The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office takes a proactive approach to crime prevention. In doing so, we have created the Community Justice Unit. This Unit is dedicated to creating and putting forth programs aimed to provide children and adolescents with positive alternatives and interventional strategies to prevent delinquency. The Community Justice Unit engages the entire Essex County community by serving as a liaison between law enforcement and residents. The Unit promotes awareness about the role and functions of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Community Justice Unit sponsors youth symposiums that address critical issues pertinent to young people; thus working to reduce risk factors of delinquency. Nearly five hundred middle and high school students from Essex County attend the full-day conferences, which feature interactive workshops on making positive choices, the dangers of drugs and gangs along with ways to be safe while surfing the “Net”. Elementary school students learn about various careers in law, government, and medicine through the Community Justice Unit’s “Project I C.A.N.” (I Can Achieve Now) program.

The Community Justice Unit holds a unique five-week summer internship program to introduce rising high school seniors to various careers in law, law enforcement, and local government. The internship includes a one week residential component at New Jersey State Trooper Academy, where they receive first-hand knowledge of the troopers’ military-style training. Interns visit various law enforcement agencies, including the Essex County Sheriffs Department, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Federal Air Marshall. Interns participate in college tours, cultural events, workshops, and a mock trial.

The Community Justice Unit wants to hear the issues that plague residents of Essex County. Armed with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies and non-profit groups, the Unit addresses the needs of Essex County residents. Representatives from the Unit attend block association meetings and community forums to address issues of crime. The Unit partners with community members throughout Essex County in an effort to shed light on the positive side of law enforcement.

Members from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office provide workshops on a range of topics for schools and local organizations. Workshops on bullying, child abuse, domestic violence, gang awareness, Internet safety, juvenile justice, victimization, and an overview of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are provided by experts in their field.

To contact the Community Justice Program, please call: (973) 621-4317 or e-mail nicole.graves@njecpo.org, whose bio is below. 

Nicole serves as the Community Justice Coordinator with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.  In this position, she’s responsible for creating and implementing programs aimed to provide children and adolescents with positive alternatives and interventional strategies to prevent delinquency.  Nicole recruits, plans, and administers the Summer Youth Internship Program. She plans youth conferences to encourage students to make positive choices and town hall meetings to address residents’ concerns.  She is also responsible for managing programs to assist residents with substance abuse prevention and treatment.  An avid public speaker, Nicole provides workshops on various public safety issues to community organizations. 

Nicole previously worked as a social worker for a non-profit organization, Court Appointed Special Advocates.  In addition to her social work duties, she was the sole editor and writer of the agency’s quarterly newsletter.   Nicole previously served as a caseworker with the Division of Youth & Family Services, now known as DCP&P for nearly four years, until she answered the call of motherhood. Nicole resigned from DYFS shortly after the birth of her eldest daughter to care for her full time.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from William Paterson University and a master’s degree in counseling from Kean University. As a student at William Paterson, Nicole worked as a staff writer for the Beacon Newspaper, served as a member with Sisters for Awareness of Black Leadership and Equality (SABLE), served as a member with NAACP and finally became president of the Black Students Association. 

During her undergraduate years, she began a journalism career as a reporting with Dow Jones Newspaper Fund.  This led to an internship with Black Enterprise Magazine. Her articles have appeared in Black Enterprise, The Source Magazine and The Star-Ledger. Nicole serves on various community boards.  She is also the founder and president of the newly chartered National Association for Colored People (NAACP) Branch in the township of Hillside, New Jersey.