Fair Lawn Police Increasing Presence in Schools

Cops are going to become a common sight in Fair Lawn schools this fall.

Fair Lawn Police will begin making regular visits to schools during their patrols in order to beef up school security, better prepare themselves in the event of an emergency and make students more at ease in officers' presence, Interim Police Chief Glen Cauwels said.

“It’s prevention,” Cauwels said. “If the bad people know we’re in the schools, maybe they won’t go there.”

The Fair Lawn Council also voted in favor of re-implementing the D.A.R.E. program for 6th-graders in three of the district’s schools during their meeting Tuesday night.

D.A.R.E, the nationwide anti-drug and violence education program, was cut from Fair Lawn schools two years ago due to decreased manpower in the Police Department, Cauwels said.

“I think in light of some of the events that occurred in the last eight months — with school shootings, the heroin arrests and all of that kind of stuff — prevention’s the key,” he said.

Two Fair Lawn residents were among the 88 busted for buying heroin as part of a police probe in Bergen, Passaic and Mercer Counties last month.

“It’s very important to get this program going,” Cauwels said.

The chief said he expected the department's manpower issues would be resolved this fall when three new officers have completed their training at the academy. Three other officers are currently out on disability will also hopefully be back by then, and another new officer should be hired to replace a sergeant retiring next month, bringing the department to a total of 56 officers, he said.

They currently have eight trained D.A.R.E officers, who will be offered future comp time in exchange for their educational work.

“This can really work out well for everyone,” Cauwels said. “Everyone’s in favor of it. They like the idea that we’ll get cops back in the schools.”

The D.A.R.E programs will begin sometime in the fall at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Memorial School and Saint Anne’s School.

The town will then evaluate the fiscal impact, if any, the program provides in an assessment one year from now.

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