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
Attorney General’s Office Releases Additional Information, Video and Other Media Related to Fatal Officer-Involved Crash in Neptune on June 5, 2022
For Immediate Release: July 28, 2022 Office of the Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralOffice of Public Integrity and Accountability- Thomas J. Eicher, Executive DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Steven...
State Grand Jury Declines to Criminally Charge Officer Involved in Fatal Motor Vehicle Pursuit in Mansfield Township, N.J., on October 27, 2020
For Immediate Release: July 12, 2022 Office of the Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralOffice of Public Integrity and Accountability- Thomas J. Eicher, Executive DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Steven...
Acting AG Platkin Announces Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy Plan Goes Effective, Resulting in Over a Billion Dollars for New Jersey and Other Public Creditors to Use toward Opioid Abatement
As Part of Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy Plan, New Jersey and its Subdivisions to Receive Approximately $30 Million Dollars from Dublin-Based Pharmaceutical Company that Flooded Market with Highly Addictive Opioid Painkillers, Downplayed RisksFor Immediate Release: June 30,...
State Grand Jury Declines to Criminally Charge Officers Involved in Fatal Shooting in Ventnor, N.J., on August 6, 2020
For Immediate Release: June 28. 2022 Office of the Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralOffice of Public Integrity and Accountability- Thomas J. Eicher, Executive DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Steven...
Murphy Administration Announces Pilot Program to Assist Children and Families Affected by Addiction
For Immediate Release: June 13, 2022 Office of the Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralNJ CARES- Kelly E. Levy, Acting Director For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa CoryellOAGpress@njoag.govNew “Child Trauma Response Initiative” to be...
Acting AG Platkin Announces Expansion of “ARRIVE Together” Crisis Response Initiative to Elizabeth and Linden Police Departments
For Immediate Release: June 6, 2022 Office of the Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-K.C. LopezOAGpress@njoag.gov TRENTON – Acting Attorney Matthew J. Platkin today announced the expansion of a program...
Acting AG Platkin Announces Camden County Woman Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Possession with the Intent to Distribute PCP
For Immediate Release: March 31, 2022 Office of The Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal Justice- Lyndsay V. Ruotolo, DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-K.C. LopezOAGpress@njoag.gov TRENTON – Acting Attorney...
Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Operating Opioid Mill in Paterson
Charges stem from collaborative investigation between Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police DepartmentFor Immediate Release: February 17, 2022 Office of The Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeLyndsay V....
Acting AG Platkin Announces $6 Million in Federal Funding to Implement ‘Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion’ Program in 6 Pilot Sites Throughout New Jersey
‘LEAD’ Program Allows Police to Redirect Certain At-Risk, Low-Level Offenders to Community-Based Services Instead of ProsecutionFor Immediate Release: February 17, 2022 Office of The Attorney General- Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Attorney GeneralNJ CARES- Kelly E. Levy,...
AG’s Office Investigating Fatal Police-Involved Shooting in Vineland
For Immediate Release: December 18, 2021 Office of The Attorney General- Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney GeneralOffice of Public Integrity and Accountability- Thomas J. Eicher, Executive DirectorFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter...