TRENTON – Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino today announced a total of $219,000 in grant awards for 28 police departments across New Jersey from the “Detective Matthew L. Tarentino Community Policing Grant Program,” a new program that provides grants to police departments for initiatives aimed at fostering strong police-community relations. The program is named in honor of Detective Tarentino, a Summit police officer who epitomized the goals of community policing.

In June, Attorney General Porrino announced the new program offering competitive grants of up to $10,000 per department for police to fund innovative community policing initiatives in honor of Detective Tarentino, who tragically lost his life in a motor vehicle accident on May 30. The first round of grants, funded with criminal forfeiture funds, was set at $121,000, to commemorate Detective Tarentino’s badge #121. However, the Attorney General increased the funding by nearly $100,000, to $219,122, after receiving a tremendous response, with applications from 138 police departments.

Attorney General Porrino also announced that a second round of grant funding to honor Detective Tarentino will be offered later this year, for which departments not funded in this round may re-apply. The 28 community policing proposals approved for grants in this round include police departments in all 20 New Jersey counties from which applications were received.

“The overwhelming response we received from law enforcement for this new program is a tribute to Detective Tarentino and a testament to the strong commitment of New Jersey officers to community policing,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Detective Tarentino had a tremendous passion for public service and embraced the community he served in a remarkable way. The initiatives we are funding will honor his extraordinary spirit and keep that spirit alive across our state.”

“Every year we invite police departments to apply for a range of grant programs, but I can’t recall ever being inundated with applications like we were for this program honoring Detective Tarentino,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Officers in New Jersey clearly understand that everybody wins when they engage in a personal way with residents and gain their confidence and trust.”

Community policing fosters relationships of collaboration, trust, and understanding between law enforcement agencies and their communities. Law enforcement agencies acting alone can rarely solve the difficult public safety problems facing communities in today’s world. Only with meaningful public support and engagement can law enforcement agencies begin to confront these complex issues and effectively protect and serve the public.

Funding under the grant program is allocated to help pay for non-enforcement related community engagement activities and programs. The following are just a few examples of initiatives being funded with the 28 grant awards. A full list of the awards is included below.

• The Roselle Police Department’s “Book ‘Em: Read with a Cop” program will bring law enforcement closer together with local youth while promoting literacy in conjunction with the borough’s public schools and the Roselle Public Library. The multi-phase program will reach children from kindergarten to middle school, with officers reading to children and hosting Family Reading Nights, where crafts and snacks will fit the themes of police and reading.

• The Berkeley Township Police Department will co-host Manitou Park Family Unity Day with the township recreation department. The Berkeley Police will offer free lunch and dinner cookouts at the event, which is scheduled for August 19 from noon to 8 p.m., as a way to foster positive interaction between police and residents in that area of the township. Activities will include games, bike safety inspections, and providing free helmets to children who need them.

• The Morris County Sheriff’s Office will host a barbecue this fall for its Project Lifesaver Program, a locating/tracking service for over 100 elderly and special needs clients at risk of wandering. The barbecue will show appreciation for client caregivers and families. It also will involve Sheriff’s Office partners, including the International Project Lifesaver Program, Morris County Division of Aging, and police agencies from municipalities where the clients reside.

• The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office will bring free, mobile ice cream social events to a total of nine different locations on three days with its “Cops, Kids and Cones” program. The program, along with annual Back to School events held by the prosecutor’s office, is intended to let the community know that the prosecutor’s office is their partner in helping kids make healthy choices, stay in school, and stay safe.

• The New Brunswick Police Department will distribute school backpacks to children at 10 different locations during National Night Out, Aug. 1. They also will partner with the Suydam Street Reformed Church and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to host an annual holiday party on Dec. 16 where toys will be distributed to all local children who attend.

In honoring Detective Tarentino, Attorney General Porrino also thanked the members of the Summit Police Department and Chief Robert K. Weck for their strength and leadership in facing a very difficult time, and for their exemplary community policing initiatives, which were recognized in May at the Attorney General’s Outstanding Community Policing Awards Ceremony. Detective Tarentino was instrumental in Summit’s very successful community policing efforts.

Here is the full list of awards announced today by the Attorney General:

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