The New Jersey State Police will implement an array of reforms aimed at weeding out racism and sexism among the agency’s top ranks, following decades of federal investigations, complaints and discrimination lawsuits.
Two separate investigations found internal complaints made by troopers of color and women were “weaponized” against them. Now, the state attorney general’s office of public integrity and accountability will handle all complaints filed against State Police senior staff.
“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,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a press release. “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.”
Separate reviews — one by Platkin’s office, another by a law firm retained by the state — found troopers of color and women were underrepresented in the workforce and passed over for promotions. Women encountered problems when they took maternity leave. When they returned to work they often had nowhere to pump breast milk.
The report found that leaders in the agency who participated in retaliatory, racist or sexist internal investigations will be transferred out of the office of professional standards, the internal affairs unit.
“We cannot allow these problems to tarnish the honor and fidelity that so many men and women in this uniform live by,” said Col. Patrick Callahan, head of the State Police. “I am committed to working with Attorney General Platkin and his team to implement these necessary reforms.”
Platkin’s review also found egregious breakdowns in professionalism. In one case detailed in the report, an officer was under investigation for engaging in “sexual misconduct” with a 14-year-old girl. On a text chain with colleagues from the…
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