June 3,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Many of you have heard about police chaplains. Do you know what they do or who they are? Well, we would like you to meet some of ours.
A police chaplain is a volunteer non-paid position that provides members, their families, and the community with spiritual counseling, religious referral, and general character guidance through the various religious denominations within our society.
As one of the New Jersey State Police Chaplains, Rabbi Abe Friedman provides spiritual guidance and support to enlisted and civilian members of the Division.
For the last 16 years, he has used his expertise in communication and biblical studies to assist law enforcement with cultural competency training, inter-agency planning and coordination, and has served as a community outreach coordinator.
Rabbi Friedman has been recognized by various agencies for his service to law enforcement and the community. He was the recipient of the NYPD/DEA Appreciation Award in 1998, American Red Cross 9/11 Leadership Award in 2001, New York State Senate Civilian of the Year Award in 2005, United States Marine Corps Award of Excellence in 2007, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Following the tragic events of September 11, Rabbi Friedman provided spiritual guidance and counseling to law enforcement members who took part in the search and rescue mission at the World Trade Center and to the American Red Cross.
Rabbi Friedman also serves as a police chaplain to the N.Y. MTA Police Department, Office of Federal Law Enforcement, the Putnam County and Passaic County Sheriff’s offices, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and U.S. Department of Justice. He continues to serve as a Special Assistant to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and Citywide Liaison to the NYPD.
AD: see additional info on spiritual counseling religious referral and general character guidance through religious
