The purpose is “to empower high school students by building knowledge, awareness and confidence,” the department said in a news release.

The safeguards and tips will “give students the tools to protect themselves and make informed decisions.” the department said in a news release.

The first is a lecture on how to be vigilant and aware of surroundings.

The second involves hands-on demonstration of basic self-defense tactics by county police officers certified in martial arts.

First session
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday (tomorrow)
WHERE: Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute, 281 Campgaw Rd, Mahwah

Second session
WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday, May 20
WHERE: Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro Campus, 504 Rt. 46 West

RSVP: Det. Gidget Petry at petry@bcoem.org with the date and location of the session you want to attend.

A parent permission form is required.

To get yours, click:  PERMISSION FORM

Students are asked to bring the completed permission form to the training.

Titled “Lockdown,” the video — and another for school personnel who face similar situations  – were recorded at New Milford High School, from scripts drafted by Bergen County Police Lt. Robert Espinosa and Sgt. John LaDuca.

“It is the intent of this directive to mandate that each law enforcement officer within Bergen County view this video annually and as part of any supplement to their individual active shooter  training,” the document issued yesterday says.

“The manner in which such video shall be viewed shall be at the discretion of the local chief of police or director,” it says, “but a record shall be made within each department confirming that the officer has viewed the video.”

Each police agency in Bergen – both municipal and county – has received a copy of the video, Molinelli said.

“The video is law enforcement-sensitive and shall not be disclosed to anyone outside the Department without the express[ed]  written consent of the individual chief or director, as [well] as the office of the County Prosecutor,” says the directive, which takes effect June 1.

A record of the training “shall be kept in the ordinary course of police business within each Department along with all other training records maintained by the Department” and be available on

Molinelli ordered a “unified and consistent” mandatory active shooter police in April 2005.

It was amended in August 2011 to include how to respond to school shooters, in keeping with a directive from the state Attorney General’s Office.

This past January, Molinelli issued a separate video for use in all Bergen County schools as “a supplement to existing training afforded to schools under each school district’s school safety plan.”

Both videos are unique in that they are “based upon factual scenarios actually experienced throughout the United States over the past 10 years,” the prosecutor said.

Authorities were trying to determine what was responsible for causing at least four EMT students to suddenly collapse — three of whom they said had to be taken to area hospitals — at what is one of the largest ambulance and rescue training facilities in the Northeast.

“The rest of the school wasn’t immediately evacuated,” a student from another class told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “We were asking questions, but we were never told that there was a situation going on. We were told to go back to class.

“Whenever something like this happens, you’re supposed to get everyone outside,” said the EMT student, who is also an area firefighter. “People need to be in open air. They can’t be confined in classrooms.”

Just before 10:30, roughly a half-hour after the first students were brought into the hallway for treatment, “an instructor who’s also a firefighter finally began going around telling people to get out,” he added. Several dozen students were led out the back door to a darkened area, forcing some to use their cellphones as flashlights, the adult student said.

“These are young kids you’re talking about,” he told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Some of them are as young as 16. They had no idea what was going on.”

Eventually, he said, everyone was dismissed.

Emergency workers at the scene said they took two patients to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and another to Hackensack University Medical Center. A fourth victim refused medical attention, they said.

The incident drew hazmat units from Bergen County and Paramus, as well as the Paramus Rescue Team, Paramus police and firefighters, several ambulance crews and a Westwood patrol sergeant to the East Pascack Road facility.

Executive Director Michael Tarantino couldn’t immediately be reached for comment (UPDATE: Phones messages were left for county administrators Friday morning).

Under the auspices of Bergen County Technical Schools, the Bergen County EMS Training Center offers three training courses: Emergency Medical Technician, Heavy Rescue and Hazardous Materials.

It was launched without a building of its own in 1976 and eventually moved to its current location in the fall of 1991.

“It’s a credit to the citizens of Passaic County, as well as the other counties we’ve visited, that we’ve managed to take so many lethal weapons out of circulation,” Chiesa said during a news conference at the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office in Totowa.

As a result, none of those weapons “will be stolen and used in a street crime, to turn a domestic argument into a homicide, to accidentally kill or wound a curious child, or to claim the life of one of our courageous police officers,” he said.

The “vast majority” of firearms turned in during last weekend’s event are “operable and capable of taking a life or maiming someone,” the attorney general said.

Among the weapons collected were 384 handguns and 53 guns that are illegal to own, either because they feature unlawfully high magazine capacities or have been unlawfully modified, he said.

They included:

• two Tec 9 firearms with 32-round magazine capacities;

• an AK-47 assault rifle;

• two M1 rifles, one with a magazine capacity of 20 rounds, the other with 30;

• a sawed-off shotgun with double pistol grip;

• a 12-gauge, double-barreled, sawed-off shotgun.

That brought the number for buybacks in six New Jersey counties over the past year to 10,006.

The breakdown:

Bergen County: 1,345
Atlantic County: 2,061
Camden County: 1,137
Mercer County: 2,604
Monmouth County: 1,581

Roughly $112,350 in state and county criminal forfeiture funds were spent to buy back the firearms in Passaic County, Chiesa said. There were two drop-off points: Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church in Paterson and at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Passaic.

Those who turned in their weapons received up to $250 per gun, with a maximum limit of three.

“There is no way to measure the potential tragedies that have been averted through this initiative,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.

• ALSO SEE: Bergen County’s haul during this weekend’s gun buyback was 1,345 firearms surrendered — along with 55,000 rounds of ammo — one of the state’s highest totals to date, Sheriff Michael Saudino said today. The literal caliber of many of the weapons reflects the population of the county. READ MORE ….

Throughout the ongoing campaign, Chiesa noted, citizens have “voiced concern about gun violence in their communities, and expressed enthusiasm for ridding their neighborhoods of deadly firearms.”

He emphasized once again that gun buybacks alone won’t solve “the complex and multi-faceted problem of gun violence” but said they work as “an important element of a broader strategy aimed at reducing shooting deaths and shooting injuries in New Jersey.”

“We believe they’re making a real difference throughout our state — particularly in light of the many illegal guns we’ve taken out of circulation,” Chiesa said. “We also believe the majority of New Jersey residents support this program.

“That’s because they want safer communities, and common sense tells them that reducing the number of guns lying around waiting to fall into the wrong hands is one way to achieve that.”

Chiesa thanked Pastor Thomas Farrar of the Gilmore Memorial Tabernacle Church, and  Rev. Brando Ibarra of St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church for helping make the buyback possible.

CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO: Mary K. Miraglia, Courthouse Reporter

The Human Trafficking Prevention, Protection and Treatment Act –given final state legislative approval in March — addresses a crime estimated to claim up to 20 million victims worldwide.

Among other measures, it:

• creates a Commission on Human Trafficking to review laws and enforcement and make recommendations to state policy makers;

• establishes a ‘Human Trafficking Survivor’s Assistance Fund’ to provide victims’ services, promote awareness, and develop training and educational materials;

• increases both financial penalties and prison time for those who traffic individuals.

At the same time, Christie signed bills  designating each January as “Human Trafficking Prevention Month” and Jan. 11 as “Human Trafficking Awareness Day.”

“As public officials, we have a solemn responsibility to prevent and protect citizens from the dark world of human trafficking,” he said.

The series of steps made official today, he said, “strengthens and expands the state’s ongoing efforts to aggressively combat this brutal practice, and also ensures that the victims of human trafficking receive the treatment they need.

NJ State Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (Bergen)

“There are two important messages contained in this bill. To victims: You’re not alone. To perpetrators: We’re coming after you,” said one of the measure’s primary sponsors, state Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle.

In drafting the legislation, the Bergen County lawmaker spent the better part of last year gathering information at meetings with experts and advocates, including the NJ Coalition against Human Trafficking, an alliance comprised of the Junior League, the NJ Catholic Conference, The League of Women Voters and the NJ State Association of Jewish Federations, among other organizations.

“Victims are often children and vulnerable women who are too afraid and dependent on traffickers to break their silence and seek help,” she said. “Many times they are exploited for years and coerced into prostitution, labor, and drug activity.

“When they finally have a chance to regain their freedom, they are prosecuted for the crimes they were forced to commit while enslaved,” Vainieri Huttle said, “while the real perpetrators remain untouched by the law.

“With this bill, we hope to change all that.”

The 15-member Human Trafficking Commission, created within the state Department of Law and Public Safety, would “evaluate existing laws concerning human trafficking and enforcement, as well as review existing victim assistance programs, and promote a coordinated response by public and private resources for victims of human trafficking,” Assembly Democrats said yesterday.

The bill would also establish a separate, non-lapsing, dedicated “Human Trafficking Survivor’s Assistance Fund,” administered by the Attorney General’s Office with recommendations from the commission, to provide services to victims of human trafficking and promote awareness of the crime.

At the same time, the measure dramatically increases fines and penalties for activities associated with human trafficking (the fines would go into the assistance fund):

“Any form of criminal human trafficking, such as recruiting individuals or financing an operation, would be a crime of the first degree with a fine of at least $25,000;

“Anyone who knowingly owns, controls, manages, leases or supervises a premises where human trafficking is carried on, and fails to make a reasonable effort to eject the tenant or notify law enforcement authorities would be charged with a crime of the first degree, carrying a term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, a fine of at least $25,000, or both;

“Anyone who promotes prostitution by transporting a person into or within the state for that purpose or knowingly leases or permits a place to be used for that purpose would be charged with a crime of the third degree, punishable by imprisonment of three to five years; a fine of up to $15,000; or both; and

“A person would be strictly liable for a crime of the first degree for holding, recruiting, luring, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining, by any means, a child under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity, whether or not the actor mistakenly believed that the child was 18 years of age or older, even if that mistaken belief was reasonable.

“Anyone who advertises commercial sexual abuse of a minor, such as escort services, would be charged with a crime of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, a fine of at least $25,000 but not more than $200,000; or both.”

The bill also allows human trafficking victims to file a civil claim even if there’s no criminal prosecution, and expedites the eviction process for tenants engaged in human trafficking.

There’s more:

The act establishes the “John School Rehabilitative Program” to educate johns about the health risks and legal consequences of hiring a hooker.

Modeled after similar “john school” programs in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and West Palm Beach, the program would take in offenders who must pay $500 fines — $200 of which would go to the surivor’s fund, $100 of which would go to the arresting municipality toward providing incentives for investigation and enforcement, and $200 to cover the cost of the “school.”

The bill would also mandate law enforcement training on responding to the needs of human trafficking victims.

Although the state Division of Criminal Justice has reported 179 cases of sex and labor trafficking in New Jersey over the past seven years, experts estimate that countless thousands occur each year statewide.

At the national level, the U.S. State Department estimates that 50,000 men, women and children are illegally trafficked into the country annually.

New Jersey’s General’s Office had led an offensive in recent years that brought 179 cases of human trafficking to investigation between September 2005 and March 2012. They included 93 victims trafficked for labor, 60 for sex, and 26 for both labor and sex trafficking, the governor’s office said.

“As motorists drive through Wyckoff they may encounter pedestrians attempting to cross the road,” Fox said. “It could be a woman pushing a baby stroller, children attempting to get to school, an elderly couple walking slowly, a man in a kilt with a bagpipe, or four police officers who look absolutely nothing like the Beatles.

“Whoever it may be, motorists must stop for all pedestrians.”

Those who don’t will be targeted by borough police in what Fox promised would be “aggressive enforcement of the pedestrian laws.”

The “COPS IN CROSSWALKS” program, like others under way in Ridgewood, Fort Lee and other towns, uses decoy officers in plain clothes who repeatedly cross streets looking for approaching drivers who have enough room to stop but don’t.

Violators face penalties of $200 and two points off their driver’s license.

As the chief pointed out, New Jersey law requires that all drivers of a vehicle must stop and stay stopped for pedestrians crossing the roadway in a marked crosswalk. Drivers approaching from the rear of a car stopped for a pedestrian cannot overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.

The exception to the requirement to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk is when the driver is traveling straight through a green traffic signal.

But this also is true: Pedestrians cannot enter the roadway when a vehicle is approaching and is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop or yield.

With a nod toward some of recent accidents in Bergen County, Fox urged drivers to be especially cautious when making left turns.

“Typically before you turn, the driver is focused straight ahead to assure that they can turn in front of approaching traffic,” he said. “However, you must be observant of any pedestrians crossing on the adjacent street as you make the turn.”

It’s a matter of liability, as well, he said.

Under New Jersey law, there is “permissive influence that a driver did not exercise due care for the safety of a pedestrian” who is struck in a marked — or unmarked crosswalk — when it is at an intersection.

To help get the point across, members of Fox’s department assigned to the detail reenacted the Beatles iconic crossing for the cover of “Abbey Road” in a zebra crosswalk on Wyckoff Avenue.

That would be, from left: Sgt. Robert Mackay (George Harrison), a barefoot Chief Benjamin Fox (same as Paul McCartney), Sgt. Jack McEwan (Ringo Starr) and Lt. Charles Van Dyk, hands in his pockets (like John Lennon).

Pictured in background in kilt and with bagpipes — and playing “Yellow Submarine,” according to Fox: Wyckoff Township Administrator Robert J. Shannon, Jr.

Joe Heidt Motors of Ramsey even supplied a Volkswagen Beetle to represent the one in the original August 1969 photo.

“Hopefully our attempt at humor will motivate drivers to seriously think about the importance of obeying the pedestrian safety laws and contributing to a safer community,” Fox said.

PHOTO: Wyckoff Police Lt. David Murphy

RELATED:
WHAT WE THINK: We have literally reached a crossroads in our so-called evolution. Public safety officials ordinarily warn motorists to be careful, but alerts continue to grow for pedestrians to pay more attention crossing streets, as the number of people hit continues an alarming climb. READ MORE….

New Jersey’s General Assembly on Monday approved the compromise Good Samaritan law, which  legislators said is aimed at helping to save lives and prevent drug overdoses.

The 68-2-6 vote came on a new measure that incorporates components of both the bill known as the “Opioid Antidote and Overdose Prevention Act,” which was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Christie that same day and the “Good Samaritan Act,” which he conditionally vetoed last fall.

The new measure provide s immunity for witnesses and victims of drug overdoses in order to help get timely medical treatment.

It also provides civil, criminal, and professional immunity for health care professionals involved in prescribing, dispensing, or administering naloxone or any similarly acting, FDA-approved drug for the treatment of an opioid overdose.

“No life is disposable, and this bill represents a giant leap forward in New Jersey’s commitment to protecting and preserving all life, particularly when people need it most,” said Governor Christie. “As elected officials, it’s our obligation to ensure that we are doing everything we can to prevent tragic deaths from drug overdoses, and I believe this bill will do that.

“I’m grateful that we were able to come together and reach this bipartisan compromise and take meaningful action on this very important issue today.”

Bon Jovi reportedly has a daughter in college who wasn’t charged after an apparent overdose last year thanks to a similar law in New York state.

Patty DiRenzo of Blackwood, who also attended, had a much deeper reason: She fought hard for a good Samaritan law after her son, Salvatore, died of a drug overdose at 27.

“If people are no longer afraid of getting arrested in overdose situations, they will be more likely to call 911 and get help,” she said. “This new law will save lives, and I am grateful to Governor Christie and the legislature for all their efforts in making it possible.”

Her son’s death, “like so many others in New Jersey, could have been prevented if the people he was with had called 911 for help,” DiRenzo said. “But they didn’t, most likely for fear of arrest. Instead, Sal was left alone to die.

Most overdose victims don’t die until hours after they’ve taken a drug, studies show. Supporters of good Samaritan laws say that’s because those people — as well as those who know or are with them — often are afraid they’ll be arrested and prosecuted if they call police.

“Deaths from drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in New Jersey, but many of these deaths could be prevented if medical assistance were sought immediately without the fear of arrest or prosecution,” state Assemblywoman Connie Wagner of Bergen County said.

“It’s my hope that this legislation will not only save lives, but also provide a moment of clarity to help many with substance abuse problems turn their lives around,” Wagner said.

New York and Connecticut are among a small number of states that already have similar laws in place.

In incorporating the components of the Good Samaritan Act, the New Jersey measure protects a person from arrest, charge, prosecution, or conviction if he or she sought medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose and the evidence for the offense was obtained as a result of the person’s efforts to obtain the medical assistance.

The same prosecutorial immunity would also apply to a victim of a drug overdose who sought medical assistance or was the subject of a good faith request for such assistance.

State lawmakers also noted that naloxone is an inexpensive and easily administered antidote for an overdose of opioids such as morphine, heroin, OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. Specifically, naloxone is used to counteract life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system, allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally.

In addition to providing immunity for health care professionals who administer the antidote, the bill would also provide immunity for other individuals if the action was taken during an emergency — and the person believed in good faith that another person was experiencing an opioid overdose.

“Statistics show that states without an opioid overdose prevention program have far higher overdose death rates than others,” said state Assemblyman Thomas Giblin, who represents Passaic and Essex. “[I]n the case of an overdose, fear and panic often cloud a person’s judgment.”

According to a study released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), naloxone has reversed 10,171 drug overdoses, saving thousands of lives, since 1996.

The CDC also noted that 19 of the 25 states with drug overdose death rates higher than the median and nine of the 13 states in the highest quartile didn’t have a community-based opioid overdose prevention program that distributed naloxone.

“The Overdose Protection Act will help people get treatment faster in life-threatening situations. It is an important tool in our ongoing efforts here in New Jersey to prevent senseless deaths and to get people into treatment” said Dr. Manuel Guantez, CEO of Turning Point, an addiction treatment program in Paterson that treats more than 2,700 men and women each year.

The measure doesn’t promise blanket immunity. You can still be charged if police find evidence of a serious crime. They also can seize drugs, paraphernalia and other contraband.

“This is not about turning a blind eye to drug use, but hopefully saving lives during a potentially fatal overdose,” said state Assemblyman Angel Fuentes of Camden. “And once they are in the hands of medical professionals, hopefully they will receive the additional help they need to overcome any addictions.”

“These firefighters and police personnel have families they have to provide for. In some cases, they may be the main breadwinners,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle of Bergen Count. “Making sure their families are provided for is the least we can do.”

Under the bill, the benefits continue even if the surviving spouse remarries. Surviving spouses currently receive a lump sum upon any remarriage that occurs during the first 450 weeks of benefits.

The bill, if signed into law by the governor, won’t be retroactive: Any spouse who’s already taken a payout or remarried won’t be covered by it.

Five of the 76 Assembly members who voted on the measure opposed it.

“Few other professions involve the daily risks faced by firefighters and police personnel. This is a burden not just on them, but their families,” added Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell of Hudson County. “They should have the comfort of knowing that if their lives are ever claimed by the job, their families will be taken care of.”

“Stolen prescription drugs, like drugs obtained through fraudulent prescriptions, inevitably make their way into the hands of those seeking to abuse them,” state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said.

“This list of security practices, developed in close coordination with stakeholders from both government and industry, represents the best steps pharmacists can take to protect their inventory from diversion and ensure that medication is dispensed only according to a valid prescription,” he said.

Published by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and State Board of Pharmacy, “Best Practices for Pharmacy Security” include specific recommended measures above and beyond those currently required by state law.

“While every pharmacy may not be able to adopt all of these security recommendations, we are encouraging them to move toward implementation of these best practices,” said DCA Acting Director Eric T. Kanefsky.  “Incidents of theft at New Jersey pharmacies are not common, but when they do occur they often involve significant diversion of controlled dangerous substances which pose a grave risk of addiction, overdose, and death.”

Besides preventing losses due to robbery, burglary and employee theft, the recommendations are aimed at identifying and curbing doctor-shopping and prescription fraud.

The DCA began work on creating the list by holding a Pharmacy Security Summit in January 2012, and a follow-up summit in September.

Participants included representatives of chain and independent pharmacies, healthcare systems, drug manufacturers, academics, and law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Commission on Investigation. Members of the Board of Pharmacy members and DCA Enforcement Bureau also participated.

The process included “an assessment of the various logistical and personnel concerns of large and small pharmacies, as well as the needs of pharmacies in New Jersey’s urban, suburban, and rural areas,” as well as “an assessment of today’s realities in the areas of crime and the illegal diversion of prescription drugs,” the DCA said in a news release this morning.

During 2012, New Jersey pharmacies reported nine armed robberies, seven incidents of break-ins or customer theft, and 24 incidents of theft by pharmacy employees.

There are 2,128 pharmacies in New Jersey.

You can find the entire list here: “Best Practices for Pharmacy Security”

Highlights include:

· New Jersey pharmacies are required by regulation to maintain a monitored security system.  The Best Practices more specifically recommend a system with a cellular backup in case of power outages or attempts to disable the system.  They also recommend video surveillance in certain areas of the pharmacy; physical barriers; height markers – to help identify suspects – at exit doors; and other basic physical security measures.

· Pharmacies should maintain a perpetual inventory of all drugs identified as having a high potential for abuse or a high street value.  The inventory should include specific information, logged each time a quantity of the drugs is received or dispensed.  Pharmacists should verify the inventory’s accuracy once per month, with a manual review of all records related to certain drugs.  If the pharmacy employs more than one pharmacist, the same pharmacist should not conduct the monthly verification count during consecutive months.

· If a pharmacist has a substantiated concern that a specific doctor may be indiscriminately prescribing Controlled Dangerous Substances, the pharmacist should report the concern to the Board of Medical Examiners and the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program.

· If a pharmacist suspects a prescription may be forged or altered, he or she should call the doctor’s office to confirm the prescription.  The pharmacist can ask the doctor’s office for a faxed confirmation of the prescription.  Before calling, the pharmacist should independently verify the doctor’s phone number and check whether it matches the number on the prescription.

· If a pharmacist is unfamiliar with a patient who picks up a Controlled Dangerous Substance prescription, the pharmacist should require photo identification at the time of purchase.  Photocopies of the identification should be stapled to the original prescription or scanned into the computer profile.

· Written prescription blanks should not be kept where consumers can reach them or see confidential patient information.

· Drugs classified as Schedule II and Schedule III Controlled Dangerous Substances should be kept in a safe or locked refrigerator.  Only licensed pharmacists should be permitted to access the safe.  Will-call bins for Schedule II and Schedule III CDS should be located in the pharmacy’s secured prescription area, within the pharmacist’s unobstructed view.

· Pharmacies should have a secure area for receiving packages known to contain CDS.  Pharmacies should receive such shipments only during posted store hours, when a pharmacist is present to accept and sign for the delivery.

· All pharmacists should register with the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program, and regularly access it when filling prescriptions in order to identify possible doctor-shopping or abuse.  The NJPMP, maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs, is a database that tracks the prescription sale of Controlled Dangerous Substances and Human Growth Hormone.

Of the 3,046 pounds of drugs collected countywide, Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said 181 people brought 417 pounds to borough headquarters — nearly 14% of Bergen’s entire haul.

Fox praised Detective Sgt. Michael Musto (inset, above), who headed his department’s take back effort.

More than 2 million pounds of prescription medications were turned in during five previous collections over the past three years, under the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Take Back Day program.

Federal authorities say the program has helped prevent addiction, overdose deaths and the diversion of drugs to street dealers. An estimated 6.1 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2011 and that about 20,000 people a year die from prescription drug overdoses, they say.

“We will never arrest our way out of this epidemic,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman said.

Seventy percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers “got them through friends or relatives the most recent time they used them, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet,” the government said in a news release.

The drugs collected by the various police departments are turned over to the DEA and incinerated.

“This controlled destruction of the drugs keeps them from improperly being destroyed when dumped in toilets, sinks or the trash; and having the medications then enter the water stream,” Fox noted. “Additionally, getting rid of unused drugs prevents children from improperly accessing and potentially abusing prescription drugs that might be in the home.”

Pharmaceutical drug abuse has become such an epidemic in middle-class America that enough painkillers were prescribed last year to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month, the national Centers for Disease Control says. Vicodin, Percocet, Klonopin and other medications are becoming the drugs of choice for abusers nationwide.

More than 70 percent of people aged 12 and older who abuse prescription pain relievers obtained them from friends or relatives, compared with five percent who obtained them from drug dealers or online, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Our unprepared loved ones can be supplied by their best friends at school, unsecured medicine cabinets in our households, and even some medical professionals who choose to traffic pills for profit,” said Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA office in New Jersey.

PHOTO ABOVE: Courtesy WYCKOFF PD

PHOTO BELOW: Courtesy FAIR LAWN PD: Interim Fair Lawn Police Chief Glen Cauwels (l.), Capt. Robert Kneer, following takeback at borough Municipal Building