TRENTON, NJ – Attorney General John J. Hoffman was joined by a cadre of law enforcement officials, community members, and representatives from The College of New Jersey and Rutgers University-Camden on Thursday, September 26th to announce a new initiative aimed at addressing the violence in Trenton dubbed the Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy. The press conference began with an overview of the successes of the TIDE (Targeted Integrated Deployment Effort) and TAG (Targeted Anti-Gun) initiatives in the city, which have helped reduce the number of violent incidents in the city by 50 percent since their inception about 40 days ago. Since August 15th, Trenton has seen a 57 percent decrease in the number of shooting and murder victims, a 47 percent decrease in the number of shooting-hit victims, and a 50 percent drop in the total number of victims of violent crimes.
In addition to the announcement about continued TIDE deployments and TAG prosecutions, Hoffman announced that the Attorney General’s Office will be providing $1.1 million over the next three years to fund the new Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy. This strategy, developed through a collaboration involving the Attorney General’s Office, the Trenton Police Department, The College of New Jersey and Rutgers University-Camden, is a multi-disciplinary program that will offer repeat offenders and those at risk of becoming involved in gangs a stark choice: prison or a way out.
The TVRS strategy takes a holistic approach to assisting those individuals and their families by deploying social services and outreach workers into neighborhoods experiencing high levels of criminal activity. The strategy will offer needed counseling, job training, and other aid as an alternative for young people who might otherwise engage in criminal activity, while maintaining a firm message of deterrence through the unified effort of federal, state and local law enforcement for those who refuse to change their behavior.
“TVRS tells chronic offenders, ‘If you continue down this road, we are going to arrest you, bring you up on charges, and put you in prison for a long time,’” said Assistant Professor Louis Tuthill of Rutgers-Camden. “But we don’t want to do that; we want to figure out how to get these individuals to stop engaging in crime. We are going to help them and their families turn their lives around by focusing social services on them, and helping them to get out of the cycle of violence.”
TVRS also will emphasize Law Enforcement through Environmental Design, or “LEED,” a locally-led effort to target-harden areas of high risk through things like improved lighting, strategic patrols, closed-circuit cameras and shot spotters. LEED also utilizes regulatory authority to go after businesses that attract criminal activity and become nuisances in the community. The State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Trenton Department of Public Works have already commenced such efforts under the TIDE initiative.
A signature element of TVRS is its emphasis on local leadership, with Director Rivera overseeing the overall effort, which will include significant resources and effort by The College of New Jersey, which will be responsible for hiring and managing the social workers, outreach workers, volunteer efforts and research that will be conducted as part of TVRS.
TVRS is built on evidence-based models such as Ceasefire and Project Safe Neighborhoods that have proven successful in other parts of the country, but has been tailored, based on an analysis of crime trends, to meet the specific needs of Trenton. The program will be run by a full-time coordinator and part-time director who will report to Director Rivera and the Attorney General.
Some of the TVRS services are being put out for competitive bidding that is open to any eligible person or organization. For those who wish to formally apply to be part of TVRS, information is available on The College of New Jersey’s website:http://bids.pages.tcnj.edu/. Proposals are being accepted for the next two weeks.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman commended Assistant Provost Patrick Donohue of The College of New Jersey and co-chair of the Trenton Prevention Policy Board, Assistant Professor Louis Tuthill of Rutgers-Camden, and Detective Alexis Durlacher of the Trenton Police Department for their leadership in developing the Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy. Detective Durlacher is a member of the Trenton Prevention Policy Board and sits on its Steering Committee.
Hoffman made the announcements at Trenton Police Headquarters with Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the State Police, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr., First Assistant Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr., Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice, Director Michael Halfacre of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Deputy U.S. Attorney Nelson S. Thayer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge Nicholas J. Kolen of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration South Jersey Region, Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Belsky of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Assistant Professor Louis Tuthill of Rutgers-Camden, Trenton Detective Alexis Durlacher, and community leaders Darren “Freedom” Green, Jim Carlucci, Andrew Bobbitt, Pastor Julio Guzman and Reverend Darrell Armstrong.