TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal provided updates to ongoing initiatives that advance the administration’s goal of strengthening trust between police officers and the communities they serve in New Jersey, according to a June 2 press release.
The announcement included updates on initiatives designed to ensure, among other things, that police are held to the highest professional standards; that use of force is monitored and governed by the strongest policies; that officers are trained to de-escalate situations involving individuals in crisis; and that the state responds immediately to major civil rights incidents that threaten police-community trust.
The reforms are an outgrowth of the “Excellence in Policing” initiative launched by Grewal and other law enforcement leaders in December.
“Fixing a system that is fundamentally broken requires us to acknowledge the erosion of trust between communities of color and law enforcement,” Murphy said. “From day one, my administration has been committed to bringing transformational change to community policing and police culture in New Jersey. Under Attorney General Grewal’s leadership, we will take further steps to build upon our progress and deepen the well of trust in our communities, including the first update of our use-of-force policies in two decades. ”
“The tragic killing of George Floyd reminds us that our country has a long way to go, not only in healing our nation’s racial divides, but also in addressing the systemic and implicit biases that affect all Americans,” Grewal said. “Long before this week’s protests, we committed ourselves to making New Jersey a national leader in policing reform. And we’re in this for the long haul, not because it’s easy or popular, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
The release addressed the following:
- Expanding Crisis Intervention Team training. Experts agree that one of the most effective ways to reduce police use-of-force and death-in-custody incidents is by expanding the use of Crisis Intervention Teams, which help officers respond to situations involving individuals with mental health issues. However, CIT training is expensive and typically available only from a handful of outside vendors. To reduce the barriers to entry, the Attorney General’s Office is exploring the capacity to build a statewide CIT training program. As a first step, the state will launch a pilot program, using an outside vendor, with police departments in Atlantic City, Paterson, Trenton and Millville, as well as New Jersey State Police troopers assigned in Trenton.
- Endorsing statewide certification for police officers. In December, as part of the “Excellence in Policing” initiative, Grewal asked the Police Training Commission to consider implementing a statewide professional licensure program for police, as well as a framework for enhancing all police training. That analysis is nearly complete, and a proposal for a statewide program will be presented to the PTC later this month, with support from Grewal.
- Statewide use-of-force portal. Earlier this year, the Attorney General’s Office launched a pilot program for the new statewide use-of-force portal. That pilot program is now complete, and the Attorney General’s Office is ready to begin expanding the program statewide in July. The portal will allow for the gathering and meaningful analysis of uniform use-of-force data from all law enforcement agencies in New Jersey.
- Updating use-of-force policies. The Attorney General’s Office has not updated its use-of-force policy in two decades. In December, Grewal announced that the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability would undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the use-of-force policy. On June 2, Grewal announced that he will issue an AG directive by the end of 2020 that will revise and update the policy for all 36,000 law enforcement officers in New Jersey. In developing the policy, he will consult widely with stakeholders and draw on data collected through the new use-of-force portal.
- Division on Civil Rights incident response team. Unlike the federal government, New Jersey currently lacks a team of community-relations specialists who can respond in the community following a major civil rights incident. The Attorney General’s Office intends to develop such a team within DCR in the months ahead.
Over the past two years, the Attorney General’s Office has consulted closely with law enforcement leaders, community leaders, police unions, civil rights groups and victims’ advocates to ensure that policing reforms are developed with meaningful buy-in from all relevant stakeholders.
The initiatives announced June 2 build on policies and programs the Attorney General’s Office has implemented in recent years to bolster police-community trust:
- Excellence in Policing Initiative. In December, Grewal announced the Excellence in Policing Initiative, a sweeping set of reforms designed to promote a culture of professionalism, accountability and transparency in law enforcement.
- Statewide implicit bias training. In June 2018, Grewal mandated that all prosecutors and officers employed by the Department of Law and Public Safety — including all 2,800 New Jersey State troopers — undergo implicit bias training.
- De-escalation training. New Jersey offers de-escalation training to law enforcement officers throughout their careers, including during their initial academy training. Since 2017, the Attorney General’s Office has offered multi-hour courses on de-escalation, use of force and cultural sensitivity for officers across the state.
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