MORRIS COUNTY — William Schievella, the Democratic challenger for Morris County Sheriff in November’s elections, has announced a comprehensive community safety plan that recognizes that crime prevention involves community partnerships and will reposition the Sheriff’s Department as a resource for residents.
Initiatives include partnering with clergy to reduce violence against religious institutions and improve relationships between law enforcement and members of religious communities; establishing a narcotics enforcement unit to stop the flow of opioids into Morris County; establishing a School Safety Task Force comprised of school administrators, law enforcement members, mental health professionals, clergy and other stakeholders; improving training for law enforcement officers in dealing with persons with mental health issues with programs such as CIT used in other counties. The program also includes a dedicated animal abuse division and initiatives to protect seniors from fraud and improve retention and morale of Sheriff’s Officers.
“These initiatives are designed to strengthen our communities at their foundation by forming relationships between all stakeholders, including law enforcement, and addressing the issues that weaken our communities before they escalate into crime,” Schievella said. “Our current Sheriff’s department is stagnant and trapped in the past. We need new leadership, new ideas and modern law enforcement approaches if we are going to successfully meet the needs of Morris County,” he said.
THE PLAN
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS & OUTREACH
• Establish a permanent School Safety Task Force comprised of many school administrators, teacher’s, mental health professionals, clergy, elected officials, law enforcement and academic leaders to hold public hearings in different areas of the county seeking input from everyone.
• Create a Sheriff’s Clergy Program to implement community policing throughout Morris County.
• Create a Senior Citizen’s Academy to provide a comprehensive law enforcement program to prevent abuse and fraud
• Host quarterly job fairs at the correctional facility to help offenders returning to our neighborhoods obtain gainful employment
• Implement a free child car seat Installation program to help keep Morris County children safe
• Restore Hero for the Day Program for seriously ill children, a program I began when I was an Undersheriff
• Expand the hours and scope of the Sheriff’s Community Policing Outreach to meet the needs of Morris County’s diverse populations
ADDICTION & DRUG CRIME
• Increase partnerships with area hospitals to have medical personnel play a larger role in providing addiction services to those in need.
• Implement Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD) in County Schools not currently providing this program. LEAD is the largest national evidenced based drug and violence prevention program making a difference in PREVENTING addiction
• Establish a narcotics unit to stop the flow of opioids into Morris County
IMPROVE OFFICER TRAINING AND SUPPORT
• Implement Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to reduce Use of Force incidents and assist law enforcement in dealing with persons with mental illness to deescalate volatile situations. This highly effective program is used in Bergen, Passaic, Essex and many other counties
• Seek accreditation for mental health services from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care for the Morris County Correctional Facility
• Create a working group to address poor retention of Sheriff’s Officers and on-going morale issues.
MODERN LAW ENFORCEMENT
• Expand the current Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Unit to create a true regional crime lab. This could raise revenue from neighboring counties and provide cutting edge technology to our law enforcement officers.
• Establish Unit to combat Animal Abuse
• Utilize Sheriff’s Office resources to support local law enforcement and the Park Police in fighting crime and stopping the flow of drugs into Morris County
• Create a volunteer group of retired law enforcement officers to expand community outreach and educational programs. This allows our retired officers to use expert training and experience to give back to the community while saving tax dollars
• Conduct a full audit of the Sheriff’s department’s budget and operations
During a three-decade career in law enforcement, Bill Schievella has served as a New Jersey State Correction Officer, New Jersey State Parole Officer & Sergeant, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives and as Under Sheriff in the Morris County Sheriff’s Office. He has served on over twelve state, county and criminal justice boards.
Bill has served as President of the New Jersey Police Community Affairs Officers Association, County Chiefs of Detectives/Investigators Association of New Jersey, and as a National Executive Board Member of Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD), the largest national evidence-based drug prevention program of its kind. He is the founder and president of the Italian-American Police Society of New Jersey, a 5,000-member charitable police organization.
Bill’s many awards and recognitions include: Man of the Year by the Morris County Chapter NAACP, Grand Marshal of the Morris County Columbus Day Parade, Man of the Year by the NJ Asian American Law Enforcement Officers Association and Law Enforcement Achievement Award from the Peace Island Institute, a Muslim-based organization promoting interfaith dialogue and acceptance. He is a past recipient of the NJ Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association Stamler Award and is proud to be a Lifetime Member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Bill’s professional experience includes Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice, Leadership, Terrorism, as well as Homeland Security Task Force Coordinator.
Bill completed his undergraduate degree at Caldwell College and earned a Master of Administrative Science and a post-Masters Certificate in Global Terrorism from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a graduate of the prestigious West Point Command & Leadership Program as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Course at Princeton University. For five years, Bill served as Councilman-at-Large in Rockaway Township.
Bill’s campaign is supported by the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, NYC Uniformed Firefighters Association, National Coalition of Latino Officers NJ Chapter, Blacks in Law Enforcement Serving the Community (BLESC) and other groups.
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