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
Doctor Pleads Guilty to Supplying Highly Addictive Opioid Pain Pills to Drug Ring
Dr. George Beecher faces a recommended sentence of 10 years in state prisonFor Immediate Release: September 20, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further Information: Media...
NJ Board of Medical Examiners Revokes License of Doctor Who Accepted $117,000 from Drug Maker to Prescribe Highly-Restricted Painkiller “Subsys” to Patients for Whom the Drug Was Not Intended
For Immediate Release: September 10, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul Rodríguez, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Investigation that Led to Seizure of Kilogram of Heroin, Kilogram of Cocaine, and Guns
Atlantic City Task Force & U.S. Homeland Security Investigations collaborated in investigation For Immediate Release: August 17, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, Director For...
Senior Correctional Police Officer Indicted on Charges He Conspired to Smuggle Opioid Painkillers to Inmate in South Woods State Prison
For Immediate Release: August 15, 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 –...
New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners Revokes License of Five Doctors in Unrelated Cases Involving the Prescription of Opioids, Anabolic Steroids, or Other Controlled Substances
For Immediate Release: August 9, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul Rodríguez, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Ringleader Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Running Drug Ring that Used Internet to Make Mail-Order Sales of Cocaine and Designer Drugs
Twelve members and associates of the narcotics ring were indicted in “Operation Skin Deep”For Immediate Release: July 13, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Leader and Three Other Men Sentenced to Prison for Operating a Newark Heroin and Cocaine Ring Linked to Latin Kings Gang
New Jersey State Police & Ag’s Office Dismantled Violent Drug Ring In “Operation Peddling Misery”For Immediate Release: June 29, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor...
Man Who Was Convicted at Trial of Trafficking Guns and Oxycodone Sentenced to 30 Years in State Prison
Trenton man was arrested in investigation by New Jersey State PoliceFor Immediate Release: June 19, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further Information: Media...
Man Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison as Leader of Drug Ring that Used the Internet to Make Mail-Order Sales of Cocaine and Designer Drugs
Twelve members and associates of the narcotics ring were indicted in “Operation Skin Deep” TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a Mercer County man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term today for running a drug network that marketed cocaine and...
Second Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Prison in Seizure of 5 Pounds of Methamphetamine by Atlantic City Task Force and Federal Partners
Woman receives seven-year sentence; her partner previously received 10-year prison sentenceFor Immediate Release: June 8, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...