By: Yuritza Arroyo
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, and members of the New Jersey Bias Crime Officers Association honored two members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office with Distinguished Service Awards on January 6 during the NJBCOA Conference.
According to officials, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Samantha DeNegri and Sgt. Patrick LaGuerre were recognized for their ongoing educational program addressing bias crime and cyberbullying by students.
SAP DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre have been visiting middle and high schools in Morris County and beyond to lead educational presentations on bias incidents/crimes, cyber harassment, and making smart choices when using social media.
Over the past year, they’ve conducted over a dozen such assemblies in Morris, Warren, and Sussex counties. Prosecutor Carroll said, “I’d like to congratulate SAP DeNegri and Sgt. LaGuerre, on this merited recognition. This program brings face-to-face communication with our students to private and public schools around Morris County.
It is critical to address bias with our youth before these bad faith ideals take root.
Teenagers today are growing up in a very connected digital world, and our office seeks to enable our students to make smart choices about how they interact online and in school. We hope this program will serve as a model for other counties.”