Recently, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced a set of reforms. The changes are aimed at addressing long-standing issues within the New Jersey State Police (NJSP)
In light of this, these changes follow two outside investigations that uncovered serious problems with how the department handles complaints, especially those made by women and minority officers.
The findings showed a pattern of bias, favoritism, and misconduct, leading to over 20 reforms that aim to improve transparency, accountability, and diversity within the NJSP.
In fact, the investigations found that NJSP leadership had often failed to investigate complaints fairly.
Many complaints, especially from women and minority officers, were not taken seriously, and those who reported issues often faced retaliation.
To tackle this, Platkin announced reforms to increase oversight on handling complaints, particularly those involving high-ranking NJSP officers.
Additionally, there will be mandatory training on discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation to make sure these issues are addressed properly in the future.
One of the most shocking cases involved former lieutenant Joseph Nitti, who was accused of mishandling a complaint about a racist comment.
Instead of investigating the issue, Nitti tried to track down who reported it and took steps to protect the accused.
He even made inappropriate comments during an investigation into a Trooper charged with sexual misconduct involving a minor.
Despite these allegations, Nitti retired in 2023 with a monthly pension of $8,893. This case shows the larger issue of favoritism within the NJSP, where certain officers seem protected from consequences.
To fix this, Attorney General Platkin announced that the NJSP will no longer control human resources and equal employment opportunity functions.
Instead, they will be managed by the Department of Law and Public Safety to ensure fairness.
As part of the changes, the reforms also include restructuring the police academy’s training program to foster a more inclusive culture.
Moreover, new methods are being developed for officers to report misconduct without fear of retaliation.
At the same time, another focus of the reforms is diversity in hiring.
Although the number of Troopers of color has doubled since the NJSP’s racial profiling scandals in the 1990s, the department still doesn’t fully reflect New Jersey’s diverse population, especially in leadership positions.
With this in mind, the changes will make hiring and promotion processes more fair. They also seek to bring in officers who better represent the communities they serve.
Over the years, the NJSP has had a troubled history with racial and gender discrimination. For example, the department was once under federal oversight for racial profiling.
The latest investigations found that these problems are still ongoing, with officers using internal complaints to block promotions or target certain people.
Female officers, especially those who were pregnant, faced discriminatory practices like being forced to stay home during work hours and undergoing intrusive checks.
There were also reports of poor facilities for women at the NJSP headquarters, like a lack of a proper women’s locker room.
More recently, the NJSP’s promotional process also came under fire. The investigations found that some officers were promoted not because of their qualifications but because of personal connections.
As a result, this has created an environment where certain officers act as though they are above the rules, knowing their relationships with higher-ups protect them.
Thankfully, the reforms aim to stop this by introducing stricter oversight and ensuring promotions are earned based on merit.
To ensure the proper implementation of these reforms, Platkin’s office will assign staff from the Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards within the NJSP to monitor progress.
They’ll also look into leadership in specific areas, like Troop A in southern New Jersey, where the investigations found a particularly hostile environment for minority officers.
Both law enforcement analysts and civil rights advocates have responded positively to these changes, though some remain cautious.
Richard Rivera, an advocate for whistleblowers in law enforcement, said these changes were long overdue but stressed that real change will require strong enforcement.
Similarly, the New Jersey ACLU praised the reforms, calling them a step in the right direction toward greater accountability, especially given how misconduct has disproportionately affected Black and brown communities.
There’s no exact timeline for when these reforms will be fully rolled out. Still, Attorney General Platkin’s office is working closely with NJSP leadership, including Colonel Patrick Callahan, who has agreed to lead the changes.
Callahan has acknowledged the need for reform. In response, he is committed to working with the Attorney General’s office to restore trust and integrity within the department.