Officer-Coaches, Officer-Santas Keep Cranford Kids Crime-Free

Cranford Police Department’s juvenile bureau consists of three detectives, who work part of the time as coaches, school chauffeurs and Santa Clauses. But in their dealings with troubled Cranford children, they take on their most important roles: enforcers, social workers, and rehabilitators.

“We put on many different hats,” said Detective Sgt. Christopher Polito at a Wednesday night Citizens’ Police Academy meeting.

Juvenile delinquency is an act committed by someone under the age of 18, that if committed by an adult would be a crime, a disorderly persons offense, a petty disorderly persons offense, or a violation of a regulation or municipal ordinance.

Motor vehicle offenses, bicycle and skateboard violations, and smoking are not juvenile offenses, though the juvenile bureau has been known to deal with them. The same goes for running away from home, truancy and other serious conflicts over issues of parental authority. These offenses are handled in municipal court.

In more serious cases, juvenile officers can take a child into custody and bring them to the bureau in Cleveland Plaza.

“It’s important we have a separate place to talk to the kids so they’re not in contact with anyone in the holding cell [at the police station], and not subject to some of the things those [adult] prisoners say or do,” said Polito.

At the bureau, officers hold the juveniles until a parent or guardian signs them out. In some cases, the juvenile leaves with a bit of homework. Officers assign community service, letters of apology, home chores, research essays and other tasks to offenders instead of taking them to court.

“We want to rehabilitate,” said Polito. “If a kid makes a mistake we need to find another way to give him another chance. We’re not looking to lock him up in detention and throw away the key. But we do have to make sure in some way the juvenile is accountable for his actions.”

If an arrest is made, the juvenile could stand before a juvenile conference committee, a referee or a judge. The committee is reserved for less severe crimes and consists of volunteers from the community who are trained by the court. A referee is a court-appointed individual who usually deals with third-degree crimes. The more severe crimes are tried at a family court in Elizabeth.

When they’re not holding Cranford children accountable, however, the detectives are about town, trying to deter juveniles from committing crimes. They drive reluctant children to school, coach youth sports, and teach fifth graders to stand up for the straight and narrow.

The Police Athletic League is a volunteer sports program that offers football, cheerleading, wrestling, basketball and other sports programs for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Last year, 938 children participated in the sports programs.

“We’re fortunate to get so many volunteer coaches,” said Polito. “It’s amazing how everything seems to come together with the help of the community.”

Once a week, officers visit fifth grade classes at Hillside Avenue, Brookside Place, Orange Avenue, Livingston Avenue, and St. Michael’s schools to teach children how to get themselves out of potentially illegal and dangerous situations. With the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (DARE), they present eight ways to say no to drugs, alcohol and violence.

“I tell them ‘hey, you’ll be wearing these if you get into this stuff,’” said Detective Matthew Widdows, holding up his handcuffs. “And then one kid always asks, ‘hey can you put those on me?’”

Their debuts on the field and in the classroom have made something of heroes out of these officers.

“I was in the Cranford Municipal Pool and about 10 kids came running to the side of the pool,” said Lt. Robert Colaneri about when he used to teach the DARE program. “They were shouting ‘Officer Colaneri! It’s Officer Colaneri. He swims!’ and they started jumping in the pool. It’s like I was a move star.”

“It’s a great way for us to bridge the gap between the police and the youth of Cranford,” said Widdows. “They all know I’m a Devils fan, they all know I have two puppies. But I’ve also had a few of them come up and actually give me some good information.”

The officers do little to discourage doting children.

Every Christmas an officer suits up and delivers presents to children dressed as Santa Claus. The presents are wrapped and provided ahead of time by the parents, and Santa arrives in a patrol car, lights flashing and sirens wailing.

Keeping children from growing up into criminals is one thing, but some police interactions seem meant to shape children into officers.

The Cranford-based Police Explorer Post 74 (ages 14-21) and the Cranford Youth Academy (rising sixth-, seventh-, eighth-graders) exist to teach children about the police department.

16 members of the explorers have moved on to careers in law enforcement. Some of them, like Widdows and Colaneri, can be found at the Cranford Police Department.

Much like the Citizens’ Police Academy, the explorers and youth academy students learn about crime scene investigations, motor vehicle stops, firearms safety and more through lectures, ride-alongs, demonstrations and hands-on sessions. Local, state and national conferences allow the students to test their police knowledge and skills.

“If it’s in police work they have a competition for it,” said Widdows. “They’re tested on motor vehicle stops, domestic violence scenes, and other things.”

Some explorers are used as additional, albeit constantly supervised, help at races and other crowd-control scenarios.

“Most of them are so into this program and want to be as helpful as possible,” said Widdows.

Contact the juvenile bureau at 908-272-5922 for more information on PAL, DARE, the explorers and the youth academy.