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
Bergen County Doctor Permanently Barred from Practicing in New Jersey Amid Allegations He Indiscriminately Prescribed Opioid Painkillers
For Immediate Release: March 16, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Sharon Joyce, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Attorney General Announces Indictment of Nine Alleged Members of Major Cocaine Supply Network In Paterson
For Immediate Release: March 13, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeElie Honig, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828View Jaquez...
NJ Medical Board Temporarily Bars Passaic County Surgeon from Prescribing CDS, Seeing Patients Without a State-Approved Monitor Amid Allegations of Indiscriminate Prescribing and Other Misconduct
For Immediate Release: March 1, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Sharon Joyce, Acting DirectorDivision of Law- Michelle Miller, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Two Men Sentenced to Prison in Connection with Largest Seizure of Super-Potent Opioid Fentanyl in New Jersey History
New Jersey State Police seized 100 pounds of fentanyl, which could have yielded 18 million lethal dosesFor Immediate Release: January 26, 2018 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeElie Honig, DirectorFor Further...
Attorney General Awards $219,000 to 28 Police Departments for Community Policing Programs to Honor Summit Detective Matthew L. Tarentino
For Immediate Release: August 1, 2017 Office of The Attorney General- Christopher S. Porrino, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeElie Honig, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828TRENTON –...
Attorney General Announces Detective Matthew L. Tarentino Community Policing Grant Program and Invites Applications for $121,000 in Funding
Total Funding Commemorates Detective Tarentino`s Badge #121For Immediate Release: August 1, 2017 Office of The Attorney General- Christopher S. Porrino, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeElie Honig, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter...