Additional Forms of Misconduct Added Pursuant to Revised Attorney General Directive

TRENTON – The Attorney General’s Office today released information regarding New Jersey law enforcement officers who faced major disciplinary action from their agencies in 2023. The release is part of the Office of the Attorney General’s ongoing effort to increase transparency and public access to information about police discipline and use of force. It is being provided in compliance with Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2022-14, issued in November 2022, in which Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin expanded the definition of major discipline and required law enforcement agencies to include more details about the misconduct that led to disciplinary action.

“The information released today reflects our commitment to increasing accountability in policing. For the first time since information regarding major disciplinary actions has been made public, we have made significant changes to the requirements by expanding the information provided. Increased transparency helps increase confidence in law enforcement, leading to greater public safety,” said Attorney General Platkin. “New Jersey’s law enforcement officers – the vast majority of whom serve with professionalism and honor – benefit from this increased public trust, enabling them to more safely and effectively serve New Jersey’s residents.”

While the Attorney General Directive 2022-14 was issued in 2022, the increased reporting requirements took effect on January 1, 2023, making the 2023 reporting year the first year of the more robust reporting requirements. For the first time in this report, information is being released about certain forms of misconduct regardless of the type or severity of the discipline imposed on the officer, including sustained findings of the following:

• discrimination or bias against any person because of the individual’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, sex, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, familial status, or any other protected characteristic;
• excessive force in violation of departmental policy or the Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy;
• untruthfulness or demonstrating a lack of candor;
• filing a false report or submitting a false certification in any criminal, administrative, employment, financial, or insurance matter in their professional or personal life;
• intentionally conducting an improper search, seizure or arrest;
• intentionally mishandling or destroying evidence; or
• committing an act of domestic violence, as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19.

As in previous years, this release also includes information about officers who were suspended for more than five days, demoted, or terminated the prior year. The revised major discipline definition also includes any officer who:

• resigned, retired, transferred or separated from the agency, regardless of the reason, while any internal affairs investigation or complaint was pending, and the misconduct ultimately sustained fell within the categories above or if the misconduct would have resulted in a suspension of more than five days, demotion, or termination had the member not separated from the agency; or
• was charged with any indictable crime under New Jersey or an equivalent offense under federal law or the law of another jurisdiction related to the complaint.

Under AG Directive 2022-14, all New Jersey law enforcement agencies must submit major discipline reporting forms to the Attorney General’s Office annually for review, compilation, and analysis by the Office of Justice Data (OJD) and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA).  AG Directive 2022-14 requires that reports contain the names of officers subjected to major discipline, along with synopses describing the misconduct in sufficient detail so that readers unfamiliar with a case may fully understand the factual scenario that resulted in the disciplinary action. This information is contained in a written report and summarized on the Major Discipline Dashboard.

In the 2023 reporting year, the most frequently occurring offense as indicated in the summaries related to attendance, including lateness and call-outs too close to the start of a shift. There were 538 major disciplines from 167 agencies, involving 460 unique officers. Pending cases are not included in this data.

In addition, the updated Internal Affairs dashboard with 2023 information is also being released today. Annual summaries of internal affairs investigations are required to be submitted by law enforcement agencies to OPIA under Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2021-6.

The 2023 Internal Affairs and Major Discipline releases are part of ongoing initiatives undertaken by Attorney General Platkin to make New Jersey’s criminal justice system more transparent, to provide policy makers and the public with access to data, and to foster greater understanding and trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Other efforts to increase transparency include launching a data warehouse providing de-identified information on arrests in New Jersey and releasing expanded data on the demographics of law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

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