Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, Pompton Lakes Police Chief Anthony J.
Rodriguez, and CBH Care Executive Director Sue Devlin announce the upcoming launch of the
highly regarded ARRIVE Together program in the Borough of Pompton Lakes.
Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation (ARRIVE) Together is a
statewide program, implemented by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and overseen
by its Office of Alternative and Community Responses, aimed at providing individuals in crisis or
in need of mental health support with assistance as quickly and effectively as possible. The
program teams police officers specifically trained in crisis intervention with mental health
professionals to respond to 9-1-1 calls relating to a mental health crisis. There are five program
types associated with ARRIVE: the Co-Responder Model, the Telehealth Model, the Close-in-Time Follow-Up Model, the Follow-Up Model, and the Critical Incident Model. The entirety of
Passaic County utilizes the Critical Incident Model. Pompton Lakes will also utilize the Close-In-Time Follow Up Model and the Follow-up Model. With the Close-In-Time Follow-Up Model
law enforcement respond on scene and a mental health professional join on scene immediately,
subsequently, or within 24 hours, depending on availability. With the Follow-Up Model, law
enforcement respond on scene and a mental health professional follows up with the individual to
provide mental health and support services at a later date. The Critical Incident Model provides
mental health professionals to critical incident teams responding to individuals in a barricaded
situation.
Connecting law enforcement officers with mental health clinicians can help improve trust between
law enforcement and the community it serves. Partnering officers with mental health professionals
can lead to safer outcomes with fewer instances of use of force, arrests, and injuries. When officers
and mental health professionals respond together, wait times can be reduced and difficult situations
can be addressed before they escalate, and the chances of individuals being unnecessarily taken to
the hospital can be reduced.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Pompton Lakes Police Department and CBH Care invites
the public and community stakeholders to an open forum about the ARRIVE Together Program at
6:30 p.m. on May 6, 2026, at the Borough Hall (Municipal Council Chambers) located at 25 Lenox
Avenue, Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442. Representatives from all three partner agencies will be on
hand for the open discussion.
