Cranford Police Department To Offer 24/7 Support For Drug Addicts

CRANFORD, NJ - The Cranford Police Department will provide on-site drug addiction recovery services as part of Union County’s Community Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery (CLEAR) Program, according to Chief of Police Ryan Greco.

The Cranford Police Department will serve as alocal CLEAR Program location. The program is a partnership between the County of Union and Prevention Links in which law enforcement agencies provide on-site drug addiction recovery services to Union County residents seeking assistance.

Prevention Links is a private, not-for-profit organization, which takes a leadership role in the prevention of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and related issues, according to their website.

Since June of 2017, the Union County Sheriff’s Office in Elizabeth and Union County Police Department in Westfield have been the two locations where services could be found. Since its inception, the CLEAR Program has assisted 72 individuals towards recovery.

In strategizing on how best to address the grave consequences of substance use disorder, Greco said he welcomed the opportunity to have his department participate in a program that provides another avenue to combat the opioid problem in Union County. In 2018, the Cranford Police Department responded to 17 opiate overdose calls for service. Three of those calls resulted in fatalities.

“It is clear that law enforcement cannot arrest its way out of the problem of substance abuse. Medications such as Naloxone are incredibly useful but are at best a band-aid in a time of emergency. To truly tackle this problem, those individuals facing the disease of addiction need to find their way to recovery,” Greco said.

Greco said he believes that the innovative approach of partnering his organization’s officers with Prevention Links and High Focus Centers makes perfect sense.

“I can only hope that by providing an additional C.L.E.A.R. Program location and expanding the program hours we will be able to assist even more people towards recovery,” he said.

Coordinated by Captain Guy Patterson, 12 Cranford Police Officers have received advanced substance abuse training and will serve as facilitators for participants. CLEAR Program participants seeking treatment will be met by one of the department’s specially trained officers who will assist the individual and pair them with a partner agency recovery coach.

A recovery coach serves as the individual’s guide to appropriate treatment facilities and recovery support networks. CLEAR provides services at any of the program locations Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In addition to the regular business hours, the Cranford Police Department has created a partnership with local stakeholders at High Focus Centers to provide after-hours recovery coaching services. Collectively, these partnerships allow for the Cranford Police Department to offer substance abuse recovery assistance services 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Anyone seeking substance abuse assistance is encouraged to come to the Cranford Police Department. For additional information, contact Patterson at 908-709-3991.

(Photo courtesy of the Cranford Police Department)

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