L.E.A.D. -Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence- Awards 'New Jersey Instructor of the Year' to Middletown Township Detective Ricardo Cruz

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, NJ: Ricardo Cruz, detective at Middletown Township Police Department, was awarded “New Jersey Instructor of the Year” from L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence), a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence.

Det. Cruz was presented with the award at L.E.A.D.’s ninth annual 21st Century Drug and Violence Prevention Training Conference in Orlando, Florida, due to his excellent work educating students on the proven effective curriculum implemented by L.E.A.D. during the school day.

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“We congratulate Det. Cruz on his outstanding job helping to bridge the gap between the police officers and community in Middletown Township. His award is well deserved,” said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. “Det. Cruz’s dedication towards teaching children about the importance of drug and violence prevention is helping us to continue accomplishing our goal of strengthening police-community relationships.”

L.E.A.D. provides services “On The Street” and “In The Classroom” as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together. The “In The Classroom” program is taught by more than 5000 trained instructors in 45 states, who are serving more than 500,000 students in 2,500 school systems. L.E.A.D. has a proven-effective, law enforcement-focused anti-drug, anti-violence curriculum for K–12 students in the U.S. The L.E.A.D. curriculum is taught over the course of a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence.

Det. Cruz teaches the L.E.A.D. curriculum to fifth grade students at Saint Mary School, Saint Leo the Great School, Nut Swamp Elementary School, Ocean Avenue Elementary School, New Monmouth Elementary School and Lincroft Elementary School.

The aspect that he finds most enriching about the L.E.A.D. program is the engagement that it allows him to have with the students.

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“We make a genuine connection with the kids by getting to interact with them in such a close setting, which is really rewarding to observe,” said Det. Cruz. “The children look forward to learning the various lessons part of the L.E.A.D. program, and I love seeing their faces light up when we arrive at the schools to teach them.”

“Also, it’s great to see the students participate in the plays included in the L.E.A.D. curriculum, which reinforce numerous skills that we teach them during the program, such as identifying and managing emotions,” he added. “The children enjoy getting to perform in them as well. Even the kids who seem super shy at the beginning of the 10 weeks end up getting really into it, and they put their heart and soul into the characters.”

Middletown Township Police Department runs three police camps in the summer that are each a week long. Det. Cruz says that typically, his fifth graders from L.E.A.D. sign up for the summer camps.

“The kids’ desire to spend another week with us at our camps shows us how much they enjoyed their time with us in the classroom as we helped them to understand why becoming involved with drugs and violence would be extremely detrimental,” he said. “Since the children want to further the relationships that they built and have more one-on-one time with us, I know that we’re making an impact and creating a more cohesive community in Middletown Township.”

L.E.A.D. provides the leadership, resources and management to ensure law enforcement agencies have the means to partner with educators, community leaders and families. L.E.A.D. succeeds by providing proven effective programs to deter youth and adults from drug use, drug related crimes, bullying and violence. L.E.A.D. is committed to reinforcing the mutual respect, goodwill and relations between law enforcement and their communities. For more information, visit https://www.leadrugs.org/.

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