GTPD shares a news story written by Carly Q. Romalino from the Courier Post
https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/02/18/gloucester-township-nj-police-stuffed-animals-comfort-kids/2806074002/
GLOUCESTER TWP. - Patrolman Kevin Schultz starts his shift by ticking off every required item on his police vehicle's inspection log.
Oxygen tank. Check.
Automated External Defibrillator. Got it.
Ice rescue rope system. Packed.
Floppy-eared stuffed dog in a red scarf? Absolutely.
The stuffed dog riding along in the back of the Gloucester Township Police Department SUV — or a super-soft and squishy camel tucked in the passenger seat headrest — isn't just a toy. It's another tactical tool officers have at their fingertips to calm kids during tense situations from domestic disputes to devastating house fires.
"We don't want a kid remembering an experience like that," Schultz said.
"It reassures the kids they didn't do anything wrong, and it's OK."
Stuffed bears breaking barriers
Officers with Gloucester Township Police Department's Juvenile and Family Services Bureau interacted with more than 400 Gloucester Township children in 2017 and 2018, according to department data.
Children serviced by this bureau are victims of crimes and kids who have committed crimes, a department spokesman said.
Officers connect with many more kids on their beats, McLaughlin noted. The department does not track how many kids officers casually bump into on patrols, comfort on the curb in front of their burning house, or high-five in the hallways as school resource officers.
"We're in contact with children daily," she said.
"Forming bonds with the kids is the bridge with the community."
The juvenile services bureau follows up with families after a traumatic incident, like a home raid by police executing a search warrant.
"The SWAT (team) is pulling out and they're pulling in," Schultz, a school resource officer, said.
That's how he recently met three kids — the oldest just five — and their mom on their living room couch after a warrant was executed at the residence, the officer remembered.
The oldest child's face brightened. He recognized Schultz from his school, the officer recalled.
"I ran out to the car, got three stuffed animals, gave them to the kids and they lit up," Schultz said.
"Their day was great. It didn't matter to them their front door was laying on the ground off its hinges."
Schultz wanted the kids to know they didn't do anything wrong, they weren't in trouble, and to feel like they'll be alright, he said.
"It's not these kids' choices to live in a situation where mom or dad isn't making the best choices," Schultz said.
"It's 6 a.m. and they just got woken up. It's a very traumatic type of experience."
In the midst and aftermath of trauma, a small token from an officer can open a line of communication between the child and investigators, McLaughlin said.
"It starts a conversation with a child. They start to entrust in the officer because they gave them a teddy bear," she said.
"It really brings that wall down, that barrier."
Teddy bears and tactical gear
As vital a tool as the teddy bears have become, the plush program started mostly by accident, according to McLaughlin.
It started so unintentionally, McLaughlin couldn't pin down an exact date when the initiative launched as more than a sweet gesture spurred by a random donation.
"Someone donated the stuffed animals and we said, 'what are we going to do with these?,'" McLaughlin recalled.
Since the first donation a few years ago, new batches have trickled in sporadically.
In January, Mary Cregan, of Mount Laurel, donated a half-dozen stuffed creatures to the department. She collected new stuffed animals from her friends in lieu of birthday gifts for herself, McLaughlin said.
Gloucester Township Police primarily collects new, clean plush toys through a partnership with PetSmart on Berlin-Cross Keys Road. The pet store takes monetary donations at the check-out counter, then purchases new plush pets for the force.
The department is not currently accepting stuffed animal donations, McLaughlin said. Plastic tubs in the headquarters's briefing room are overflowing, she said.
Schultz has a trash bag full in his cruiser. He also has a stash of stickers and every once in a while, a coupon book for ice cream.
Non-traditional roles
As policing in New Jersey evolves to include aftermath services, Egg Harbor Township police Chief Richard Buzby said officers find themselves in "non-traditional roles" in the community.
"Over the course of my long career, I've had the honor of serving with officers who would pitch in the last penny they had to feed children and families," Buzby, president of the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, said.
Buzby's department is considering joining a federal Drug Enforcement Administration initiative to notify school officials when a child's family member has overdosed.
Support for kids facing adult issues is an "absolute blessing to a child who has gone through that trauma," the chief said.
"Today, we often find ourselves in these non-traditional roles," Buzby said.
"The folks who have these big hearts are the backbone and foundation of community policing."
In the halls of the Gloucester Township school Schultz visits as its on-site resource officer, he can keep in touch with some of the kids whose homes he's responded to.
The tot he comforted after the raid is among them, he said.
"I bet you he probably still does have it," Schultz said of the stuffed dog.
"I would like to think he does."
Carly Q. Romalino; @carlyqromalino; 856-486-2476; [email protected]
