On November 26, 2024, Autism New Jersey was honored to be invited by Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and President of the Bergen County Chiefs’ Association, Wyckoff Chief David Murphy, to present our Law Enforcement Initiative to more than 70 Bergen County Police Chiefs, President to the New Jersey State Chiefs of Police Association, Chief John Russo, and multiple members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. Autism New Jersey’s efforts to share information about autism-friendly law enforcement practices to ensure safe and positive interactions between the autism and law enforcement communities were warmly received by the county with the largest number of municipal police departments in the state.
While 15 of the municipal departments in Bergen County are currently using the Blue Envelope program, a commitment was received from Prosecutor Musella to highly encourage all 70 Bergen County police departments to implement the Blue Envelope program, and he will make the envelopes available at the Prosecutor’s Office for use by the departments. Autism New Jersey will continue to raise awareness, make connections, and assist law enforcement in their efforts to adopt best practices when interacting with the autism community.
We applaud Bergen County for its endorsement of this important autism-friendly practice.