March 1, 2002
Trenton, NJ — With a little help from National Football League linebacker Gary Stills of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto and county officials kicked-off Anti-Violence Month during a special ceremony today.
Events are scheduled throughout the month to heighten public awareness about the problem of violence and to encourage the overall community, especially youth, to participate in solutions.
The purpose of the program is to focus public awareness on the overall impact of violence on the community and to develop effective ways to reduce it. All forms of violence are openly addressed including domestic violence, rape, violence against senior citizens, street crime, arson, child abuse, drug-related and alcohol-related violence and crime as well as violence in schools and the workplace, Prosecutor Giaquinto said, because, “We would rather prevent crime than prosecute it.”
The month-long program has become a long-standing tradition and broadened every year to include expanding participation by community-based groups, civic associations, educational groups, clergy and law enforcement agencies. Many new activities are planned this year, including the Trenton Hoop Shoot, a basketball foul shooting contest sponsored by the Trenton Police Department and the prosecutor’s office that encourages kids to “Shoot Hoops, Not Guns.”
The highlight of this year’s program is the finals of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s 2nd Annual Anti-Violence Month Volleyball Tournament, which will be held on Friday, March 15, at the Rider University Gymnasium. During the course of the tournament, middle school students from Mercer County middle schools will interact with members of the prosecutor’s office and there will be messages of teamwork, cooperation, mediation, resolving disputes through non-violent means, and a strong anti-drug and alcohol message. Mercer County CRAVE (Cops Racing Against Violence through Education) will also participate in the tournament activities and the day of the finals, students will be offered a tour of the Rider University campus.
Additionally, Kevin Johnson, a Hamilton High School West graduate and wide receiver for the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns, will be in attendance for the finals. Johnson, who was an All-American at Syracuse University, has a powerful message for students about the importance of education, staying drug-free and following your dreams.
“Despite our best efforts, violence is a real and growing threat,” Prosecutor Giaquinto said. “The campaign against violence must be fought on several fronts and that is why educational efforts that are the basis of Anti-Violence Month and our year-around ‘Life is Beautiful Campaign’ are so important.”
The following is a summary of planned activities:
· March 1, from 9 a.m. - noon, a Read-A-Thon program will be held at the Mercer Junior-Senior Special Services High School in Hamilton. Assistant prosecutors, members of the prosecutor’s investigative staff and members of the Trenton Police Department will read materials to students that have an anti-violence theme.
· March 2, Trenton Hoop Shoot Kick-Off
· March 5, 12, 19 & 26, from 7 – 7:30 p.m., Prosecutor Giaquinto and staff members will be featured in “Violence Serves No Purpose” shows on WIMG/WZBN with a guest host. Topics will range from the role of the prosecutor’s office within the community to discussions about domestic violence laws and the problems of drugs, arson and child abuse.
· March 5, 14, 19 & 21, from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., students from Ewing High School, Central High School Hopewell Valley Central High School, Lawrence High School and Mercer Junior-Senior Special Services High School will participate in a “Buddy Program” at the prosecutor’s office. Students will spend a day with an assistant prosecutor to experience first-hand how the criminal justice system works.
· March 6, at 9 a.m., Trenton students from Hedgepeth/Williams Middle School, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Grace Dunn Middle School and Holland Middle School, will participate in an Anti-Violence Month volleyball tournament hosted by the staff at Dunn.
· March 6 & 20, from 6 – 7 p.m. at Anchor House in Trenton, assistant prosecutors will participate in an anti-violence curriculum the organization will provide entitled “Violence Prevention Through Conflict Resolution.”
· March 15, volleyball finals at Rider University.
· March 18, a program entitled “Project Pride” will be presented to students at Princeton House. The program, created by the state Department of Corrections, features adult inmates who will discuss with students prison life and the importance of making the right decisions when they are young.
· March 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Hightstown High School Library, the awards ceremony for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving poster and essay contest will be held.
The following are Anti-Violence Month events without scheduled dates:
· Calendar Art Contest. The prosecutor’s office is once again sponsoring a calendar art contest open to elementary school students throughout the county. This year’s theme is “Make Our Communities Violence Free.” Students should submit entries using slogans and designs to illustrate that theme. The winning design will be printed in a 2001-2002 calendar that will be distributed in September.
· Safety Life-Line. In recognizing that many victims of domestic violence do not have telephones accessible to them in case of emergency, a cell-phone drive will be conducted by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Once the phones have been collected, they will be re-programmed by Princeton Wireless to allow outgoing calls to emergency 911 only. The phones will then be distributed to at-risk victims of domestic violence to provide them a “life-line” to safety.
· Break-the-Silence – Stop School Violence. This program has two elements, the first geared for students, the second geared for parents and/or teachers. Assistant prosecutors will be scheduling the program for presentation to students at various schools in the county and to parents and/or teachers at various P.T.A. and P.T.O. organizations. Syndistar Inc. of New Orleans developed the program material, which was designed to enable officials to create a violence-free learning environment.
· Assistant prosecutors will be presenting conflict resolution programs to elementary schools throughout the month.
For additional event information, contact Robert Van Hise, director of the prosecutor’s office Community Outreach Unit, at (609) 989-6313.