NJ Police Misconduct To Become More Transparent: Here's How

NEW JERSEY — Certain information regarding police misconduct in New Jersey will become publicly available for the first time. Under a directive from the state attorney general, law enforcement agencies must release public reports when they find that an officer used excessive force, engaged in discrimination or other significant wrongdoing.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has produced "major discipline" reports since mid-2020. The annual reports show which officers around New Jersey were suspended for more than five days, demoted in rank or fired because of misconduct — information previously unavailable for the public.

But the reports offer limited transparency. The AG's report includes each officer's sustained charge plus space for a description. But sometimes the descriptions offer no new information or simply repeat the charge. And police agencies had no obligation to disclose any more information, since New Jersey's Open Public Records Act doesn't apply to internal-affairs documents.

In a March ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court re-iterated that such records remain exempt from public access. But the state's high court unanimously held that certain internal-affairs records may become publicly accessible upon request.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin issued a directive Tuesday that outlines how police agencies will go about this. The policy adds the following categories to the annual "major discipline" report, regardless of the discipline imposed:

• Discrimination or bias
• Excessive force
• Untruthfulness or lack of candor
• Filing a false report or submitting a false certification in any criminal, administrative, employment, financial or insurance matter in their professional or personal life
• Intentionally conducting an improper search, seizure or arrest
• Intentionally mishandling or destroying evidence
• Domestic violence

If an incident falls into the aforementioned categories, agencies must disclose a summary of the allegations and factual findings, along with the discipline imposed. The directive "requires that the synopsis provide sufficient detail to enable a reader who is not familiar with the case to fully understand the factual scenario that resulted in the disciplinary action," according to the AG's office.

Police agencies will have until Jan. 31 of each year to produce such information for the attorney general and on their public website.

"Transparency is fundamental to ensuring confidence in the work of law enforcement," said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. "These disclosures of police internal affairs information are an unprecedented step in promoting that transparency, and a continuation of our efforts with respect to greater accountability and professionalism."

But even with recent reforms, New Jersey falls behind several states in terms of disclosing information about police misconduct. Such records are generally available to the public in 12 states, while 15 states limit their availability, according to WNYC. But New Jersey is one of 23 states — along with Washington, D.C. — that exempts such records from public view.

The state released some internal-affairs data in September, with a dashboard that includes information on specific agencies and New Jersey as a whole but doesn't mention the names of officers with sustained charges.