CHIEF TALK: Episode #19
Christopher Winters & Amanda Leese
Amanda Leese and Pine Hill Police Chief Chris Winters launched the IMPACT Program in 2019. It has now expanded to 24 police departments in New Jersey. IMPACT stands for Immediate Mobilization of Police Assisted Crisis Team, which provides immediate, direct social services to communities in need. Social service professionals work at local police departments, side-by-side with law enforcement, delivering critical social services to those most in need, and at times, diverting from criminal justice system involvement. The program encompasses numerous state and national partners who support the program and its ongoing expansion.
About Amanda Leese
Joining Volunteers of America in 2015, Amanda Leese was given the task of designing and implementing their voluntary reentry program, Safe Return. Under her supervision, the program has now expanded to serve eight southern counties in New Jersey. Amanda also designed and currently oversees the Navigator Program in the same geographic locations, paired with the Impact initiative.
Amanda also designed and implemented a human trafficking response, currently supervising operations in eight New Jersey counties in collaboration with law enforcement. Her education and experience have created the strong foundation for her role in coordinating reentry and social services and community policing efforts with law enforcement statewide.
She is working with Pine Hill Police Chief Christopher J. Winters, who has run the police department since 2012. His focus is overall crime prevention by targeting at-risk youth, crisis intervention and drug addiction through strategic and meaningful partnerships with community stakeholders.
About Christopher Winters
Chief Winters is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, as well as the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police West Point Command and Leadership Program. He is an Accredited Chief Executive through the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
Chief Winters is a past President of the Camden County Police Chiefs Association and is the Camden County Mutual Aid Coordinator. He serves on numerous boards and committees, such as the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, Camden County Police Academy Advisory Board, the NJ Administrative Office of the Courts – Mental Health Advisory Committee.
