ARRIVE Together, a program that has mental health professionals responding with law enforcement agencies when called for, is a program having success for less use of force responses in New Jersey.

ARRIVE, which is an acronym for Alternative Response to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation, was first implemented as a pilot program in two municipalities in December 2021. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General provided a statement that stated, “New Jersey treats public safety and public health as closely related. The ARRIVE Together program was born of that philosophy and has become an important element of New Jersey’s commitment to taking a better, more informed, more compassionate approach when law enforcement responds to individuals who might benefit from a more health-centered response.”

Thanks in part to an increase in funding, including a $549,750 competitive federal grant, the program has since expanded to all 21 counties, and according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the ARRIVE teams have had more than 7,000 successful interactions. According to the AG’s office, the traditional, co-response, follow-up; close-in-time follow-up; and telehealth ARRIVE models are available to more than 60% of the state’s 9.5 million residents.

Platkin created the Office of Alternative and Community Response (OACR) to support and spearhead innovative initiatives, like ARRIVE, which were designed to transform how the department and law enforcement respond to public health crisis and calls related to public health concerns. OACR facilitates ARRIVE’s continued growth, while helping the department look at all of its programs in the interest of public health and safety to ensure New Jersey law enforcement can provide New Jersey residents with the highest level of service.

Platkin said, “ARRIVE Together currently has 276 New Jersey law enforcement agencies participating, and it’s available to more than 60% of New Jersey residents. The program works and law enforcement agencies across the state are embracing this initiative.”

Tiffany Wilson, director of the Office of Alternative and Community Response, explained how the program works. She noted, “Thanks to a strong partnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS), we’ve been able to use existing resources to support almost all ARRIVE programs and models. This has allowed us to reduce costs and eliminate the need for law enforcement agencies to navigate the partnerships individually.

“And because most DHS resources are locally based, officers are building relationships with providers who they and their community members will interact with most frequently. This also allows OACR to focus our energies on new partnerships, identifying gaps and developing funding streams for expansion and customization without delaying initial implementation.”

Wilson commented on the criteria used to decide when an ARRIVE team should be dispatched. “The specific criteria for determining whether a response requires the presence of a mental health care provider is dependent on the law enforcement agency and their mental health partner. However, at times, it is not always fully evident from the call. This is why we’ve been so pleased to see that a large number of ARRIVE referrals originate with non-ARRIVE officers who recognize that an ARRIVE response or follow-up is more appropriate than what one would typically consider a traditional law enforcement response.”

According to the ARRIVE webpage on OAG’s website, www.njoag.gov, ARRIVE Together is achieving at least four important goals:

• ARRIVE is leading to safer outcomes for New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents. Having a mental health specialist rather than an officer address behavioral health concerns is keeping residents safe. Specifically, the involvement of the ARRIVE team leads to fewer arrests, fewer uses of force, fewer injuries and eliminates racial disparities with respect to outcome.
• ARRIVE is increasing the utilization of mental health resources. Traditionally, an officer interacting with an individual in crisis could either call a screener and wait for them to arrive on scene or, consistent with the law, make the decision themselves to transport the individual (voluntarily or involuntarily) to the hospital. Now, under the co-response and close follow-up models, screeners are on scene from the beginning or near the beginning of a response, saving the officer wait time, bringing appropriate medical assistance faster and preventing situations from escalating.
• ARRIVE keeps residents in the community. According to the New Jersey Department of Human Resources, about a third of individuals in crisis require hospitalization. Clinicians have the training and experience to determine who should be hospitalized and when they’re able to remain in the community.
• Finally, ARRIVE is improving trust between law enforcement and the community. ARRIVE Together is community informed and designed to fit the specific needs and resources of each community. ARRIVE improves the health and wellbeing of individuals with mental health and behavioral health emergencies and eliminates stigma by connecting the individual to care and resources rather than the criminal justice system.

Edison Township, N.J.

Sgt. Matthew Mieczkowski leads the ARRIVE Together unit for Edison Township and admitted he was the biggest skeptic when he first heard about the program but now is very passionate about it and the success he’s seen.

Mieczkowski shared that his chief of police — Chief Thomas Bryan — came to him two years ago and told him about the state initiative and that he thought he’d be great for it. However, Mieczkowski said his first response was, “No way is this going to work,” but his chief told him, “I know you’re going to be into this — give it a try.”

When Mieczkowski went on the first call with the mental health screeners — Beth Rodriguez and Melissa Vaccari from Rutgers APS (Acute Psychiatric Services) — and saw the techniques they used, he thought, “Okay, they got lucky.”

But the de-escalation techniques they used worked the second time, too. “They totally changed my perspective, seeing the de-escalation techniques they used and what they trained me on to calm people down and reduce use of force.”

Edison Township began the program in May 2023, and Mieczkowski leads the ARRIVE Together unit along with Detective Stephen Nappe, and the two women from Rutgers APS make up the current team. He said they also serve surrounding areas, like New Brunswick, N.J. Being able to do so is good for networking and for other officers to see the screeners in action, according to Mieczkowski.

He noted the other officers think, “Wow, we do have this option to get a professional here and get people the help they need.”

Mieczkowski said the success of the program, “(It) starts at the top. If the top doesn’t agree with it, it’s probably not going to work. Our chief has been incredibly supportive and gives us everything we need to expand the program, whether that’s personnel or a vehicle, etc. Our chief is the only chief that has allowed us to have a full-time unit for ARRIVE Together.”

But Mieczkowski also credits all of upper management. The captain of the patrol division, captain of detectives and Lt. Joe Kenney have all been “fantastic and so beneficial in promoting the program to other officers.”

Mieczkowski shared, “I’ve always said the shortest part of our job is arresting people, the majority is helping people. I’m nothing but proud of (the program), and I’m lucky we have the support, because without the support, it doesn’t flow.”

The sergeant explained that the ARRIVE Together unit uses a few methods to determine its need on a call. He said officers may respond to a call, assess the situation and request the ARRIVE team. If the family calls in, they can request the ARRIVE team right away. He said people can also call Rutgers APS and speak to the screeners beforehand, and they may be able to make a telehealth call and avoid having the police come.

“I say, it’s 2025. People don’t want the police showing up at their door. When we come, it’s in unmarked vehicles; it’s more calming. And we wear khakis with Under Armour polo shirts that identify us as police versus the whole police get-up. We don’t want to alarm the neighbors. People don’t want their business out there,” he said. “We go in with a more laid-back, friendly atmosphere and their business stays their business.”

Mieczkowski said, “We get a ton of compliments from different family members who share that normally when the police come with lights and sirens that triggers that person and makes it worse. We calm situations, and at the end of the day, it’s all about de-escalation.”

When asked whether they get called out on substance abuse or mental health issues, he said they “see a little bit of everything.”

He shared a recent call where the individual had been arrested multiple times. The individual was extremely violent and every other interaction with the police resulted in the use of force.

“Dealing with us was the first time there was no use of force. That’s a testimony to our screeners and the de-escalation technique used. I’m proud to say that person, who was psychotic — there were no drugs involved — was able to get the help needed without use of force.”

ARRIVE has responded to calls where the individual was paranoid, sometimes drug-induced, sometimes not. “We see all walks of life.”

Mieczkowski said they have a county-wide special needs registry where family members can register people with autism or dementia, and it includes a photo of the person and the calming techniques that have been successful. That information is all in their CAD system, so if ARRIVE gets a call to that address, all that information comes up so officers know before they get there what they’re dealing with and that makes a big difference with use of force.

Mieczkowski serves on the board of Autism New Jersey with a couple of other officers and said it’s “near and dear to my heart.” They have an annual Buddy Ball Kids vs. Autism, which is a fun baseball game and cookout where families can find resources.

He said in the spring ARRIVE hopes to team up with Autism New Jersey to do mock vehicle stops so the autistic person knows what to expect and vice versa.

“The voluntary special needs register is awesome and has been huge for us so that (unnecessary use of force) doesn’t happen. We’ve been proactive and I’m happy about that,” he said.

When asked how other officers feel about the ARRIVE Together program, he admitted most like him, are “skeptical at first, but as they see us going on calls and see what we can do, they say, ‘Wow, we never thought that would work.’”

He admitted he believes the young officers — because they’ve been more exposed to autism and mental health issues — “are more adaptable to the de-escalation techniques.”

Mieczkowski believes since Edison Township started ARRIVE Together, “There’s only been one use of force in Edison, and we’re coming up on our two-year anniversary.”

His chief’s decision to ask the initially skeptical Mieczkowski was based on his past performance. Even as a young officer, Mieczkowski wanted to make responses to EDP (Emotionally Disturbed Persons) calls better.

“I don’t want to put words in my chief’s mouth, but I hope he saw a kid in Edison who cares — that I want to make it better than when I started, and that’s a huge responsibility. I was always aware that the person in front of me was somebody’s somebody — somebody’s mother, brother, sister or cousin — and that’s how I go into a call. I’m not here to arrest you; I’m here to help you and see you thrive,” Mieczkowski said. “The number one thing is we’re saving people in crisis; that’s what makes me so passionate about it.”

Thinking about policing across the country, Mieczkowski said, “We can’t keep going on the status quo — it’s not working and this is the program that will fix it. I went from a street crime unit to detective bureau to ARRIVE, and I had 50 reasons why it wouldn’t work, but they made me a believer.”

Mieczkowski said he’d be glad to talk to other officers about the program and have them meet the screeners and go on a ride along. He can be reached at (732) 236-2075.

Wilson also said that law enforcement has been open to this program. “Across the nation, law enforcement has been asked to fill both public health and public safety roles for far too long. Publicly and privately, agencies have expressed a need for help in this area,” she said. “All of our recent and upcoming ARRIVE expansions have been at the request of a municipal law enforcement leader or a county prosecutor’s office working with municipal law enforcement leaders to build a countywide expansion plan. We are happy to have found a successful way to provide this tool to them and the communities they serve.”

The Attorney General’s Office said fiscal year 2025 has allocated $20 million to maintain current ARRIVE programs and support expansion.

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