Republican candidate for county sheriff, Peter Pisar, is proposing dramatic changes to the department if elected next week.
Pictured left, Peter "Pedro" Pisar and Mildred Scott Republican sheriff candidate Peter "Pedro" Pisar believes the sheriff's office is being underutilized, and if elected, he proposes to vastly expand the department's role, particularly to help people battling addiction.
Pisar, a South Plainfield native, is challenging two-term incumbent Sheriff Mildred Scott, who opposes Pisar's plan, believing the main role of the department is about protecting the security of the county courthouse.
Pisar, however, said he would seek funding and direct sheriff's officers to assist addicts obtain treatment as well as employment after being released from rehab facilities.
He said something dramatic needs to be done to combat the growing heroin epidemic plaguing the state and country.
Heroin usage has skyrocketed in the state and county with dramatic increases in heroin-related deaths. Middlesex County is the fourth-highest in the state for heroin-related deaths.
"The public wants somebody they can depend on ... no one is putting (out) a hand," he said.
Though Scott said she recognized the drug epidemic plaguing the county and state, she believes the resources it would require to implement Pisar's plan would be nearly impossible to implement.
"That is not the function of the sheriff's office," Scott said. "If somebody calls and says, 'I have a problem,' of course we will try to look for that information. "But, she said, a full-on program should not be something the department tackles, adding that the cost would be monumental.
Rehab facilities, Pisar said, "are filled up." To deal with the overcrowding, he is proposing to open various underutilized county facilities as places for those unable to find shelter.
"The county has a lot of real estate not being used," he said.
However, he was unable to say how much this proposed program would cost or how many officers it would take to run.
Scott's proposals include jump starting the D.A.R.E and another drug prevention program called the Explorer Program for youth.
In a statement, she said, "with drugs on the rise, I think both programs are needed."
She also proposes expanding the county's Project Life Savers Program and sharing services with some local police departments.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.