Stockton Receives Emergency Management Trailer

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey scored a first among colleges and universities Wednesday.

The school became the first institution of higher learning to ever be recognized by the New Jersey Citizen Corp State Council. It received a utility trailer valued at $10,000 from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. The trailer was purchased with money received from the Department of Homeland Security’s New Jersey State Police Citizen Corp grant.

“We are the only college or university in the state to have received this equipment and grant,” Stockton Health and Safety Officer Dennis Lepore said in a statement released Wednesday. “This trailer and its contents represent excellent tools for use in almost any college emergency situation.”

Town Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and county Offices of Emergency Management are usually recipients of these trailers. Stockton was one of only nine organizations to receive a trailer this year.

New Jersey has one of the largest CERT programs in the country, with more than 450 programs and 15,000 citizen volunteers. Stockton’s CERT group was formed in 2005.

The members of this group assist Stockton police and any other emergency responder when called upon, and are included in the college’s Emergency Operation Plan.

Stockton CERT organizes its hands-on training drills with local, county, state and federal municipalities and agencies.

“The thanks for this award goes completely to Dennis Lepore who has made the Stockton Community Emergency Response Team a model for other campuses to follow,” Stockton Police Chief Glenn Miller said.

“Having this trailer and generator at our disposal is just one more tool that makes Stockton a safer place for our students, faculty, staff and visitors,” Lepore said. “It provides us with the opportunity to dispatch emergency equipment to locations anywhere on campus at a moment’s notice.”

Other safety initiatives include an emergency text messaging system and a campuswide video surveillance system, along with campus lock down capabilities.