March 2, 2001

MARCH DECLARED ANTI-VIOLENCE MONTH IN MERCER COUNTY

 

Trenton, NJ — Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto and county officials proclaimed March to be 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, as well as 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, 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.

 

Last year’s Anti-Violence Month volleyball tournament was such a success that this year it will be countywide.  Middle schools from Mercer County will play games throughout the month.  The finals will be held on March 23 at Mercer County Community College.

 

“Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, violence continues to plague our communities; it is a real threat,” Giaquinto said.  “From television to movies to art to the streets – children are besieged with examples of violence.  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 2, 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 5, from noon – 2 p.m., & March 7, from 9 – 11 p.m., assistant prosecutors will participate in Rider College’s health fair for college students.  Materials on how to be safe while on spring break will be distributed.

·         March 6, 13, 20 & 27, 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 6, 15 & 20, from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., students from Ewing High School, Hamilton High School East (Steinert), Lawrence High School and Trenton 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 7, 8, 14 &15, the Trenton Police Department will be hosting a senior citizens symposium on community policing at the Trenton Police Academy.

·         March 8, at 10 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 12, the Trenton Police Department will present a “Personal Safety” program at Mill Hill in Trenton.

·         March 14 & 28, 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 16, the Trenton Police Department will present a “Personal Safety” program at the Board of Realtors in Trenton.

·     March 21, a program entitled “Project Pride” will be presented to students at Mercer Street Friends.  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 22, at 1:20 p.m., the Student Mediation Program at Hedgepeth/Williams Middle School in Trenton is sponsoring its “6th Annual Peace Rally” at the school. The rally will have an anti-violence message and is a highlight of the whole month’s program. National Football League wide receiver Kevin Johnson of the Cleveland Browns is one of the featured speakers.

·         March 23, the Trenton Police Department will be giving a talk on conflict resolution to students at the Catholic Youth Organization in Trenton.

·         March 23, volleyball finals at Mercer County Community College.

 

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.  

For additional event information, contact Robert Van Hise, director of the prosecutor’s office Community Outreach Unit, at (609) 989-6313.