New license requirement for police

New Jersey now requires all police officers to have a license from the Police Training Commission in order to serve as law enforcement officers.

A new state law went into effect last month requiring New Jersey’s approximately 40,500 police officers to hold valid, active licenses issued by the Police Training Commission (PTC).

Any individual seeking to become a law enforcement officer in New Jersey will need to meet certain professional standards and maintain those standards in order to maintain their license.

Those who fall short of the standards could face suspension or revocation of their license, which could temporarily or permanently prevent them from working as officers.

Suspension and revocation make it tougher for officers with a track record of disciplinary problems to move from police department to police department and evade accountability.

“It’s called passing the trash,” said West Orange Police Chief James P. Abbott, who serves on the PTC. “One agency will allow a resignation in good standing where somebody should have been terminated but they go on to another police department and they are hired there because they don’t know about the previous misconduct.”

The law makes policing a licensed profession in New Jersey, with the aims of improving officer development and safety and bolstering trust between law enforcement officers and the public, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

“It elevates police work from a trade to a profession because there is a licensing agreement,” Abbott said.

Existing officers, who were already on the job and beyond the probationary period of their careers as of the beginning of this year, have been issued initial licenses valid for one, two, or three years.

Officers were randomly assigned to one of those three groups that will renew at different future dates, to avoid the need to renew every officer in the state at the same time, the statement said.

Going forward, after the first renewal, all licenses will be effective for three years. Officers must reapply 90 days before their licenses expire and provide supporting documentation. Officers are already required to pass training, often annually, in a wide range of subjects including cultural awareness; use of force; vehicular pursuit; duty to report and duty to intervene for example.

Police chiefs will be required to certify to the PTC that each renewing officer they employ is of good moral character, meets the standards to be a law enforcement officer, has completed required training, and has not engaged in any conduct or been the subject of any action that might lead the PTC to deny the renewal request.

If a license renewal application is still pending after a license expires, the law allows officers to continue working until the commission reaches a decision.

With the launch of the police licensing program, New Jersey joined more than 40 states across the country that require police to be licensed.

“It was kind of ironic,” Abbott said. “We saw in the aftermath of George Floyd that New Jersey was out front in doing training, banning chokeholds… but so much of the country was licensed and we weren’t.”

The PTC voted unanimously in June 2020 to create the statewide police licensing program and in August of 2023 formally adopted the process by which the commission would grant, renew, and if needed take action against licenses.

“Police licensure is a major milestone for excellence in law enforcement and for improved public safety in New Jersey,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “This law will ensure that our police personnel have the latest knowledge to be safe and effective while playing their critical roles in our society, and while reassuring community members that their safety and well-being is in the hands of individuals who are truly New Jersey’s finest.”

Chief law enforcement officers in every department must notify the PTC of any separation from employment with their agencies or any change to an officer’s employment status, any pending criminal charge or a conviction of any crime, disorderly persons or driving while intoxicated offense. The PTC also must be advised about agencies’ imposition of major discipline, and of sustained findings that an officer used excessive force, was unfit for duty, or engaged in fraudulent conduct.

The new rules also stipulate that law enforcement agencies must terminate, suspend, or refuse employment to any individual whose license has been denied, revoked, or suspended.

Appeals to adverse license actions will be heard by a hearing officer, who will make recommendations to the PTC’s Licensing Committee. That committee will then make recommendations to the full PTC regarding any adverse action.

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