MCPO Hosts Pilot Bias/ Bullying Train the Trainer Program for PCPO
Published on April 05, 2023
Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri and Sergeant Patrick LaGuerre recently visited the Wayne Valley High School and Schuyler Colfax Middle School on March 28. Together, they led a presentation on bias incidents, cyber harassment, and making smart choices about social media for students, with visiting members of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office (PCPO) in attendance. The presentations were part of the first Bias “Train the Trainer” program which aims to bring these educational presentations to students and faculty members in all twenty-one counties. Based upon these presentations the PCPO Bias Legal and Investigative Team Members will continue to bring this timely programing to Passaic County Schools.
The presenters stressed students exercising good judgement when interacting with their peers and when determining what to post on social media. Since social media and technology today serve to document everything one posts, it was stressed that how a student decides to conduct themselves today could potentially impact their future. MCPO presenters explained the difference between bias crimes and bias incidents, cautioning students that their school administrators can choose to take disciplinary action even if an incident isn’t considered criminal. It was also stressed to the students the importance of reporting any potential bias incident, whether committed against them personally or another student, which can be done anonymously, with the understanding that all reports will be investigated.
The MCPO routinely conducts presentations at public and private schools throughout Morris County to educated on these important topics, and to talk directly with students. Over the past year, the MCPO has conducted over a dozen such assemblies in Morris, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll said, “I thank Sgt. LaGuerre and Supervising Assistant Prosecutor DeNegri for their efforts addressing bullying and bias incidents at our Morris County schools, and for launching the Train the Trainer program to serve additional counties. This curriculum will serve as a model for districts throughout the State of New Jersey. I hope our colleagues from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office found the presentation informative and useful.”
Media inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to [email protected].
Pictured here are Detective Sergeant Michael Boone, Detective Lieutenant Maria Tejada, Wayne Police Detective Lt. Vincent Ricciardelli, Detective Anthony Latoracca, Wayne PD Henry Ellis. Detective Sergeant Kenneth Hart, Detective Bryan Hackett, MCPO Sgt. Patrick LaGuerre, MCPO Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri, Wayne Secondary Schools Director Matthew Mignanelli, Schuyler Colfax Principal Heather Weinstein, PCPO Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Kalafut, PCPO Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Petrella, and PCPO Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bulent Can.
Pictured here are Wayne Valley Principal Ken Palczewski, Supervising AP Samantha DeNegri, Wayne Secondary Schools Director Matthew Mignanelli, and Sgt .Patrick LaGuerre.
Pictured here are Detective Anthony Latoracca, Detective Sergeant Michael Boone, Principal Ken Palczewski, Detective Lieutenant Maria Tejada, Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Petrella, Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Kalafut, Senior Assistant Prosecutor Bulent Can, Detective Bryan Hackett, Detective Lieutenant Vincent Ricciardelli, Detective Sergeant Henry Ellis, Detective Sergeant Kenneth Hart, Supervising AP Samantha DeNegri, Sgt. Patrick LaGuerre, and Wayne Secondary Schools Director Matthew Mignanelli.