MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – Members from the Morris County Sheriffs Office Bureau of law Enforcement and the Bureau of Corrections recently attended an intense 2-day training cl ass at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy where they received the necessary skills designed to assist other brother and sister law enforcement officers in the time of need.
Lieutenant Andrew Bileci from the Morris County Sheriffs Office, Bureau of Corrections was one of five law enforcement officials who trained in excess of fifty other law enforcement officers from various police agencies within Morris County as “Resiliency Program Officers” (RPO’s). He was joined by Chief Ross Johnson from Mendham Police Department, Chief Stephen Beecher from Mount Olive Police Department, and Sergeant Mark Castellano and Detective Supervisor Patrick from the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
The training conducted was in accordance with the “Officer Resiliency Directive;” a first in the nation program launched by Attorney General Grewal who implemented the New Jersey Resiliency Program for law Enforcement (NJRP-LE) which is designed to equip law enforcement officers with the tools they need to deal with the emotional stress associated with law enforcement.
Officers trained will go back to their respective departments and ultimately pass on their knowledge received from the training to fellow officers to help cope with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and other conditions associated with law enforcement suicides.
“Critical incidents, unpredictable schedules, and physical demands are only a few of the stressors law enforcement officers are faced with throughout their career. The psychological impacts of these demands could be overwhelming for some and therefore it is necessary for the men and women of law enforcement to understand that we are all here to help one another,” Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said.
Officer Jillian Schweizer, Officer Chelsea Whiting and Officer Travis Somerville attended the training and will serve as liaisons for the Morris County Sheriffs Office.
