JACKSON – The Jackson Township Council has authorized several shared services agreements with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
During a meeting on Nov. 27, council President Ken Bressi, Vice President Robert Nixon, Councilman Barry Calogero, Councilman Scott Martin and Councilwoman Ann Updegrave voted to authorize an agreement with the prosecutor’s office for a Drug Recognition Expert Callout Program (DRECP).
According to a resolution, Ocean County ranked as one of the top five counties in New Jersey for motor vehicle fatalities with a high rate of driving while intoxicated-related crashes involving the use of illegal drugs and over-prescribed drugs.
The DRECP trains officers who can process an individual who is involved in such a situation and follow through with the case and testify in court.
The prosecutor’s office will use the DRECP to assist with identifying and removing intoxicated drivers from the roads, thus reducing traffic fatalities in Ocean County, and the program will use qualified DRECP personnel from the Jackson Police Department on a callout basis and for support at DWI checkpoints. The DRECP receives funding from the state and Ocean County, according to the resolution.
Council members also authorized a shared services agreement between Jackson and the prosecutor’s office for the Move-Over Law Enforcement Program.
The Move-Over Law Enforcement Program is a traffic safety program run by the prosecutor’s office for the purpose of identifying, educating and removing reckless drivers from the roads.
The program receives funding from the state and the county, and the prosecutor’s office and Jackson officials have determined it to be in their mutual interest for Jackson to designate certain police officers to be assigned to the program, according to a resolution.
And, the council authorized a shared services agreement between Jackson and Ocean County for police services for a driving while intoxicated enforcement program.
That initiative is a traffic safety program run by the prosecutor’s office for the purpose of identifying and removing intoxicated drivers from the roads. The program receives funding from the state and the county.
The prosecutor’s office and Jackson officials have determined it to be in their mutual interest for the township to designate certain police officers to be assigned to the DWI enforcement program, according to a resolution.
Finally, the council authorized the submission of an application to and the acceptance of a grant from the state Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Highway Traffic Safety, for the 2018 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Year End Holiday Crackdown Grant.
In 2017, 30 percent of New Jersey’s motor vehicle fatalities were alcohol-related and impaired driving remains a significant issue in New Jersey and nationally, according to a resolution.
There is an objective to reduce the rate of alcohol-related fatalities in the state through targeted impaired driving enforcement and education, and Jackson officials wanted to submit an application for the $5,500 grant.
Participating departments will incur all costs and then submit necessary documentation to the Division of Highway Traffic Safety for reimbursement, according to the resolution.