Youth Aid Unit
Unit Commander:
Detective Sergeant George Ricci
gricci@bloomfieldnjpd.com
973-680-4072

Detective Michael Menzel
Detective James Romano

School Resource Officers:
Detective Paul Charles - Bloomfield High School
Officer Gerry Trap - Bloomfield Middle School


The Youth Aid Unit is responsible for the investigation of all juvenile matters criminal or non-criminal where the juvenile is the suspect or victim. The Unit's goal is to help juveniles through education make good conscious decisions in their everyday life.

The Youth Aid Unit works closely with all of the township schools and administrators by assigning an officer to each school for a 10 week program to teach the students how to deal with peer pressure and how to stay Drug, Alcohol, and Violence free. The officers schedule one day a week where he or she enters a classroom in a formal setting and instructs the education based curriculum "To Good For Drugsā€ At the end of the program if the student successfully completes the program he or she is presented with a diploma and the knowledge and skills to help them make the right decisions to stay Drug, Alcohol and Violence free. The students, school staff, and the officers then celebrate with a party held in a local park.

The Youth Aid Unit also has a Detective assigned to the High School and a Police Officer assigned to the Middle School who are known as the "School Resource Officers". The officers report to their respective schools daily and work hand in hand with school administrators as a resource to aid the students whenever the need arises.

The Youth Aid Unit is also responsible for the Bloomfield Police Department's toy drive which is held annually during Christmas to ensure every child in need throughout the township receive gifts at Christmas. The Youth Aid Unit strives for excellence in bringing the youth of Bloomfield all the services that will help them live a happy and healthy life.

Ralph Colasanti
Law Enforcement Building
1 Municipal Plaza
Bloomfield NJ 07003
973-680-4141