Bill would strip New Jersey State Police from Attorney General oversight

A proposal to wrench the New Jersey State Police away from the attorney general and let the outfit handle its own affairs has excited troopers and intrigued some law enforcement experts, with one observer saying a guarded version of home rule might be just what the troubled agency needs.

But some social justice advocates find the proposal troubling and say it would eliminate proper oversight of the state police.

The bipartisan bill, introduced last month by Democratic state Sen. Jim Beach and Republican Sens. Michael Testa and Anthony Bucco, would make the 3,300-officer division its own department for the first time since 1948.

The governor would appoint the Senate-confirmed superintendent, who would hold a cabinet-level post and answer directly to the governor instead of the attorney general, according to the bill.

Sponsors of the legislation say it will free the Garden State’s largest law enforcement agency from turmoil, partisanship, and political meddling, which Testa, a Cumberland County Republican, claimed has kneecapped the agency and destroyed confidence in its leadership.

“Separating the New Jersey State Police from the Office of the Attorney General is long overdue and a crucial reform to restore operational effectiveness and public trust,” Testa wrote in a statement.

“By creating an independent department, the State Police will finally be able to operate free from the constraints of political agendas and focus solely on protecting and serving the people of New Jersey.”

It’s a curious proposal for the 104-year-old agency, which has seen its share of troubles over its lengthy history, including a pair of federal consent decrees, one of which lasted a decade after the department was accused of racially profiling people during traffic stops in 1999.

A pair of reports released last fall criticized the department’s recruitment, hiring and promotional practices; raised questions about how it handles misconduct and retaliation; and pilloried its internal affairs department as being “weaponized against some troopers, while those favored by management operated with impunity,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in September.

“These investigations revealed deeply troubling conduct and systemic problems within the New Jersey State Police that demand reform,” Platkin said. “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.”

Those allegations, as well as an alleged ticket-writing slowdown in 2023 after another report said the staties stopped minority drivers more often and treated them more harshly, again tarnished the agency’s image just when many thought it had emerged from its worst days.

It’s not clear if the reports had something to do with the push to unshackle the cops from the attorney general, or if some hidden political motive has driven the proposal.

For their part, State Police sources said it’s a long time coming. The agency has chafed under the leadership of successive attorneys general who, they claim, have hurt the department by delaying trooper promotions and slow-walking internal investigations.

Sources also said the attorney general’s office frequently faces a conflict of interest when dealing with the troopers, since its lawyers both investigate and represent the officers. They added that Platkin tends to publicly bash the agency whenever he feels it politically convenient.

The attorney general’s office declined Monday to comment on the troopers’ statements or the legislation, which now sits in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee after its June 19 introduction.

Still, the prospect of a State Police unmoored from the attorney general’s eye worries some advocates.

“The New Jersey State Police has a long, well-documented history of racism embedded in their culture,” the Rev. Charles Boyer, founder of Salvation and Social Justice, said in a statement released by the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“To allow them to separate from the oversight of the Attorney General’s Office is not just irresponsible — it’s an assault on the Black community,” he said. “Their record with Black people is abominable, and if the Legislature permits this, it will echo the same disregard for justice we see under the Trump administration.”

Surraya Johnson, director of the Criminal Justice Reform Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, added that there’s “no good reason to remove the New Jersey State Police from the oversight of the Attorney General’s Office.”

“That oversight is more critical than ever right now, when law enforcement has been tasked with violating the rights of residents in New Jersey and around the country,” Johnson said.

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But Rich Rivera, a former West New York street cop-turned-transparency advocate who’s also the Penns Grove police director, said the change might be exactly what the beleaguered agency needs.

“At first glance, I was definitely opposed to it,” Rivera told The Jersey Vindicator. “But the attorney general has failed to hold the State Police accountable going back to the mid-’90s. Nothing has changed in more than 30 years. So why not give them some independence?”

But the state still must impose guardrails on the insular agency, Rivera said.

“If you’re going to legislate it, you have to embed additional legislative measures to make sure the public’s interests are paramount,” Rivera said. “Right now, there is no accountability for the State Police, even being under the attorney general.”

“So if there’s going to be legislation to make it independent, there needs to be other layers of accountability and safeguards.”

The State Police’s rank-and-file might disagree with Rivera’s sentiments. Police sources said staties endure rigorous oversight in part due to standards adopted after the consent decrees.

They also said oversight rules wouldn’t fall away because the state Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards and other groups would still scrutinize the department and act as watchdogs.

“The legislation doesn’t change any of the oversight — it just makes us a department that’s responsible to the governor, not the attorney general,” one police source said. “We’ve embraced the oversight over the last 25 years, and we’re not trying to avoid it.”

But the bill would quietly rectify some of the troopers’ gripes, such as declaring that the superintendent can hire or fire whomever they want without the time-consuming attorney general approval process.

Col. Patrick Callahan, the State Police’s current superintendent, declined to comment on the proposal.

It’s not clear if or when the bill will come up for a vote, or whose desk it will land on should lawmakers pass it. Phil Murphy is term-limited out, and a new governor will take over in January of 2026.

Murphy’s office declined to comment on the bill, and neither candidate took a strong stance when asked if they’d sign it.

“I’ll take a serious look at this legislation and bring people to the table, including our police and community leaders, to ensure that any reform improves law enforcement effectiveness and meaningfully enhances accountability,” Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor, said in a statement put out by her campaign.

A spokesperson for Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did any of the bill’s primary sponsors.

There does seem to be momentum behind the bill, even though no one from the New Jersey General Assembly has introduced companion legislation yet.

Still, some remain wary of letting the State Police go their own way.

“To me, this reads as a political gesture — trying to undo everything Platkin set out to do,” said Jason Williams, a justice studies professor at Montclair State University. “They’re very upset at the reforms this man has tried to push forth for the state. That’s what it is.”

“This agency needs to have as much oversight over it as we possibly can, given its history — and even its presence.”