Latest Drug Bust Follows National Presentation By Gloucester Township Police Chief

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The latest drug bust by the Gloucester Township Police Department comes on the heels of Chief Harry Earle’s presentation at the sixth annual National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The bust took place on April 21 at a home on New Brooklyn Erial Road, and concluded a month-long investigation into the sale of illegal drugs. Police put an end to an illegal marijuana growth operation, and recovered pre-packaged marijuana and packaging materials and paraphernalia, police said on Tuesday.

Gordon L. Robinson, 27, of the Sicklerville section of the township, was charged with one count of second-degree distribution of CDS within 500 feet of a public park, one count of third-degree distribution of CDS within 1,000 feet of a school, third-degree distribution of CDS and possession of CDS paraphernalia.

Two days earlier, Earle completed his presentation of the department’s Third Gear Policing Strategy in Atlanta, which lasted April 17-19.

“Our Third Gear Policing model harnesses the power of our many community policing partners in not only addressing the drug epidemic that has gripped nation, but also aims to prevent the next generation from abusing substances by offering holistic community services to those in need,” Earle said.

The strategy, which Earle has been promoting both locally and nationally, focuses on providing appropriate community based protection for at-risk youth and others in need. The goal is to help young people so they don’t turn to substance abuse — and later addiction — as a way to heal their emotional pain.

The First Gear is suppression (arrest). The Second Gear is prevention, and the Third Gear is Intervention.
Specific strategies focus on children who run away from home and/or are exposed to domestic violence, as well as first time juvenile offenders, youth in crisis, and others who have suffered adverse childhood experiences.

The department's SAVE (Substance Abuse Visionary Effort) is also part of the Third Gear Model as it aims to help those suffering from addiction by having a drug and alcohol counselor in our municipal courtroom.

The policy is not a substitute for arrest. As Gloucester Township Police pursue the Second and Third gears of the policy, they aggressively pursue drug operations, such as the one involved in the April 21 incident. As a result of the policy, overall crime has fallen 41 percent since 2010, according to police.

Earle is also a member of the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force. Task Force Member and Pharmacist Bill Lynch made a co-presentation alongside Earle at the summit. They focused on the many activities of the task force. For more information on the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force visit, http://addictions.camdencounty.com/.

The attached image was provided by Gloucester Township Police