PREVENTIONPRESS
Printed by the Howell Municipal Alliance • 2015 • Volume 7 • Issue 6
The Howell Alliance: Building a stronger community for a better
tomorrow through prevention, education, and awareness.
IN THE NEWS
On the Back: Holiday Fun, Holiday Danger:
Stay Safe This Season
Meet Howell Township’s New Chief of Police, Andrew Kudrick, Jr.
In July, Chief Andrew Kudrick, Jr.
assumed leadership of the Howell
Township Police Department, taking
the torch from retiring Chief Ronald
Carter. Chief Kudrick, a lifelong
Howell resident, worked his way up
through the ranks of the department,
starting as a police cadet at age 16
before becoming a 9-1-1 dispatcher,
a police officer, and department
leader in multiple capacities. During
his decades with the Howell
Township Police Department, Chief
Kudrick has worked in just about
every department and at every level.
“I have been with the Howell police
force for over 21 years, and I still
have the same passion for serving
my community today as I did when I
first started out,” comments Chief
Kudrick. “Like many of our officers, I live in Howell with
my family. I was raised in Howell and went through the
Howell schools. As community members ourselves,
we have a strong and vested interest in keeping
Howell safe.”
Chief Kudrick and the Howell Police Department have
four main areas of focus when it comes to protecting
the Howell community: executing comprehensive
traffic and motor vehicle enforcement; stopping drugrelated crimes; securing safe schools; and maintaining
community connection and education. Chief Kudrick
shares, “Howell police officers receive training that is
top in the state. In fact, we have been asked many
times to train other police departments. We are also
well-equipped and have a civilianrun safety fund to raise money and
buy equipment for extras. This
greatly helps provide what we need
to keep our schools and officers
safe.”
Howell’s police officers are proactive
and visible throughout the community,
addressing and heading off potential
issues before problems arise. The
Howell Police Department also has a
dedicated crime suppression unit with
highly trained, experienced officers
focused primarily on narcotics and
overdose death investigations. Howell
has several major highways such as
Route 9 and I-195 running through,
linking it to many cities known to have
large drug distribution networks. Local
dealers and users visit these cities to obtain drugs at a
lower price, which they then sell back here at more than
double the price.
“Howell doesn’t have a significantly high crime rate, in
part due to our police standards and stringent motor
vehicle enforcement, which control crime,” says Chief
Kudrick. “Traffic enforcement keeps drugs and crime
off the streets while preventing further crimes due to a
fear of being caught. Proudly, Howell has led
Monmouth County many years with drunk driving
arrests. When it comes to crime, drunk driving, and
drugs, our message is clear: Stay out of Howell. We’ve
directly heard drug dealers during investigations say
there is no way they will go into Howell.”
Article continued on page 2
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COVER STORY CONTINUED
Meet Howell Township’s New Chief of Police, Andrew Kudrick
The Howell Police Department and Chief Kudrick work
closely with the schools, board of education, governing
body, township management, and the Howell Alliance to
make sure all areas of concern are being addressed,
consistently following best practices and updating policies
and procedures as the town’s demographics change. They
also value solid relationships with citizens and keeping the
community educated about drug and alcohol abuse
prevention and current drug and crime trends.
School resource officers are important when it comes to
students developing a rapport with the police at an early
age. Students regularly communicating with a resource
officer builds trust and respect for law enforcement, which
encourages kids to share what they see and experience.
Chief Kudrick and his department are currently joining
forces with Howell Township Public Schools to bring more
resource officers to the Howell schools, which previously
had to be reduced due to budget cuts. This will be done
through the newly-created Special Law Enforcement
Officers Class III (SLEO III) state program.
“We all need to be connected and on the same page. It
gives a full picture of our town, provides avenues for
education and outreach, and tells us how we can all work
together to achieve each other’s missions,” comments Chief
Kudrick. “We can’t do it on our own, and if there is an
addiction, arrest, or any other negative police interaction,
then there has been a failure somewhere. Warning signs
were missed, but hopefully not ignored. Parents and
community members need to be educated and aware, to
remain cognizant of what is going on, so that when
something unusual happens, we can address it, right from
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the start. People need to reach out to us for help
immediately, before the consequences are out of
control.”
Many Howell community members follow “Howell
Township Police 911 Communications” on Facebook,
where Chief Kudrick himself posts updates on
incidents, crime, and arrests throughout Howell. It is
just one way he maintains open, interactive
communication with community members. “I am
open and honest about what goes on here and how
I run the department. I feel citizens have a right to
know what’s happening in their community and how
we are addressing it. I also like to hear their feedback
and opinions,” states Chief Kudrick. “It is my personal
mission to have our community members go to sleep
at night knowing their community is served and
protected by the finest police department.”
Chief Kudrick warns parents to be aware and that
drug and alcohol abuse can happen to any kid,
without exemption: “Parents must know the avenues
to take and remain educated on what to look out for.
They need to reach out to us at the first sign of
something going wrong. We aren’t looking to open
an investigation, but rather to help prevent the
situation from getting worse. Call our police
department, crime suppression unit, or juvenile
detectives, or send me a private inbox Facebook
message. Everything is kept confidential, and we will
help in whatever way we can, getting the proper
resources through the Howell Alliance and
community outreach services.”
IN OUR COMMUNITY
Initial Signs of Substance Use in Adolescents:
Typical Teenage Behavior…or Time to Worry?
Raising teenagers can be unbelievably difficult;
with the increase in technology and decrease in
interpersonal interactions of today, it is becoming
even harder. One of the most frequent struggles
parents face is trying to understand whether their
child is exhibiting “typical adolescent behavior” or
if there may be something else contributing to the
academic and social issues they are noticing.
In an effort to help parents
identify when they need to
reach out for additional
support, this article identifies the most common
early warning signs of
substance abuse. Having
one, two, or three of these
signs does not mean that
your teen is using substances; however, the
more times that you can
say “yes” to these indications, the more likely it is
that additional evaluation
and intervention is needed.
Frequent Behavioral Warning Signs of
Drug Use:
• Change in academic performance (dropping
grades, attendance, and interest in
schoolwork or grades)
• Change in group of friends (hanging with
kids you don’t know; disassociating with the
usual group)
• Change in interests (dropping out of hobbies,
sports, school activities, and clubs)
• Change in obeying the rules (getting into
trouble, not abiding by curfews, receiving
detention)
• Change in spending (asking for more money,
not explaining where money was spent)
Psychological
Warning Signs of
Drug Use:
• Unexplained
changes in
personality and
attitude
• Sudden mood
swings or changes
in mood (hyper,
agitated, giddy,
lethargic,
unmotivated,
“spaced out,”
anxious, or paranoid)
• Increased irritability and anger (especially
when asking the teen about his or her life)
Physical Warning Signs of Drug Use:
• Blood shot eyes or dilated pupils
• Change in appetite or sleeping pattern
• Decreased attention to appearance or
personal hygiene
If you find that many of these warning signs are
true for your teenager, the first step is to have him
or her evaluated by a professional who
specializes in substance use to determine if use
is occurring, and if so, what substance and how
frequently. There are many trained, professional
resources in your school and community to assist
with this process. Don’t be afraid to reach out to
your teen’s school, his or her doctor, or a licensed
local therapist to ask for help. The sooner you
intervene, the better the potential outcome will be
for your child.
Information provided by Dara Gasior, PsyD,
Director, High Focus Centers of Freehold, NJ
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Holiday Fun, Holiday Danger: Stay Safe This Season
December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
Drunk driving accidents and
fatal crashes rise during the
holiday season as family
and friends gather to
socialize and celebrate. A
light-hearted
and
fun
occasion can quickly turn
into a lifetime of heartache
over one simple decision to
get behind the wheel while
intoxicated. Designating a non-drinking driver, taking public
transportation, hitching a ride home with a sober friend, or
hiring a cab or car service are choices you can make to stay
safe this holiday season, whether heading a distance or just
around the corner.
This holiday season, remember…
• Drunk driving accounts for 52% of fatal collisions on
Christmas and 57% of fatal collisions on New Year’s; the
rest of the year, it accounts for about 41% of deadly
crashes. (statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
• 25,000 people are injured during the holidays from driving
under the influence. (statistic from the Centers for Disease
Control)
Stop Heroin. Start Talking.
Say NO.
www.howelltv.org/howellpsahd.wmv
• A blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or more
is driving under the influence.
• Driving under the influence of
narcotics, marijuana, and
certain prescription drugs is
just as dangerous—and
deadly—as driving drunk.
• The night before Thanksgiving
is called “Black Wednesday”
or “Blackout Wednesday”
because it is one of the most
popular nights for binge
drinking and “blacking out”
from intoxication. College
students head home for the holiday, and most people
have off from work the next day. Thanksgiving weekend
is also the most traveled holiday period.
Thank you to our sponsors, who makes
this newsletter possible.
For more information
and volunteer
opportunities visit:
www.twp.howell.nj.us
click on Departments,
then Municipal Alliance.
Funding also provided by GCADA
Empty your medicine cabinet
and save a life!
Drop unwanted prescriptions
in the Project Medicine Drop
box at the Howell Police
Department. Anonymous and
available 24-7.
www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/meddrop/
The mission of the Howell Alliance is to collaborate
with residents, schools, town government, police,
businesses, and other local organizations to prevent
drug addiction, underage drinking, and tobacco use
through promoting public awareness, education, outreach resources, life skills, and positive choices.
Interested in membership? We meet the 3rd
Tuesday of the month at town hall, 12:30 p.m.
(Newsletter writing by Christa Riddle of All About Writing and production by Linda Coppolino of Little Hat Marketing & Design.)
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