Community Policing Unit

LEAD

The North Plainfield Police Department’s LEAD program falls under the Community Policing Unit. These officers are nationally certified in both LEAD, (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) and Great, (Gang Resistance, Education and Training). During the school year they are in the Borough’s schools teaching the LEAD and GREAT programs as well as workshops on conflict resolution, responsible citizenship, and bicycle safety.

LEAD Training will GIVE KIDS THE CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS THEY NEED TO GROW INTO HAPPY HEALTHY ADULTS.

The officers teach the program to children in the fifth grade during the school year. The student’s exposure to the Officers often leads to long lasting relationships that builds a positive rapport between the police and the community. The officers also spend time with the students at lunch and throughout the day.

The LEAD Officers work closely with the teachers. The teachers are in the classroom during the lessons to provide additional supervision for the students.

The program focuses on four areas:

• Provides accurate information about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs

• Teaches the students decision making skills

• Shows the students how to resist peer pressure and violence

• Provides the students with positive alternatives to drug use and violence

Establish family rules that make the use of drugs non-negotiable.

• Know your children’s friends and communicate with their parents.
• Know where your children are going and with who.
• If your child is going to a party, check to see if their will be parental supervision.
• Communicate with your child, and they will communicate with you (leave the door open).
• The North Plainfield LEAD program is currently taught to all 5th graders in the North Plainfield Public School district.

The G.R.E.A.T. Program is divided into two segments, one is taught in the third grade and the other in the seventh grade.

The G.R.E.A.T. Program is designed to help children set self-directed goals; resist negative peer pressures; learn conflict resolution skills; and understand how gangs and youth violence negatively impact the quality of their lives. The students discover for themselves the ramifications of gang and youth violence through structured exercises and interactive approaches to learning.

Through the combined efforts of law enforcement, the schools, and the community, we can make a difference in the lives of our children in North Plainfield by providing them with the skills and information to say "NO" to gangs and acts of random violence.

Other programs that fall under the Community Policing Unit include bicycle safety programs, Youth Police Academy, S.T.E.P program, tours of borough hall and police/safety related presentations to any group that requests it.

The Summer Teen Evening Program (STEP) is the outcome of the combined efforts of the NPPD Community Policing Unit, Guidance personnel, and the support of the North Plainfield Board of Recreation. The program runs during the Summer from June through August and provides the Borough’s youth with an alternative to hanging out on the street. Basketball games and soccer are the main activities, with an end of summer picnic. The program has become very popular over the years with NPPD officers stopping in to say hello and hang out with the kids.

SRO

Since September of 1999 a Police Officer has been assigned to the North Plainfield School district as a School Resource Officer. The majority of their time is dedicated to the High School and Middle School, where their presence has facilitated the flow of information between the Board of Education and the Police Department.

The School Resource Officer (SRO) is a Law Enforcement Officer permanently assigned to provide coverage to a school or set of schools. This represents a proactive strategy designed to bring prevention and intervention into the schools.

The SRO’s mission is to provide information and act as a link to support services both inside and outside the school environment. The SRO is a sworn police officer whose mission is to keep the peace so students can learn and teachers can teach.

Goals and benefits of the SRO program include: emergency planning for the entire school district; providing the schools with an additional educational resource by sharing their expertise in the classroom; promoting an orderly school environment; and providing an immediate emergency response to what is often a community’s densest daytime population cluster.

SLEO III

In addition, we have five (5) Class 3 Police Officers which are assigned to each of our public schools. These officers have a wealth of knowledge in law enforcement and serve as a conduit with our students. The main purpose of these officers is to protect our children and school staff. Each Class 3 officer is also certified as a School Resource Officer.

Class 3 Officers are retired law enforcement officers who are trained by the local police department. The Class 3 Officers are an armed presence in the schools who wear a uniform indicating they are a member of the North Plainfield Police Department.