Morris Sheriff’s Candidate Schievella: Take Politics Out of Opioid Response

Hope One Vehicle Belongs With Medical Professionals, Not Cops

ROCKAWAY, NJ (Nov. 1, 2019) – William Schievella, the Democratic candidate for Morris County Sheriff, has released the following statement in response to the Morris County Sheriff’s Office recognition for the Hope One program.

“The Morris County Sheriff’s office was recently recognized by the IACP for the work they have done to fight opioid addiction in Morris County with their public-private partnership with Hope One. While I congratulate my law enforcement colleagues at the Sheriff’s office for this accomplishment, I would also like to take this opportunity to point out the fundamental difference in how I, as Sheriff, will approach the opioid crisis in our communities.

The Hope One vehicle should not be operated by law enforcement officers or the Sheriff’s department. Staffing the vehicle with law enforcement personnel deters addicts and their families from seeking help, because they may not want to interact with the police. The Hope One vehicle should be operated by trained medical professionals and addiction treatment experts. As Sheriff, I will partner with major health care providers and area hospitals to staff and operate the Hope One vehicle.

As a Life Member of the New Jersey Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association’s Board of Directors and a member of the Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD) National Board of Directors, I know the important distinction between the roles of law enforcement, addiction treatment specialists, mental health professionals and other stakeholders in fighting this crisis. Law enforcement needs to focus on stopping the flow of drugs into our communities and making sure those who need treatment are directed to the proper resources. Effective Outreach to those suffering with addiction and their families should be conducted by trained healthcare providers and treatment experts, not law enforcement.

I will also expand evidence-based drug and violence prevention programs, such as Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD) in all Morris County public schools and create a narcotics unit within the Sheriff’s Office to stop the flow of drugs into Morris County.

My approach doesn’t just make sense as an addiction and drug prevention strategy, but also as a strategy for fiscal responsibility. The Hope One vehicle is a perfect example of how, when good intentions get mixed up with politics, the taxpayers wind up paying the bill. The Hope One vehicle has been an extremely valuable public relations tool for the Sheriff’s Office. Transferring its operation to a health care provider will save taxpayers the cost of the program while making it more effective for the addiction patients it is intended to treat. We cannot ask the taxpayers to pay for a less effective addiction treatment program so that an elected officials can benefit from public relations.

As Sheriff, I will conduct a full audit of the budget to identify other examples of taxpayer waste. I will use my cost cost-cutting efficiency to realign law enforcement strategies and focus our limited resources on the most important priorities.

For example, the salaries for Morris County Sheriff officers—our rank and file officers—place them at the bottom of Morris County law enforcement. However, the salaries for Undersheriffs—non-union positions that tend to be filled by retired police officers and are hired directly by the elected Sheriff—are 45 percent higher in three years. We need to look at why these members of the Sheriff’s executive staff have gained huge increases, while our men and women in uniform remain in the bottom tier of law enforcement salaries in Morris County causing a significant attrition problem.

Again, I congratulate the Morris County Sheriff’s Office on the work they have done with Hope One and on earning this recognition. My approach to fighting opioid abuse and addiction in Morris County might not result in us winning awards, but it will result in us reaching and treating more people suffering from addiction, and doing it more effectively.

ABOUT WILLIAM SCHIEVELLA

During a three-decade career in law enforcement, Bill Schievella has served as a New Jersey State Correction Officer, New Jersey State Parole Officer & Sergeant, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives and as Under Sheriff in the Morris County Sheriff’s Office. He has served on over twelve state, county and criminal justice boards.

​Bill has served as President of the New Jersey Police Community Affairs Officers Association, County Chiefs of Detectives/Investigators Association of New Jersey, and as a National Executive Board Member of Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD), the largest national evidence-based drug prevention program of its kind. He is the founder and president of the Italian-American Police Society of New Jersey, a 5,000-member charitable police organization.

Bill’s many awards and recognitions include: Man of the Year by the Morris County Chapter NAACP, Grand Marshal of the Morris County Columbus Day Parade, Man of the Year by the NJ Asian American Law Enforcement Officers Association and Law Enforcement Achievement Award from the Peace Island Institute, a Muslim-based organization promoting interfaith dialogue and acceptance. He is a past recipient of the NJ Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association Stamler Award and is proud to be a Lifetime Member of the organization’s Board of Directors. Bill’s professional experience includes Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice, Leadership, Terrorism, as well as Homeland Security Task Force Coordinator.

Bill completed his undergraduate degree at Caldwell College and earned a Master of Administrative Science and a post-Masters Certificate in Global Terrorism from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a graduate of the prestigious West Point Command & Leadership Program as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Course at Princeton University. For five years, Bill served as Councilman-at-Large in Rockaway Township.

Bill’s campaign is supported by the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, NYC Uniformed  Firefighters Association, National Coalition of Latino Officers NJ Chapter, Blacks in Law Enforcement Serving the Community (BLESC) and other groups.

Follow Bill’s campaign at: https://www.facebook.com/SchievellaForSheriff/

For more information, visit: https://www.schievellaforsheriff.com