Juvenile Bureau and School Resource Officer (SRO) Program

The Cranford Police Department’s Juvenile Bureau is committed to the advancement and development of the Township’s younger population. Detectives Trotter, Muhammad, and Galvez are available to help solve and prevent juvenile crimes. They are also able to assist parents with children-in-crisis or family-in-crisis situations.  Det. Trotter, Det. Muhammad, & Det. Galvez currently serve as the District's School Resource Officers. Captain Christopher Polito currently supervises their efforts.  All school resource officers and detectives are cross-trained and certified by the NJASRO as School Resource Officers.

To further this effort, in 2014, the Township of Cranford, Cranford Police Department and Cranford Board of Education collaborated to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) Program in our schools. A School Resource Officer (SRO) program places law enforcement officers in schools with the goal of creating and maintaining safe, secure, and orderly learning environments for students, teachers, and staff. An SRO program reflects a community’s desire to ensure that its schools are safe, secure, and orderly. SROs represent a proactive strategy designed to bring prevention and intervention into the schools. Members of the Cranford Police Juvenile Bureau are certified as Safe School Resource Officers through the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers (NJASRO). Aside from investigating juvenile matters, members of our Juvenile Bureau do the following:

Serve as officer, educator, and mentor of Cranford youth.

Investigate crimes and acts of delinquency involving juveniles as victims and as offenders.

Administer the Project ALERT substance abuse resistance training for all Township middle schools.

Observe, assist, and critique during mandated school safety drills and table-top exercises including fire drills, bomb scare drills, evacuation drills, active shooter drills, and lockdown drills.

Participate in the Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) meetings at all schools within the district.

Perform in-classroom instruction and education regarding bullying, peer pressure, social norms, and prevalent crime trends.

Conduct one-on-one counseling with students at-risk for committing offenses related to delinquency or criminal activity.

Educate school management and staff regarding up-to-date search and seizure rules for non-law enforcement personnel (NJ v. T.L.O.).

Ensure that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Cranford Board of Education and Cranford Police Department is current, compliant, and used effectively.

Make notifications to school officials in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-50 (mandatory and discretionary circumstances).

Facilitate Stationhouse Adjustment programs.

Act as Liaisons to the Cranford Municipal Alliance and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Underage Substance Abuse.

The Juvenile Bureau personnel always work closely with the Township schools, especially Cranford High School. Presentations are continually being made to students about different aspects of law enforcement, and a peer development program has been established wherein students can speak candidly and openly with plainclothes officers about any issues that concern them.

The Cranford Police Department is also a proud sponsor of our Township’s PAL (Police Athletic League) Programs. The Department believes that by providing a crime-free environment, and by fostering police-youth cooperation, we can proactively prevent any juvenile delinquency problems before they ever begin.

Captain Christopher Polito (908) 709-3991 or c-polito@cranfordnj.org

Det. Brian Trotter (908) 709-7344 or b-trotter@cranfordnj.org

Det. Ali Muhammad (908) 709-8989 or a-muhammad@cranfordnj.org

Det. Lynne Galvez (908) 709-7209 or l-galvez@cranfordnj.org