Stafford Police Join Active Bystander Training Program

STAFFORD, NJ — The Stafford Township Police Department has been accepted into a program that trains officers in preventing misconduct and promoting health and wellness.

The Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project is Georgetown University Law Center’s national training and support initiative for U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Four Stafford Township Police Department officers have been certified as ABLE trainers and in the coming months, all of the department’s officers will receive eight hours of evidence-based active bystandership education.

The department is one of 115 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada to participate in the project.

The ABLE Project was developed by Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program in collaboration with the global law firm Sheppard Mullin LLP to provide practical active bystandership strategies and tactics to law enforcement officers to prevent misconduct, reduce mistakes, and promote health and wellness.

“The ABLE program will provide training to all our officers in Active Bystandership and Peer Intervention,” said Police Chief Thomas Dellane. “The program will also improve the health and wellness of our officers; reduce unnecessary harm to civilians; improve police community relations and will also improve citizen satisfaction of the police department.”

Those backing the Stafford Township Police Department’s application to join the program included Ocean Mental Health Services, Manahawkin Baptist Church and Stafford Township Administrator Matthew von der Hayden, who wrote letters of support.

“Stafford Township Police Department has demonstrated a deep commitment to improving themselves as an agency and officers in a multitude of areas by forging new partnerships and services that allow them to better serve their community,” said Meghan Corrigan, a social worker for Ocean Mental Health Services. “The police department launched the On POINT program which has partnered officers with social workers to directly assist community residents and formed the peer intervention committee to explore best practices of officer intervention, accountability and support.”

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