Get with the Program
New Brunswick Local 23 members collaborate with the Board of Education
to include law enforcement at the high school level
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
A 10th-grade history class is engaged
in a lesson about the U.S. Constitution at
New Brunswick High School when sud-
denly, law enforcement officers show up
to talk about the students’ rights. At most
high schools, a visit from law enforce-
ment in the classroom is out of the ordi-
nary. But in New Brunswick, officers and
young adults are getting to know each
other more and more through a Law En-
forcement Collaborative (LEC) program
that brings a refreshing point of view to
the U.S. history curriculum.
Before the LEC program was created, it
was simply an idea to prolong the pres-
ence of law enforcement officers in the
classroom into high school. New Bruns-
wick Local 23 Police Director Tony Ca-
puto wondered why, after students grad-
uate from the D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T.
programs in fifth and eighth grade, the
opportunity to learn from law enforce-
ment is brought to a sudden halt.
“When students move onto the high
school setting, they are provided with
newfound independence and responsi-
bilities,” Caputo explained. “I wanted to
fill this void and create a program that
promoted open dialogue and commu-
nication between our officers and our
young adult students.”
When Caputo, who has 35 years on the
job, brought the idea to New Brunswick
Mayor Jim Cahill, the mayor pushed the
idea one step further. He suggested that
the New Brunswick Police Department
work with the Board of Education to
create a law enforcement program that
could be implemented with the class cur-
riculum.
“I commend the mayor on his fore-
sight and progressive thinking, taking
my basic ideas and growing them into a
well-rounded and well-received initia-
tive,” Caputo noted. “It was Mayor Cahill
who really took the ball and ran with it.”
Cahill did more than just run with the
idea, though; he introduced Caputo to all
of the necessary players to make the goal
a reality, like New Brunswick Superinten-
dent Aubrey Johnson and other members
on the board. But when it came to putting
plans on paper, there was nobody more
equipped than retired Middlesex Coun-
44
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
New Brunswick Local 23 members act out dif-
ferent scenarios that involve constitutional law
with U.S. history students at New Brunswick
High School.
ty Prosecutor’s Office Local 214 member
Andrea Craparotta who, with a master’s
degree in education, was able to merge
the worlds of law enforcement and edu-
cation to create the blueprint for the Law
Enforcement Collaborative curriculum.
“When Caputo contacted me with this
idea, he basically gave me a clean canvas
to create something,” expressed Crap-
arotta, who is now a training consultant
for South and Associates. “I found it to be
an awesome challenge. It’s not easy to get
programs into schools.”
Over the course of nine months, Crap-
arotta, Caputo, Mayor Cahill and Super-
intendent Johnson worked to fine-tune
the Law Enforcement Collaborative cur-
riculum to cover topics including con-
stitutional rights, the First and Fourth
amendments and law enforcement in the
community. The program was so strong
that it was approved on its first proposal
to the Board of Education for the 2016-
2017 school year.
Since then, New Brunswick High
School sophomores in the U.S. histo-
ry class have all had the opportunity to
learn about the law by engaging with law
enforcement. Lieutenant Ray Trigg is one
of nine officers who trained for the LEC
pilot program in 2016, and continues
to be a leader in the collaboration three
years later.
“I am a strong supporter of programs
that involve working with children and
teaching them how to make healthy
choices,” Trigg shared. “It gives us an op-
portunity to teach the students about the
law and police practices and gives them
an opportunity to examine real-life sce-
narios from a different perspective.”
For one 80-minute class period each
marking period, Local 23 members lead
meaningful interactions that help stu-
dents apply the concepts learned in class
about topics like the Bill of Rights and
the U.S. Constitution to real-life scenari-
os. Role-playing protests and discussions