Chief Ryan J. Greco announced that as of February 1, 2019, the Cranford Police Department will take part in Union County’s Community Law Enforcement Addiction Recovery (C.L.E.A.R.) Program as a local C.L.E.A.R. Program Location. The C.L.E.A.R. Program is a partnership between the County of Union and Prevention Links in which law enforcement agencies provide on-site drug addiction recovery services to Union County residents seeking assistance.
Since June of 2017, the Union County Sheriff’s Office in Elizabeth and Union County Police Department in Westfield have been the two locations where services could be found. Since its inception, the C.L.E.A.R. Program has assisted 72 individuals towards recovery. In strategizing on how best to address the grave consequences of substance use disorder, Chief Ryan Greco welcomed the opportunity to have his department participate in a program that provides another avenue to combat the opioid problem in Union County.
In 2018, the Cranford Police Department responded to 17 opiate overdose calls for service. Three of those calls resulted in fatalities. “It is clear that law enforcement cannot arrest its way out of the problem of substance abuse. Medications such as Naloxone are incredibly useful but are at best a band-aid in a time of emergency. To truly tackle this problem, those individuals facing the disease of addiction need to find their way to recovery,” Greco said. Chief Greco believes that the innovative approach of partnering his organization’s officers with Prevention Links and High Focus Centers makes perfect sense. “I can only hope that by providing an additional C.L.E.A.R. Program location and expanding the program hours we will be able to assist even more people towards recovery.”
Coordinated by Captain Guy Patterson, twelve Cranford Police Officers have received advanced substance abuse training and will serve as facilitators for participants. C.L.E.A.R. Program participants seeking treatment will be met by one of the department’s specially trained officers who will assist the individual and pair them with a partner agency recovery coach. A recovery coach serves as the individual’s guide to appropriate treatment facilities and recovery support networks. C.L.E.A.R. provides services at any of the program locations Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. In addition to the regular business hours, the Cranford Police Department has created a partnership with local stakeholders at High Focus Centers to provide after-hours recovery coaching services. Collectively, these partnerships allow for the Cranford Police Department to offer substance abuse recovery assistance services 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Anyone seeking substance abuse assistance is encouraged to come to the Cranford Police Department. For additional information, please contact Captain Patterson at 908-709-3991.
Submitted by Detective Lieutenant Edward R. Davenport
