'Rule Violations' At Bergen County Police Academy Being Probed By County Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the police academy that trains officers in North Jersey because of "alleged rule violations," they announced Thursday.

However, they said the new probe is not related to recent revelations about a controversial 2021 "Street Cops" training in Atlantic City, which is under fire for the use of derogatory language.

A spokesperson for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday, "In the course of the most recent police recruit class, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office was notified by the Police Training Commission that they had received information regarding alleged rule violations occurring at the Bergen County Police Academy."

The Academy is located in Mahwah.

Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Rebein noted, "The Academy is a unit of the County of Bergen’s Law and Public Safety Institute and operates as a partnership between the County of Bergen, the BCPO, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. The BCPO is responsible for all law enforcement training occurring at the Academy, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our police recruits receive the highest quality training."

She said, "We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, and we immediately began an investigation into those allegations. We have been working collaboratively with the PTC, the County of Bergen, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association to ensure that the Academy provides all police cadets with the highest
standards of professional training possible.

"We are committed to implementing all reforms recommended by the PTC. We are confident that in cooperation with the PTC, the Bergen County Police Academy will be authorized to continue police recruit training in the future."

Early reports in the press speculated that the investigation was related to a 2021 training in Atlantic City, attended by 54 police departments, that allegedly used derogatory language against women and "glorified violence," according to a state comptroller's report. READ MORE: 240 Cops In NJ Completed Controversial Training With Tax Dollars: OSC

But Rebein clarified Friday, "The academy investigation is unrelated to the comptroller’s report."

The office did not release further details on the investigation.