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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
today announced substantial revisions to
the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs
Policy & Procedures to ensure that complaints
against law enforcement officers in New
Jersey are thoroughly investigated and monitored
by police departments and the county prosecutors,
and that individual cases of misconduct
and potential patterns of abuse are appropriately
addressed.
The
revised policy includes stricter requirements
for law enforcement agencies to periodically
report to the county prosecutor and the
public regarding the number of complaints
received against officers, the nature of
the allegations, and the dispositions of
those internal affairs cases.
The
Attorney General’s Internal Affairs
Policy was last revised in November 2000.
Last fall, Attorney General Dow formed an
Internal Affairs Policy Group made up of
law enforcement leaders to thoroughly review
the old policy and draft changes needed
to update and strengthen it. The group identified
priority items, including enhancing the
role of the county prosecutors in monitoring
internal affairs cases, requiring additional
training for internal affairs officers,
and providing clearer protocols for the
monitoring and reporting of internal affairs
cases. The new policy was released to prosecutors
and police executives today and becomes
effective in 60 days.
“Police
officers put their lives on the line each
day in very difficult jobs,” said
Attorney General Dow. “In order to
perform them effectively, they need to have
the trust and faith of the people they serve.
That is why it is absolutely critical that
law enforcement agencies investigate allegations
against officers thoroughly and fairly,
and that we provide the public with meaningful
data about the complaints made against police
agencies and how they are resolved.”
“It
has been over a decade since anyone has
reviewed and revised this important policy,
which applies to all local police departments
in New Jersey,” said Director Taylor.
“By mandating better training, clearer
protocols, more oversight from the county
prosecutor, and greater accountability,
we believe we will make internal affairs
units fairer and more effective.”
The
revised policy:
- Requires
all officers assigned to the internal
affairs function to complete training
mandated by the Division of Criminal Justice.
- Explicitly
requires each law enforcement agency to
track the number of complaints filed with
the agency and the number of complaints
filed against individual officers. While
the previous policy had encouraged the
monitoring of complaints, the revisions
make monitoring and tracking of complaints
a responsibility for each agency.
- Requires
that agencies evaluate complaints to determine
whether patterns, practices or trends
of inappropriate behavior or conduct are
developing in the agency, and where needed,
take action to prevent such conduct and
safeguard the constitutional rights of
the public.
- Requires
each county prosecutor to establish a
schedule for each law enforcement agency
to submit periodic reports to the prosecutor
summarizing allegations received and investigations
concluded during the period. The prosecutor
shall also specify the content of the
reports.
- Requires
law enforcement agencies to periodically
make public a synopsis of all complaints
that result in a fine or suspension of
10 days or more to a member of the agency
in order to provide a greater level of
transparency to the police disciplinary
process. The synopsis shall not identify
the officer or the complainant.
- Requires
that if a complaint against an officer
is not sustained, the complainant must
receive a letter with a brief explanation
of why it was not sustained.
- Requires
internal affairs units to be notified
of all firearms discharges that are not
related to training, all use of force
incidents that result in injury to the
suspect or a third party, all vehicular
pursuits undertaken by members of the
department, and all collisions involving
department vehicles.
- Requires
internal affairs units to continue to
administratively investigate cases in
which a municipal court or Superior Court
complaint has been dismissed.
- Requires
every law enforcement agency to establish
a policy for investigating and resolving
domestic violence incidents involving
its employees.
- Requires
every law enforcement agency to notify
the prosecutor’s office when the
agency has reason to question an officer’s
credibility based on a false report, a
pending court complaint, a court conviction,
or a judicial finding.
- Clarifies
that the policy applies to complaints
filed by supervisors and other law enforcement
employees as well as private citizens.
Attorney
General Dow and Director Taylor thanked
the following members of the Internal Affairs
Policy Group: Acting Essex County Prosecutor
Carolyn Murray; First Assistant Prosecutor
Robert Laurino and Chief Anthony Ambrose
of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office;
Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi;
Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini
Jr.; Wayne Fisher, Executive Director of
the Police Institute at the Rutgers University
School of Criminal Justice; Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Thomas Fisken; Chief
Raymond J. Hayducka of the South Brunswick
Police Department and the New Jersey State
Association of Chiefs of Police; Director
Chinh Q. Le of the New Jersey Division on
Civil Rights; Director Peter J. Mangarella
of the New Brunswick Police Department;
Deputy Attorney General Dermot O’Grady,
Deputy Director of the Division of Criminal
Justice; and Chief John Reardon of the Wayne
Police Department.
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