Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR)
Tiffany Wilson, Director
The Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR) is coordinating the Department of Law and Public Safety’s efforts to address how the Department and New Jersey’s law enforcement agencies respond to the country’s continued mental health and addiction crises. Law enforcement is often the first in the community to see the impact of these crises and the first to be asked to address them, often without the appropriate resources to do so. Traditional law enforcement responses and tools such as arrest, prosecution, and incarceration have proven inadequate in addressing the complexities of substance use disorder and mental health emergencies, often burdening frontline police officers and failing to provide effective solutions for the individual or the community impacted. This lack of success has underscored the need for alternative and coordinated strategies and solutions.
Operating within the Department of Law and Public Safety, OACR supports, coordinates, and creates strategies and collaborations aimed at enhancing public health and safety outcomes in situations where public health and public safety intersect. OACR is working to create a safer and healthier New Jersey for all by incorporating mental and behavioral health interventions, implementing innovative approaches, collaborating with communities, and promoting the well-being of law enforcement officers.
DIRECTIVE 2024-01
AG Directive 2024-01 | March 13, 2024
Directive Creating the Office of Alternative and Community Responses
PROGRAMS
PRESS RELEASES
AG Grewal Announces Major Takedown of Newark Drug Distribution Network, Seizure of 13 Firearms
After 8-Month Investigation, New Jersey State Police Seize AR-15s, Handguns, Heroin, CashFor Immediate Release: December 13, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Doctor Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Supplying Highly Addictive Opioid Pain Pills to Drug Ring
For Immediate Release: December 3, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision on Criminal Justice- Veronica Allende, Director For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828TRENTON...
State Board of Medical Examiners Permanently Revokes License of Middlesex Doctor After Online Tip, NJPMP Review Lead to Allegations of Indiscriminate Prescribing
For Immediate Release: Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralNJ Cares- Sharon Joyce, DirectorDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul R. Rodríguez, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, Director For Further Information: Media...
Division of Consumer Affairs Permanently Bars Monmouth County Physician Assistant from Prescribing Controlled Dangerous Substances for Improperly Prescribing CDS to Patients at a Pain Management Center
For Immediate Release: November 21, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralNJ CARES- Sharon M. Joyce, DirectorDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul R. Rodríguez, Acting DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
AG Grewal Sues Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary for Deceiving Public About Dangers of Addictive Opioid Products
AG Calls on Janssen Pharmaceuticals to Allow Release of Company's Internal Marketing Information For Immediate Release: November 13, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralNJCares- Sharon M. Joyce, Director For Further Information:...
Man Pleads Guilty to Supplying Fentanyl and Heroin that Caused Two Overdose Deaths – AG’s Office charged Terrill Spann under New Jersey’s strict liability for drug-induced death law
AG's Office charged Terrill Spann under New Jersey's strict liability for drug-induced death law For Immediate Release: January 7, 2019 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Man Who had $1.2 Million in Drug Money in His Car When Arrested by Division of Criminal Justice is Sentenced to 10 Years in State Prison
Defendant indicted with 11 alleged members and associates of narcotics ring in “Operation Skin Deep” For Immediate Release: October 26, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, Director For...
Trenton Narcotics Dealer Sentenced to 30 Years in State Prison for Distributing First-Degree Quantity of Cocaine
For Immediate Release: October 18, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, Director For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828 TRENTON -...
AG Grewal Unveils New Data Showing a Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions and the Impact of the Opioid Epidemic in Each New Jersey County
For Immediate Release: September 25, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralNJ CARES- Sharon M. Joyce, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa Coryell609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828View Order TRENTON –...
Over AG’s Arguments, State Board of Medical Examiners Declines to Suspend Medical License of Ocean County Doctor who Allegedly Overprescribed Dangerous Opioids
Board Instead Temporarily Bans Doctor from Prescribing Controlled Substances For Immediate Release: September 24, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul R. Rodríguez, Acting DirectorDivision of Law-...