Cpl. Jayme Higgins developing evidence-based youth vaping prevention initiative through national program
HOWELL TOWNSHIP, New Jersey — Cpl. Jayme Higgins of the Howell Township Police Department has become one of the nation’s first law enforcement officers to complete L.E.A.D.’s new Community Prevention Officer (CPO) Program, helping pioneer an evidence-based approach to drug and violence prevention while developing a youth vaping prevention initiative tailored to the needs of the Howell Township community.
Cpl. Higgins was among 12 law enforcement officers from eight states selected for the first class of CPOs. Following months of virtual and in-person training in prevention science, strategic planning and evidence-based practices conducted by Applied Prevention Science International (APSI), each officer assessed local community needs, developed a prevention initiative designed to produce measurable outcomes and presented the project during the L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence) National Training Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
L.E.A.D. created the CPO Program to take prevention efforts beyond the classroom by training law enforcement officers to identify local risk factors, build partnerships throughout their communities and implement prevention strategies that can be evaluated and refined over time.
L.E.A.D. plans to expand the CPO program nationwide.
“Through the CPO Program, we support officers working directly with the community to help them make their community safer,” said Nick Loizzi Jr., L.E.A.D.’s Vice President of Programs and coordinator of the CPO Program.
Dr. Zili Sloboda, founder and president of APSI, said the program introduces law enforcement to prevention science and helps officers develop community-based initiatives rooted in research rather than intuition.
“The role of the Community Prevention Officer is to expand this information to the community,” Dr. Sloboda said. “We’re hoping to have Community Prevention Officers get to know the community, recognize what’s going on and identify where the gaps are.”
For Cpl. Higgins, that meant addressing youth vaping by bringing together schools, law enforcement, public health professionals and other community stakeholders around a common prevention strategy.
Drawing on the prevention science principles taught through the CPO Program, Cpl. Higgins developed a comprehensive initiative that combines evidence-based classroom instruction, parent outreach, public awareness campaigns, community partnerships and ongoing data collection to reduce youth nicotine and THC vaping while measuring the program’s effectiveness over time.
“We’re all working toward the same goal,” Cpl. Higgins said. “When we look at what each group is doing, it helps us realize what our problem was to start with, what we’ve been doing to address it and whether we’ve actually made a difference.”
L.E.A.D. President and CEO Nick DeMauro praised Cpl. Higgins for demonstrating how prevention science can unite community partners around a shared goal of protecting young people.
“Cpl. Higgins exemplifies exactly what the Community Prevention Officer Program was created to accomplish,” DeMauro said. “By combining prevention science with strong community partnerships, he is developing solutions that address the unique needs of his community while helping demonstrate how this program can strengthen prevention efforts nationwide.”
To get involved with the Community Prevention Officer program, watch for announcements about upcoming opportunities for CPO training. Visit LEADrugs.org to stay updated on the Community Prevention Officer program and to learn more.
About L.E.A.D.
L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Allentown, N.J., dedicated to equipping law enforcement agencies with the resources, training, and curriculum to deliver effective drug and violence prevention education in schools and communities. L.E.A.D. partners with agencies in all 50 states, supporting more than 7,000 trained instructors who reach more than one million students in 2,500 school systems annually through the Botvin LifeSkills® Training curriculum. L.E.A.D. is funded through donations and grants. For more information, visit LEADrugs.org or call 609.259.2500.