February 10, 2024
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri recently announced the promotion of Alicia Phillips to victim witness coordinator for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Phillips succeeds Susan Meyer, who recently retired from the prosecutor’s office after more than 25 years of service.
As coordinator, Phillips will oversee a staff of eight victim witness advocates. The prosecutor’s Office of Victim Witness Advocacy is dedicated to providing direct, personal service to crime victims, witnesses and their families. The staff advocates for victims and promotes their rights within the criminal justice system. It also provides emotional support, crisis intervention, referrals, court accompaniment and information to victims and witnesses. The office maintains strong partnerships with allied professionals, other victim service providers, and leaders in the community to ensure that a comprehensive network of services and support is available.
“Alicia has been an avid champion of victims in Mercer County,” Prosecutor Onofri said.
She works tirelessly to ensure that victims of crime are treated with fairness, compassion and respect by the criminal justice system. I look forward to working with her in this essential, supervisory role.”
Phillips has been with the prosecutor’s Office of Victim Witness Advocacy for 22 years as a victim advocate and most recently as a supervising victim advocate. As an advocate, she has worked in various units including domestic violence, homicide, special victims, juvenile, economic crime, trial, grand jury and serious collision response. As a supervisor, Phillips oversaw the activities of victim witness staff responsible for providing services to crime victims, witnesses and their families.
She currently serves as an instructor of the Victim Witness Assistance Program at the Mercer County Police Academy. Phillips is also involved in writing both Victims of Crime Act and Violence Against Women Act grants, helping to secure funding for the Victim Witness program.
During her time with the prosecutor’s office, Phillips has received National Organization for Victim Assistance Crisis Response Team certification and is working toward her certification as a trauma-competent family professional through the Institute for Family Professionals.
Phillips attended York College of Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and a minor in English. During college, she interned with the York Children and Family Counseling Center, where she worked with troubled youth and their families and assisted in implementing the Families and Schools Together program in local public elementary schools.
Prior to joining the prosecutor’s office, Phillips worked as a community education specialist for the Mercer County Division of Mental Health, where she conducted suicide prevention trainings for volunteers and professionals throughout the community.
February 10, 2024
HAMILTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mercer County Prosecutor’s Detective Marlon Webb and his K-9 partner, Sunny, were honored recently by Grice Middle School with the 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award.
Detective Webb and Sunny, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office multidiscipline therapy canine, have been spending time in area schools building a connection between law enforcement and students. Grice’s Diversity Committee chose the canine team in recognition of their outstanding work supporting their students. They were honored at the school’s Black History Month celebration this week.
Too Many Drivers are Ordering Food While Driving, Students Say
February 10, 2024
ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (MERCER)–Juniors at Robbinsville High School were at the Statehouse on Thursday, February 8, 2024, to voice support for a proposed Senate resolution that would urge restaurants to include warnings on their apps regarding distracted driving.
The students suggested the resolution to their local senator, Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-14th Dist.), who was the lead sponsor on the bill (SR 39). Following the testimony of the students before the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, lawmakers voted unanimously to move the resolution to the full Senate for consideration.
Jennifer Allessio, co-advisor of the Class of 2025 at Robbinsville High School, said the proposed resolution is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has reshaped consumer behavior, notably in how consumers order and access food.
The students, she said, cited a study that shows digital orders at full-service restaurants skyrocketed by 237% between 2020 and 2021, with mobile ordering constituting 60 percent of these orders.
“To give an even clearer picture of the digital landscape, the students learned a quarter of all sales at Starbucks locations across the United States are made via their mobile app,” Allesio said.
The exponential increase in consumers using mobile ordering is not slowing down either; companies are doubling down on digital marketing, fostering loyalty programs, and creating promotions to incentivize mobile ordering. While this benefits both consumers and businesses, it comes with a notable downside: distracted driving.
Studies show that using mobile phones while driving reduces attention to the road by up to 37 percent and increases the risk of accidents by 400 percent, fueling the 1.6 million crashes annually.
“The students brainstormed ways to address the issue of distracted driving that would not stifle the growth of mobile ordering,” Allesio said. “ The result was Bill SR39, a resolution that urges restaurant owners to update their mobile ordering features to display pop-up messages reminding users to refrain from ordering while driving. This measure aims to create a balance between public safety and the support of the mobile ordering industry.”
The students include: Sam Cohen, Kami Enciso, Ellison Mentzer, Ekahsh Mohley, Kushad Padmaraju, Mitchell Shapiro and Caitlyn Todd. The co-advisor is Mark Iannelli.
The proposed resolution cites the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which reported 3,142 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted driving in 2020, including such distractions as using a cell phone, eating, or adjusting the radio or climate controls. Moreover, a recent study from Rowan University reported that 20 to 25 percent of drivers on certain New Jersey roads were distracted, most commonly by cell phone use.
“Urging the use of safety features to warn against mobile ordering while operating a motor vehicle is one step this House can take to encourage safe driving habits in this State,” the resolution reads.
