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 Issues Statewide Order Requiring Law Enforcement Agencies to Identify Officers Who Commit Serious Disciplinary Violations – Col. Callahan to Release Identities of All State Troopers Subject to Major Discipline over Last Twenty Years
For Immediate Release: June 15, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralNew Jersey State Police- Colonel Patrick Callahan, SuperintendentFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen...
AG Grewal Outlines Process for Revising New Jersey`s Use of Force Policy – Initiative to Include Statewide Listening Sessions, Online Public Comment Website
For Immediate Release: June 12, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralFor Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltineor Lee Moore609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today...
Governor Murphy and AG Grewal Announce Continued Progress and New Measures to Strengthen Police-Community Trust
For Immediate Release: June 2, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Peter Aseltine609-292-4791Citizen Inquiries-609-984-5828 TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir S....
AG Grewal Announces Action to Reduce Risk of Fatal Overdoses During COVID-19 Crisis
Administrative Order from Division of Consumer Affairs Requires NJ Practitioners to Co-Prescribe Naloxone to Certain At-Risk Opioid Patients During COVID-19 EmergencyFor Immediate Release: May 21, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney...
Two Arrested and Over 17,000 Wax Folds of Suspected Heroin and Fentanyl Seized in Takedown of Major Opioid Mill in Paterson – Arrests made in investigation by Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police Department
Arrests made in investigation by Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police DepartmentFor Immediate Release: March 4, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Criminal JusticeVeronica Allende, DirectorFor Further...
Drug Dealer Sentenced to Prison Following Trial Conviction for Trafficking 31 Kilograms of Heroin Seized in Secaucus Hotel Room
For Immediate Release: February 13, 2020 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 –...
AG Grewal Announces Enhancements to NJ PMP that Automatically Analyze Patient CDS History and Identify, Flag Potential Addiction Risks New “NarxCare” Platform Includes Prescriber-to-Prescriber Messaging System and Other Technology to Better Coordinate Patient Care
For Immediate Release: January 16, 2020 Office of The Attorney General- Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney GeneralDivision of Consumer Affairs- Paul Rodríguez, Acting DirectorNJ CARES- Sharon M. Joyce, Director For Further Information: Media Inquiries-Lisa...
Nine Indicted in Investigation of Narcotics Network in South Jersey that led to Raid on Drug Mill and Seizure of Assault Rifles and Other Guns
For Immediate Release: December 13, 2019 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
Two Men Arrested and 18 Kilograms of Cocaine Seized by New Jersey State Police along with $119,000 in Alleged Drug Proceeds
For Immediate Release: November 13, 2019 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...
Drug Dealer Sentenced to Five Years in State Prison in Case Involving Seizure of Furanyl Fentanyl and $732,000 in Cash
For Immediate Release: November 1, 2019 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...