The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2023
Casinos Offering Second Chances
By James T . Plousis , Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission
When the New Jersey Casino Control Act was implemented in 1976 , it required anyone who had been charged with a drug conviction to be denied a casino key employee license , one of the highest-level credentials one could obtain to work in the New Jersey casino industry .
On January 21 , 2020 , that changed after New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an amendment to the New Jersey Casino Control Act at N . J . S . A . 5:12-89.1 . The amendment allows an applicant who completes recovery court ( formerly “ Drug Court ”) or completes an intense drug treatment program in state prison to be able to apply for a casino key employee license . This change will provide an opportunity for nearly all of the 23,000 employees in the New Jersey casino industry to advance to a supervisor position , or above , within the industry . As Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission , it is my belief that if one of the most regulated industries can give those who are regulated a second chance , other less regulated industries should follow suit .
In addition to allowing applicants with specific charges to obtain a casino key employee license , N . J . S . A . 5:12-89.1 also requires the Comission to partner with many local non-profit organizations to spread the word about this important change to the Act . The Commission regularly partners with the American Legion , The New Jersey State Parole Board , Stockton University , the Atlantic County Prosecutor ’ s Office , and the U . S . Department of Veterans Affairs , among other , to ensure that those looking to work in the New Jersey casino industry are aware of this new rule .
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission also maintains a section on its website dedicated to the reentry process : www . njccc . gov / reentry .
Crisis Leadership : Critical Incident Stress Management & Cop2Cop
By Cherie Castellano , CSW , LPC , AAETS
Over the last 22 years our Cop2Cop team has responded to provide more than 800 Critical Incident Stress Management ( CISM ) crisis debriefing groups and the requests for crisis response have increased significantly in 2023 . As a licensed clinician , certified expert in crisis response and wife of a law enforcement officer , it has been an honor to facilitate psychological first aid services to our heroic law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey . We have seen growth , compassion and expertise in officer wellness in collaborating with each of you as Chiefs modeling crisis leadership . Key factors in effective CISM service provision for you as leaders includes understanding the goals and outcomes for crisis intervention , reviewing your SOPS and engaging with certified and licensed professionals as your resource . Cop2Cop , EAP ’ s and some volunteer CISM teams are certified , which should be the standard for your choice when considering resources . Let ’ s begin by getting the basic understanding of Critical Incident Stress Management interventions .
A “ critical incident ” has been defined as a stressful event that is so consuming it overwhelms existing coping skills (
Kureczka , 1996 ). A more functional definition describes a critical incident as an event that has the potential to interfere with a person ’ s normal management of everyday stress . The Mitchell Model carefully differentiates between a critical incident and a crisis response . Again , a critical incident is the event itself , which is “ critical ” due to its potential to engender dysfunction . A crisis response is defined as the actual presentation of an individual whose coping resources have been overwhelmed by the incident and there is evidence of impairment (
Caplan , 1964 ).
One approach to address reactions of emergency responders to critical incidents is debriefing . Unfortunately , many researchers have used the term debriefing to encompass a variety of incident-response interventions . This paper uses the terms CISD to refer to the Mitchell Model and debriefing to refer to all other descriptions of crisis intervention in the literature .
CISD consists of a group of emergency responders , all of whom were involved in the same critical incident , and the CISD intervention team members deployed for service . In law enforcement , the CISD team consists of at least one peer , who is a law enforcement officer , and at least one mental health professional . The CISD is composed of seven stages . The first stage , Introduction , takes the time to describe the process , rules of CISD ( i . e . confidentiality ), and expectations . During the Fact Phase , the sec-ond stage , officers are asked to say who they are and what their role was in the incident . The next stage ( Thought Phase ) asks the officer to share his or her first thoughts after the incident . The Reaction Phase , the fourth stage , explores the personal reac-tions surrounding the event . In the fifth stage , the Symptom Phase , signs and symptoms of critical incident stress are discussed and normalized . In the next stage , the officers are taught different ways of dealing with critical incident stress in their lives ( Teaching Phase ). Finally , the Reentry Phase encourages officers to discuss any other issues and ask questions . Most importantly , this phase focuses on returning the officer to duty . Each stage represents a gradual step designed to return the emergency re-sponder to his / her precritical incident level of functioning (
Mitchell , 1991 ). At Cop2Cop we provide materials to officers and we offer a peer support follow up contact form in case the officer prefers to speak privately after the group is over .
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