’s Youth Academy a success.
Local residents are being urged to consider participating in a state-run gun buyback program going on next weekend, through which cash payouts of up to $200 per firearm are being made available to members of the public, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park, Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders Chairman Bruce H. Bergen, Union County Sheriff Joseph P. Cryan, and Union County Director of Public Safety Andrew Moran said in a joint announcement Thursday.
The event is being held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29. One of the three locations for the buyback, being coordinated by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, is the Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church on Lyons Avenue in Newark – a site just several blocks from Hillside and a short distance away from numerous Union County municipalities. The other locations include Antioch Baptist Church on Ferry Avenue in Camden and the Friendship Baptist Church on Perry Street in Trenton.
New Jersey residents can turn in up to three firearms of any type, no questions asked, and receive payouts of $100 for a rifle or shotgun, $120 for a handgun or revolver, and $200 for an assault weapon. Police officers and law enforcement firearms experts will be on hand to assist with the valuation and securing of turned-in weapons.
Pursuant to New Jersey Statute 2C:39-6g, all weapons being transported to the gun buyback locations must be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, or securely tied package, and locked in the trunk of the vehicle in which it is being transported. Also, pursuant to the statute, driving to and from the locations must “include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.”
Since 2013, two law enforcement-run gun buybacks were held in Union County, resulting in the collection of nearly 1,500 firearms.
“We were extremely pleased with the results of our previous events, and we recommend and encourage that any resident of Union County seeking to dispose of a firearm or firearms participate in this program,” Prosecutor Park said. “One of this Office’s top priorities is investigating, prosecuting, and preventing violent crime – and reducing the number of dangerous weapons in Union County neighborhoods is a simple, effective way to work toward that goal.”
“It’s an imperative for us in law enforcement to do everything in our power to take as many guns off our streets as possible, and buybacks such as these are useful mechanisms through which many hundreds of firearms are collected at once,” Sheriff Cryan said. “These are weapons that are out of the picture for good – they’ll never be a factor in an intentional or accidental incident that results in an injury or death – and all of us are a little safer because of it.”
“Tens of thousands of Americans die each year from gun violence, and having fewer guns around could mean they won’t end up in the wrong hands, including our children,” Freeholder Chairman Bergen added.
The Attorney General’s Office is paying for the gun buyback with forfeiture funds obtained by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, the New Jersey State Police, and the three participating County Prosecutors’ Offices, in Camden, Essex, and Mercer counties. Payouts will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The gun buyback was first announced during a press event in Trenton held earlier this month. In addition to the gun buyback program, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey William Fitzpatrick and New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced an enhanced commitment to coordinate state and federal efforts to prosecute gun crimes aggressively, with a particular focus on the “Triggerlock” program, under which high-priority gun offenders arrested by municipal police or state authorities are referred for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under federal law. This typically means lengthier prison terms, including potential penalties of 15 years without parole to life for the most serious gun offenses.
“Our joint efforts to take guns off the street – whether it is through the Attorney General’s buyback program or our coordinated prosecution of firearms offenses and violent gangs – demonstrate our shared commitment to use every strategy, investigative technique, and resource to protect the communities we serve,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Gun buybacks provide a vital means for taking deadly firearms out of circulation before they can be used to take a life,” Porrino added. “Some say that weapons turned in during these buybacks are just old ‘attic guns’ — as if that somehow makes them less lethal. Whether we’re talking about a Tec-9 or an old hunting rifle, guns are dangerous. All anyone needs to do is read news stories from across the nation – including New Jersey – to know that guns left lying around the home are a common source of tragedy.”
The gun buyback has also been promoted through radio, newspaper, bus transit, social media, and other advertising throughout the month. Any resident with questions about the buyback effort can call the Attorney General’s Citizen Services unit at 609-984-5828 or visit www.nj.gov/guns; frequently asked questions and answers can also be accessed online at http://www.nj.gov/guns/faq.html.
The Union County Board of Chose Freeholders congratulates Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan and Sgt. Patrick Hora as they accept the Certificate of Re-Accreditation from Harry Delgado of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJACOP) during the Freeholders meeting in Elizabeth.
The re-accreditation signifies the Sheriff’s Office has successfully met a body of internationally recognized professional standards.
Accredited status represents a significant professional achievement. The Sheriff’s Office has now achieved re-accreditation twice. Of the nearly 600 law enforcement agencies in New Jersey, less than one percent obtains re-accreditation for a second time.
Delgado of the NJACOP praised the Sheriff’s Office for its professionalism and the implementation of policies and procedures that are conceptually sound and operationally effective.
The Union County Summer Arts Festival Concert Series at Echo Lake Park in Mountainside on Wednesday evening, July 12 featuring the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Tusk will also showcase units from the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers from the Crime Scene Unit will be making wanted posters for kids and Guardian Angel identification fingerprint cards for parents.
The Sheriff’s K-9 Search & Rescue Unit will give a demonstration.
Show time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Citizens of Union County battling substance abuse or addiction will be eligible to surrender small amounts of narcotics without being arrested and gain access to recovery services free of charge under a new initiative being launched today by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Prevention Links, and the County Sheriff’s Office, Police Department, and Prosecutor’s Office.
The Community Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery (C.L.E.A.R.) program will be available to members of the public from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Union County Sheriff’s Office, basement level of 27 Elizabethtown Plaza in Elizabeth, and at Union County Police Department headquarters, 300 North Avenue East in Westfield.
Those seeking to participate in the program will be screened for eligibility by members of law enforcement and permitted to surrender illegal drugs and paraphernalia for personal use without fear of arrest, prosecution, or questioning. Those excluded from participation will include citizens with active warrants or those previously convicted of certain serious indictable offenses.
Participants will be connected with Prevention Links-trained certified recovery specialists, who will serve as personal guides and mentors for those seeking to overcome their addiction.
“This is an essential component of our mission to provide support to individuals and family members seeking assistance accessing treatment and recovery services,” said Pamela Capaci, CEO of Prevention Links.
The initiative is based on a model first established by the Gloucester Police Department in Massachusetts and later adopted by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newton Police Department. The County Freeholder Board authorized $17,000 in funding for the program and an additional $150,000 this year for inpatient addiction treatment beds.
The model can also be adopted by individual municipal police departments.
“There is an urgent need to get more of those who suffer from opioid addiction to help, and Operation C.L.E.A.R. is certainly a step in the right direction,” Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen said.
“For far too long, law enforcement has approached this issue from one angle only, seeking to go after and arrest those who sell, buy, and use drugs,” Union County Sheriff Joseph P. Cryan said. “Considering the scope and depth of the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic as it exists today, both here in Union County and nationwide, it’s beyond obvious that we need to fundamentally change that attitude. We want those affected by this to be able to look to us for help.”
At least 89 people died from fatal drug overdoses in Union County last year, more than any year since the start of the decade. Police departments in Union County began deploying the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug naloxone in July 2014, with more than 300 total deployments recorded to date.
“In addition to co-sponsoring the new C.L.E.A.R. program and launching our naloxone program nearly three years ago, we also strongly support the Project Medicine Drop initiative, through which citizens can safely dispose of unwanted or excess prescription medication that might otherwise fall into the wrong hands,” acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park added, noting that the number of Drop boxes available countywide has grown from two in 2013 to 12 today. “We are also strong proponents of our Drug Court program, through which nonviolent offenders can gain access to the recovery services they need, and we are proud members of the Union County Opioid Response Initiative, through which recipients of police-administered naloxone are connected with addiction recovery specialists at our local hospitals.”
“We are doing everything in our power to address this pressing public safety issue in every way we can.”
For information, please call 1-855-825-3275 or visit www.ucnj.org/clear.
Union County Sheriff Joseph Cryan congratulates Patrolman Christopher Laver and K9 Jada of the Hackettstown Police Department, Patrolman Matthew Casterline and K9 Chase of the Hillside Police Department, Officer Albert Bauer and K9 Diesel and Officer Shannon Dinella and K9 Basilone from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office on graduating the Union County’s Sheriff’s Office K9 Training Academy during the graduation ceremony for Class 17-01 in Summit.
They were joined by Somerset County Sheriff Frank Provenzano, Hackettstown Police Chief James Macaulay and Sergeant Brian Howarth of the Union County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)