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
Seventeen Indicted for Allegedly Conspiring to Distribute Heroin in Paterson as Members of Drug Network Linked to Bloods Street Gang
Indictment stems from multi-agency investigation “Operation Pitfall” led by New Jersey State PoliceFor Immediate Release: June 7, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Seizure of 5 Pounds of Methamphetamine by Atlantic City Task Force & Federal Partners
For Immediate Release: May 18, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828TRENTON –...
Trenton Narcotics Dealer Convicted at Trial of Distributing First-Degree Quantity of Cocaine
For Immediate Release: May 18, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828TRENTON -...
NJ Board of Medical Examiners Revokes License of Vivienne Matalon, the Cherry Hill Doctor Who Indiscriminately Prescribed Painkiller “Subsys” to Three Patients, Including One That Died
For Immediate Release: May 4, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer AffairsKevin Jespersen, Acting DirectorDivision of LawMichelle Miller, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Alleged Drug Traffickers Indicted in Connection With 3-Kilo Seizure of Heroin by Atlantic City Task Force & Homeland Security Investigations
For Immediate Release: April 26, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828ATLANTIC CITY...
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison in Connection With Seizure of Over 30 Pounds of the Super-Potent Opioid Fentanyl in Camden
Seizure by State Police, HSI, DEA HIDTA Task Force & Camden PD set record that was later brokenFor Immediate Release: April 20, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Middlesex Doctor Temporarily Suspended from Practice After Online Tip, PMP Review Leads to Allegations of Indiscriminate Prescribing
For Immediate Release: April 13, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Kevin Jespersen, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, Director For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Burlington County Doctor Temporarily Barred From Treating Patients Amid Allegations He Indiscriminately Prescribed Highly-Restricted Fentanyl “TIRF” Drugs and Other Opioids to Patients
For Immediate Release: April 3, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Sharon Joyce, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, Acting DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Leader and Three Other Men Plead Guilty in Connection With Heroin and Cocaine Ring in Newark Linked to Latin Kings Gang
New Jersey State Police & AG’s Office dismantled violent drug ring in “Operation Peddling Misery”For Immediate Release: April 2, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor...
Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for His Role in 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” For Immediate Release: March 23, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, Director For Further...