TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced a slate of recommended reforms to be implemented by the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) following the completion of two separate investigations into the NJSP. Attorney General Platkin has directed that all of the recommendations set forth in both reports, as well as additional reforms identified by his Office, be accepted and implemented by the NJSP. Colonel Patrick Callahan, Superintendent of the NJSP, has recognized the need for reform and has agreed to accept the recommended reforms, and will be dedicating members of his command staff to oversee the implementation and provide regular updates and deliverables to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

Attorney General Platkin also released the reports associated with both investigations to promote greater transparency and accountability within the ranks of the New Jersey State Police, and to strengthen trust with the residents of New Jersey, as well as the trust of the troopers harmed by the conduct uncovered in these investigations. The first report was prepared by the law firm of Kaufman Dolowich LLP, retained by the State to review the recruitment, hiring, and promotional practices and workplace environment at the NJSP. The Attorney General also released a report, as well as a memorandum, from the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), detailing the findings made against a now-retired NJSP lieutenant formerly assigned to the NJSP’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS). OPS is the unit responsible for the internal affairs function for the NJSP’s more than 3,000 members. During the investigation, OPIA also uncovered extensive problems with how Internal Affairs (IA) matters have been handled at NJSP, which are detailed in the accompanying memorandum also released today. Many of the findings of OPIA are consistent with the findings of Kaufman Dolowich despite the fact that both investigations were conducted independently. Notably, both investigative teams found that the Internal Affairs function of the NJSP was weaponized against some troopers, while those favored by management operated with impunity.

“New Jersey Troopers are tasked with the difficult, but vital, responsibility of keeping our state safe. While most Troopers discharge these duties with distinction, these investigations revealed deeply troubling conduct and systemic problems within the New Jersey State Police that demand reform,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The New Jersey State Police is a proud organization comprised of thousands of brave law enforcement professionals – but it is imperfect and must embrace change. These investigations found that there are favored members at the State Police, and some members hesitate to report discrimination or misconduct for fear of reprisals. This cannot continue.”

Attorney General Platkin has recommended that the NJSP implement all of the more than two dozen recommendations set forth across both reports. These recommendations include the following actions:

• A requirement that NJSP affirmatively notify OPIA of all complaints made against NJSP senior leadership and members of the OPS.
• NJSP, subject to OAG approval, must develop an alternative mechanism for reporting misconduct within NJSP – which must also provide for anonymous reporting.
• A review of all confidential position designations, as well as a review of the practice and frequency of transfers within NJSP, will be conducted by OAG so that these positions and practices serve the stated purposes and are not subject to manipulation.
• Reforms to the hiring process so that the demographics of the NJSP will better reflect the diversity of the state it serves.
• Changes to the sick-leave policy and physical fitness tests to make NJSP a more desirable workplace for women by having policies in place that do not negatively impact pregnant and postpartum persons.
• Providing troopers who are transferred and/or not selected for promotion with supervisory feedback so that they can improve and increase their opportunities for professional advancement.
• Implementing annual, mandatory in-service training for all members on DEI, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, and the implementation of an anti-hazing policy.

In addition, the Attorney General has taken the following steps to address issues uncovered by these investigations:

• AG Platkin is removing all human resources and equal employment opportunity functions from NJSP control, and absorbing those offices into the Department of Law and Public Safety.
• AG Platkin has also directed his Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards (OLEPS) to increase its oversight of the State Police, including by embedding staff at OPS at the point where it takes complaints and by helping decide which cases will be transferred for investigation by OPIA.
• The NJSP has been directed to restructure its academy training program to incorporate best practices. Proposals will be submitted to OLEPS for approval.
• The NJSP has been directed to evaluate the leadership within Troop A and propose a strategy for changing the culture of that Troop in light of the issues revealed in that investigation.

“The findings set forth in the Kaufman Dolowich report run contrary to the founding principles of the Division of the New Jersey State Police,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan. “We cannot allow these problems to tarnish the honor and fidelity that so many men and women in this uniform live by. I am committed to working with Attorney General Platkin and his team to implement these necessary reforms.”

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The OPIA investigation revealed instances that include a lack of confidentiality in handling information in IA matters, failure to maintain objective and unbiased investigations, and the use of inappropriate investigative techniques in direct violation of commands.

In one instance examined during OPIA’s investigation, when the NJSP’s OPS received an anonymous complaint, which is expressly permitted under the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures (IAPP), Lt. Joseph Nitti (now retired) focused the investigation on identifying the anonymous complainant rather than the allegations raised in the complaint, which accused a member of the NJSP, with whom Lt. Nitti was close, of making a racist comment about a senior Black member of the NJSP at the time. Lt. Nitti took unprecedented steps and squandered State resources attempting to identify the target of the alleged racist comment as the author of the anonymous letter. The investigative steps included obtaining typewriter samples, video, fueling records, and fingerprints, and seeking DNA testing in contradiction to direct orders and internal policies of the NJSP lab. The anonymous author was never identified despite these inappropriate investigative steps.

OPIA’s investigation revealed that the former senior Black member of the NJSP who was the target of the alleged racist comment had an IA finding made against him – at Lt. Nitti’s urging – for failing to report rumors of the racist comment allegedly made about him, despite the fact that OPS had deemed the rumors to be unfounded. OPIA found that the investigation that gave rise to that sustained finding was “so thoroughly tainted by the misconduct that occurred that [the finding] cannot be permitted to stand.” Upon the Attorney General’s recommendation, the sustained IA finding against the now retired senior Black member who was targeted by Lt. Nitti will be vacated by the Colonel of the NJSP.

In another case examined by OPIA, Lt. Nitti – using a personal phone for confidential internal affairs business – inappropriately discussed a case the office was handling in a group chat with numerous colleagues. Referring to an ongoing criminal investigation into the arrest of a trooper for sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl while on a school sports trip, Lt. Nitti wrote: “Can we at least see a pic of her. I’d like to see what all the hubbub is about.”

None of the other troopers who received the text objectifying the alleged child victim reported it. When OPIA scheduled interviews with them, several failed to show up for their compulsory witness interviews. When those members who had failed to appear at their initial interviews finally showed up at a later date, they were all represented by the same attorney and provided nearly verbatim accounts of what happened and tried to justify the comments made by Lt. Nitti by suggesting, albeit wrongly, that the photo may have been relevant if the child looked over the age of 18. Through their shared lawyer, they objected to providing information from their phones.

Now, following the OPIA investigation, the Colonel has agreed to transfer out of OPS every member who received the text and failed to report it, as well as taking further steps. In addition, the Colonel will assume direct oversight over OPS moving forward, and has agreed to direct his staff to cooperate with increased oversight by the Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards over OPS.

OPIA sustained seven IA violations against Lt. Nitti and concluded it would have recommended his termination had he not already left NJSP during the investigation. While the NJSP will be required to publish a summary of the findings made against Lt. Nitti pursuant to Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2022-14, the Attorney General has determined to exercise his authority under the IAPP to release the summary and conclusions report in its entirety – subject only to redactions that preserve the anonymity of witnesses, and pertain to matters that remain under active investigation by OPIA. The report, and accompanying memorandum, are available at this link: OPIA Memo, Report on Nitti

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The other report being released today is by Kaufman Dolowich LLP and follows a four-year inquiry into allegations of race and gender discrimination at the State Police. The study was expanded at the direction of Attorney General Platkin to include a detailed statistical analysis of whether existing practices had unintentionally created systemic discrimination. The analysis, conducted by Palmer Morrel-Samuels, Ph. D., a social scientist from the University of Michigan, determined that a trooper’s race, heritage, gender, or age, did not have any statistically significant impact on the number of promotions a trooper received during the years of analysis (2017-2021).

Approximately 150 troopers and former troopers agreed to confidential interviews in developing the report. The majority believe that they were subjected to gender and race discrimination. The report’s authors make 18 recommendations, and OAG added more of its own based on the report’s findings, including an evaluation of the leadership and culture at Troop A in South Jersey, where reports of discrimination and bullying were most prevalent.

“I would like to thank Karol Corbin Walker and her colleagues at Kaufman Dolowich LLP for their diligent efforts and thoughtful recommendations for improvements. I have asked the State Police to implement these needed changes,” Attorney General Platkin said. “The experiences described in the report by troopers in the State Police are valid, disappointing, unacceptable, and will not be simply dismissed by NJSP leadership.”

Among the findings in the report:

• The number of troopers of color is nearly double the level from 1998, just before a 1999 State Police Review Team report on diversity and equity and 2000 consent order related to racial profiling by the agency. However, the total on the force and entering the State Police Academy still does not reflect the demographics of New Jersey.
• Nearly a decade after the NJSP reformed its promotional process to one that is more structured and objective, the agency still lacks diversity in its higher ranks.
• Troopers said one “source of great frustration” is what many referred to as the “weaponization” of Internal Affairs and Equal Employment Opportunity complaints as a way to block promotions, because any open misconduct case automatically disqualifies a trooper from the process – which is not necessarily the case, though an available safeguard is not known to most troopers who are not high-ranked or assigned to the Office of Professional Standards. The length of time it takes to finalize complaints also effectively denied troopers consideration for promotions.
• The same issues with the Division of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action identified in the 1999 report persist today, such as fear of retaliation and the length and ineffectiveness of the process. Interviewed troopers said supervisors tolerate discrimination and discourage complaints. The office is seen as “a joke” that has lost all credibility and respect.
• An overwhelming majority of troopers interviewed also said transfers and detachments are exploited without repercussions as both a source of retaliation and punishment, as well as to create space for another trooper to help make that person more viable for a promotion.
• When a maternity leave policy was finally created in 2021 and updated in 2023, it provided unlimited sick leave – but that it also required the troopers on pregnancy-related leave to be at home between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and subjected them to “integrity checks” that sometimes came during doctor’s visits, during breastfeeding, or when someone was putting a baby to sleep. It’s also unclear if eight weeks of recovery leave, with full pay, was revoked or is in effect.
• There is not a women’s locker room in the building at the State Police Headquarters campus that houses the pool and a gym. Female troopers must walk across a parking lot to another building after getting out of the pool to reach their locker room. After decades of complaints, the NJSP decided this year to renovate the men’s locker room into two changing rooms. The Attorney General has given the NJSP 30 days to present the LPS Division of Administration with a timeline and budget for the renovation.

The report prepared by Kaufman Dolowich LLP can be accessed at this link: Kaufman Dolowich Report

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