The Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee is set to consider A1515, legislation that authorizes the creation of local civilian review boards to review police operations and conduct. The boards would “serve to foster transparency, fairness, and equality in policiing practices and policies, which in turn will help promote positive relations between police and the local communities they serve.”
The bill has been debated in New Jersey before, supported by criminal justice reformers but meeting with resistance from police fraternal organizations.
A well-timed editorial in today’s Star Ledger offered harrowing details about the lack of oversight on training for New Jersey’s police officers, citing a private consulting firm that offers lectures peppered with racism and sexism, and glorifying the use of excessive force and other illegal policing practices. You can read the editorial HERE.
A1515 will be heard on Monday, December 11th at 10am in the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee. You can listen to the hearing on the NJ Legislature website using the “Watch Proceedings” tab.
