National Organization Honors Howell Police Chief For L.E.A.D. Program

HOWELL, NJ — Howell Township Police Chief John Storrow has received national recognition for the police department's work to deter kids from drugs and violence.

Storrow was presented with the L.E.O. Award, honoring his work overseeing the department's school resource officers, who educate students in school using the L.E.A.D. program, the organization said.

L.E.A.D. — Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence — is a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence. Storrow was presented with the award at L.E.A.D.’s ninth annual 21st Century Drug and Violence Prevention Training Conference in Orlando, Florida, the organization said.

L.E.A.D.'s "In The Classroom" program is a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence. In Howell, it is taught in the fifth grade to about 600 students combined at Ardena Elementary School, Memorial Elementary School, Ramtown Elementary School, Aldrich Elementary School and Newbury Elementary School. The course is taught by the school resource officers.

"The L.E.A.D. program is a way for our SROs to influence every fifth grader that goes through the school system in Howell Township in a positive way," Storrow said. "It’s very cool for the children, who are just around 10 years old, to get to talk to and bond with the police officer that comes into their classroom ... (and) gives them the opportunity to learn from someone in law enforcement, which isn’t an everyday occurrence. The kids enjoy being able to tell their friends that they’re enrolled in a class that’s taught by a police officer, and the relationship that they build with the police continues to grow as the students get older."

The L.E.A.D. program teaches children about the consequences of the choices they make, which Storrow believes is what helps to keep them away from things like alcohol and drugs.

"L.E.A.D. teaches the students what they should and shouldn’t be doing, which is especially important for those who don’t have the luxury of having a strong household where they’ve already begun to learn what’s right from wrong," he said. "The curriculum teaches the children that making a poor choice, such as one that involves drugs or violence, will come with a consequence. Therefore, I think that they’ll do everything in their power to avoid making those bad decisions, using the foundation that L.E.A.D. has given them."

"The information that the police officers pass along to the students filters through the rest of the community, helping to make our town a safer, more cohesive place," he said.

"We congratulate Chief Storrow on his outstanding job looking after the L.E.A.D. program in Howell Township. His award is well deserved," said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. "Chief Storrow’s commitment to making sure that our program on drug and violence prevention runs smoothly in his town is helping us to continue accomplishing our goal of bettering police-community relationships."

L.E.A.D. provides services "On The Street" and "In The Classroom" as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together. The “In The Classroom” program is taught by more than 5000 trained instructors in 45 states, who are serving more than 500,000 students in 2,500 school systems.