Morris County Prosecutor’s Office personnel discuss bias conduct at Halsted Middle School

NEWTON, NJ (Sussex County) – Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri and Sergeant Patrick LaGuerre recently discussed bias conduct with the students at Halsted Middle School in Newton.

The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office routinely conducts presentations at schools throughout Morris County and the surrounding region to engage with area youth about exercising good judgement when it comes to how they interact with others online or in school.

SAP DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre stressed that students should be mindful of what they post and how they interact on social media, because how they conduct themselves online could potentially impact their future. Social media and technology today document everything, even photos and messages that a person assumes were deleted, including ones thought to be private.

This data can be accessed and potentially shared after being deleted, they said.  Furthermore, SAP DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre explained the difference between bias crimes and bias incidents, cautioning students that their school administrators can choose to take disciplinary action even if an incident isn’t considered criminal.  Students were also given the opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.

“Supervising Assistant Prosecutor DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre continue to expand their reach to students throughout the area to discuss both the potential immediate and long term adverse impacts of bias behavior, and offer advice to resist such behavior,” Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said.