Left to right: MCPO Sgt. Patrick LaGuerre, Randolph Township Detective Ian Green, MCPO Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Sam DeNegri, Vice Principal Jackie Fik, Vice Principal Michael LoRicco, and Principal David Kricheff
During their October 5, 2023, presentation at Randolph Middle School, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri and Sergeant Patrick LaGuerre included a series of educational PSA videos, a new addition for the 2023-2024 school year to the ongoing Anti-Bias/Bullying program.
The MCPO routinely conducts in-person presentations at public and private schools throughout Morris County to teach students about bias incidents/crimes, cyber harassment, and making smart choices about social media and digital communication. The presentations also allow law enforcement to connect directly with students.
This is the second such presentation to include the vignettes, the first being Mount Olive High School on September 21. The videos were made possible with talent from local high school students and director and producer James Calderwood of Calderwood Multimedia LLC. MCPO presenters will collect feedback from the two schools for the sake of enhancing their program.
In keeping with the program’s messaging, the videos stress the importance of exercising good judgement when it comes to interacting with peers and determining what to post online, as how a student conducts themselves today could potentially impact their future.
Last school year, the MCPO conducted over a dozen such assemblies in Morris, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties.
SAP DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre explain to students 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. In addition, they explain that Morris County takes a zero-tolerance approach to threats of school violence, and there are consequences and corrective actions that must be taken, even when students claim their comments were intended as a joke.
The MCPO’s educational program is expanding beyond Morris County, with the goal of reaching students and faculty in all 21 New Jersey counties.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll said, “Teenagers today are growing up in a digital, visual world, and we hope these videos connect with them in a way they are familiar. At the same time, the MCPO’s vigorous program brings face-to-face communication with our students to private and public schools around Morris County and beyond. The program’s goal is to enable our students to make smart choices for the sake of their futures.”