Rockford Police host Alternative Drug Program meeting

By Jim Hagerty
Staff Writer

To commemorate the anniversary of Rockford’s Alternative Drug Program (ADP), the Rockford Police Department will host a town hall meeting Tuesday, Nov. 24 at St. Stanislaus Church, 201 Buckbee St.

The Alternative Drug Program is an innovative crime reduction strategy developed by Proffessor David Kennedy of the John Jay Institute of Criminal Justice in New York City.

First implemented in High Point, N.C. 2003, the program’s sole focus is on restoring order to neighborhoods challenged with disorder associated with an “open air” drug market. It allows for alternatives to incarceration for drug dealers with little or no significant criminal background.

Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson and other members of the department will present a statistical analysis of the program an its effects. Residents are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion.

More information can be obtained by calling Sgt. Marc Welsh at (815) 987-5041.