Police Unions Say NJ Transparency Mandate 'Embarrasses' Officers

NEW JERSEY - All law enforcement agencies in New Jersey will begin publicly identifying officers who commit serious disciplinary violations, and a joint statement from police Unions say the new order is harassment.

Under a new order by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, going forward every state, county, and local law enforcement agency in New Jersey will be required to annually publish a list of officers who were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days due to a disciplinary violation, with the first list to be published no later than Dec. 31.

The move has drawn the ire of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, the State Troopers NCO Association of New Jersey and the State Troopers Superior Officers Association.

"The retrospective attachment of Troopers’ names and republishing old annual reports serves absolutely no legitimate purpose other than to harass, embarrass, and rehash past incidents during a time of severe anti-law enforcement sentiment. It can’t possibly be a deterrent because the violations have already occurred and the suspensions have already been served," the statement said. "It makes no sense to unmask and re-punish Troopers for administrative violations committed years ago. Furthermore, a significant portion of names would include former Troopers who have been granted honorable retirements and are no longer involved in law enforcement."

The order permits, but does not mandate, law enforcement agencies to go further and identify officers who have committed serious disciplinary violations in the past. Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) committed to publishing a list of all State Troopers who have committed major disciplinary violations over the past twenty years. The historical list will be released publicly no later than July 15.

"We cannot build trust with the public unless we're candid about the shortcomings of our own officers," said Callahan. "By releasing the names of State Troopers who committed serious disciplinary violations, we are continuing the long, hard work of earning and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve."

The Union reps said that the New Jersey State Police have been at the forefront of negotiating and instituting common sense police reform policies to ensure members are fulfilling their duties in a fair and impartial manner so that incidents like the George Floyd murder do not occur in the Garden State.

"We have never been, and never will be, in the business of protecting 'bad apples' or covering for 'rogue cops,'" the Union statement said.

Action By New Jersey State Police

Since at least 2000, NJSP's Office of Professional Standards (OPS) has published an annual report summarizing disciplinary matters involving State Troopers. Each report includes, among other things, a "synopsis of major discipline," which briefly summarizes each disciplinary action against a State Trooper resulting in termination, demotion, or suspension of more than five days, but excludes the name of the State Trooper.

Since 2000, NJSP has imposed major discipline in approximately 430 cases. This includes dozens of State Troopers who received suspensions of more than 180 days, as well as a number of State Troopers whose employment was terminated as a result of their misconduct.

According to the State Troopers Fraternal Association, the State Troopers NCO Association of New Jersey and the State Troopers Superior Officers Association the New Jersey State Police has operated under some of the strictest policy and procedure standards in the country. Some of these policies and safeguards include, but are not limited to:

• Mandatory use of mobile dash cameras.
• Mandatory use of body cameras (currently in use in all Troops except Troop D; we have fully supported rapidly equipping Troop D
• with body cameras).
• Mandatory monthly review of random camera footage by numerous levels of supervision.
• Mandatory review of camera footage by numerous levels of supervision for ALL incidents involving uses of force, arrests, vehicle pursuits, searches, canine requests, and any time a Trooper orders a driver or occupant from a vehicle for questioning. These reviews safeguard and promote the constitutionality of Troopers’ interactions with the public during critical incidents.
• Each Troop maintains a fully staffed Risk Management Office as an additional layer of review.
• Each Troop maintains an Integrity Officer of the rank of Lieutenant to oversee the Risk Management Office.
• The Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards is a full-time civilian-staffed office tasked with overseeing the accountability of all reviews and the NJSP’s total adherence to policy.
• Early warning system which alerts supervisors when a Trooper uses force 2 times in 12 months even if the uses of force were justified.
• Early warning system which alerts supervisors when a Trooper is involved in 3 internal investigations in 24 months.
• Mandatory tracking of race, gender, and age of every motorist a Trooper stops.
• Mandatory quarterly reports track each Trooper’s stop data in comparison to other Troopers at the same station.
• Strict, streamlined, transparent process for the public to report complaints with all information available on the NJSP website; every Trooper is required to carry compliment/complaint forms and provide them upon a citizen’s requests; these forms are also available at all State Police Stations; toll-free number on website and form for telephonic complaint reporting; the public may also make a complaint in-person.
• Internal Investigations are handled by the NJSP Office of Professional Standards, a section within the State Police with a full-time staff of enlisted and civilian employees held to strict adherence to the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures Manual.
• The NJSP proudly maintains a full time Recruiting Unit which focuses a major portion of efforts on recruiting minority applicants
• and breaking down barriers which may prevent minority candidates from applying for a career as a State Trooper.
• The NJSP proudly maintains a prestigious C.A.L.E.A. accreditation (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. -- www.calea.org)

The State Troopers Fraternal Association, the State Troopers NCO Association of New Jersey and the State Troopers Superior Officers Association said they are more than willing to consider options such as releasing the names of Troopers who were terminated or who are found guilty of violations such as excessive use of force or racially biased incidents.

"But we need to be involved in these critical discussions," the Union statement said. "Our willingness to find sensible solutions in the past proves we do not intend to block common sense reforms."

Grewal said the vast majority of law enforcement officers in New Jersey serve with honor and astonishing courage under extremely difficult circumstances.

"Most go through their entire careers without engaging in conduct that warrants a major disciplinary action against them. But their good work is easily undermined—and quickly forgotten—whenever an officer breaches the public's trust and dishonors the entire profession," Grewal said. "The likelihood of such misbehavior increases when officers believe they can act with impunity, and it decreases when officers know that their misconduct will be subject to public scrutiny."

The union trio noted Troopers who’ve previously accepted discipline and served unpaid suspensions fairly signed legally binding disciplinary agreements and voluntarily chose not to appeal and that revealing their identities could make the Troopers and their families from becoming potential targets of violent anti-police activists in their homes, communities, and schools.

For his part, Grewal said his office will continue evaluating other steps to promote transparency, accountability, and trust in law enforcement.

It's just the right thing to do," he said.

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