Internal Affairs/Misconduct Complaints of New Jersey State Police

You can make a referral to the Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS) about potential misconduct within the New Jersey State Police, or allegations of misconduct by a member of the New Jersey State Police towards a member of the public.  OLEPS will accept reports of misconduct from any person – including members of the State Police, members of the public, and anonymous sources at any time.  Complaints are not limited to concerns about an individual Trooper’s actions.  Complaints may also arise from a pattern of misconduct involving multiple Troopers or an agency practice, or from the actions of civilians employed by the State Police. You can also submit complaints about members of the State Police who are no longer currently employed by the State Police; those complaints will be reviewed to determine if there is any action that could be taken or if the complaint should be referred to another agency.

Members of the New Jersey State Police must follow directives, guidelines, policies, and procedures issued by the Attorney General; Police Training Commission rules; the New Jersey and the United States criminal codes; and State and federal law generally.  Also, the New Jersey State Police has established rules, regulations, standing operating procedures and policies to govern the professional and personal conduct of State Troopers.

The Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS) accepts complaints concerning enlisted members of the New Jersey State Police, civilian members of the New Jersey State Police, and former employees of the New Jersey State Police.

OLEPS will conduct a thorough review of all complaints filed with our office, regardless of the source. These complaints will be reviewed by the Director of OLEPS, or a designee, and routed to an appropriate investigative agency.

Complaints will be kept confidential, to the fullest extent possible, and will be accepted from any person, including anonymous sources.  Anyone who files a complaint against a member or members of the New Jersey State Police will be treated with courtesy and respect.

Individuals may make a complaint directly, anonymously, or through an attorney.

To make a complaint, you may:

(1) Click here to file a complaint electronically on a fillable form.

(2) Write a letter to the following address:

New Jersey Attorney General’s Office
Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards
25 Market Street
P.O. Box 080
Trenton, NJ 08625-0080

(3) Call the OLEPS Hot-Line: 1-833-482-0364 to leave a message at any time. Your call will be promptly returned during regular business hours.

If you choose to write to the P.O. Box or call the hotline, please include as much of the following information as possible:

• Your name and contact information:

• Full Name
• Address
• Preferred Method of Contact
  • Phone, Email, None, or Other
• Phone
• Email

If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so.  Your identity is not required. However, it may be helpful in the event of follow-up questions.  OLEPS supports full cooperation from you; as allegations are best investigated with the most information, details, and evidence that can be provided by complainants, witnesses, and sources.

• The names of the members of the New Jersey State Police believed to be involved in the alleged misconduct (whether as the subjects of the allegation(s) or as potential witnesses). Provide whatever information is known:

• Employee’s Name(s)
• Badge No.
• Incident Site
• Date/Time

If you do not know the name(s) or badge number(s) of those involved, please provide any other identifying information.

• Nature of the alleged misconduct:
  • Location
  • Date/Time
  • Description of the type of incident or encounter (internal practice, traffic stop, street encounter, etc.)
  • Alleged conduct of New Jersey State Police personnel
  • Any other information you believe may be relevant to our inquiry.

You may make your internal affairs complaint or allegation of misconduct anonymously.  Section 5.1.2 of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures requires agencies to accept and investigate complaints from all persons who wish to file a complaint, including anonymous sources.  Under no circumstances shall it be necessary for you to make a sworn statement to initiate the internal affairs process.  The IAPP applies to all sworn law enforcement employees but can also be applied to civilian employees.  IAPP 1.0.1.

Your identity is not required. However, it may be helpful in the event of follow-up questions.  OLEPS supports full cooperation from you; allegations are best investigated with the most information, details, and evidence that can be provided by complainants, witnesses, and sources.

Commitment from Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS)

The Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS) is committed to ensuring that investigations into allegations of misconduct are conducted in a fair, effective, and impartial manner. It is in the best interests of all involved parties that a complaint about State Police members are resolved fairly and promptly to protect the rights of both the public and the State Police members.

1. Reports or Complaints of alleged misconduct within or by members of the New Jersey State Police will be accepted from any person, including anonymous sources, at any time.
2. Complaints shall be accepted regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or immigration status of the complaining party.
3. A complaint will be reviewed by the OLEPS Director, or a designee, who will direct the complaint to the appropriate investigative body for a thorough and objective investigation. Based on the nature of your complaint, the investigation may be handled as internal affairs, human resources, Equal Employment Opportunity, criminal, or something else. The investigation may be conducted through specially trained internal affairs investigators within OLEPS, other offices and/or divisions within the Attorney General’s Department of Law & Public Safety, a County Prosecutor’s Office, the State Police Office of Professional Standards (OPS) under the purview of OLEPS, or the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (when appropriate), or any other appropriate agency, at the direction of the Director or their designee.
4. You may be asked to help in the investigation by giving a detailed statement about what happened or providing other important information or documents.
5. All complaints against members of the New Jersey State Police will be thoroughly investigated. If your complaint results in an internal affairs investigation conducted under the New Jersey Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures (IAPP), you will be kept informed of the status of the internal affairs investigation and its ultimate outcome. The exact discipline imposed may be confidential, but you will be advised of the ultimate finding, namely:
   1. a. Sustained: A preponderance of the evidence shows that a trooper violated any law, regulation, directive, guideline, policy, or procedure issued by the Attorney General or County Prosecutor; agency protocol; standing operating procedure; rule; or training.
   2. b. Unfounded: A preponderance of the evidence shows that the alleged misconduct did not occur. (This finding means that the alleged misconduct did not occur, not necessarily that your interaction with a Trooper did not occur. For instance, at the conclusion of an investigation into a demeanor allegation for a Trooper using foul language during a motor vehicle stop, the agency finds that the Trooper did speak to the motorist during a motor vehicle stop but a did not use foul language.)
   3. c. Exonerated: A preponderance of the evidence shows that the alleged conduct did occur, but did not violate any law, regulation, directive, guideline, policy, or procedure issued by the Attorney General or County Prosecutor; agency protocol; standing operating procedure; rule; or training. (For example, at the conclusion of an investigation into an excessive force allegation, the agency finds that the Trooper used force (alleged conduct) but that the force was not excessive (alleged violation).)
   4. d. Sustained: The investigation failed to disclose sufficient evidence to clearly prove or disprove the allegation.
6. If the complaint review or investigation shows that a crime may have been committed, OLEPS will notify the appropriate State, county, or federal prosecutor. If a crime is charged, you may be asked to testify in court.
7. If the investigation results in a member of the New Jersey State Police being charged with a violation of rules, regulations, directives, guidelines, policies, or procedures applicable to law enforcement, you may be asked to testify in a departmental or administrative hearing.
8. If an internal affairs investigation shows that the complaint is not sustained, or unfounded, or that the conduct was proper under the circumstances, the matter will be closed.
9. Internal affairs, EEO, and criminal investigations are confidential.

10. Corrective Action

If the investigation indicates a member(s) of the New Jersey State Police has committed a violation, a corrective or disciplinary action, consistent with the severity of the violation, may be taken.  Mitigating circumstances may be considered in determining appropriate penalties.  For sworn members of the New Jersey State Police, penalties may include any of the following:

• Counseling
• Remedial training
• Written reprimand
• Suspension
• Reduction in rank
• Termination

Please contact OLEPS through the OLEPS hotline (1-833-482-0364), our office (609-376-2535), or email at olepsmain@njoag.gov) with any additional information or any questions about a case.