Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DLPS to establish and make available to law enforcement agencies training materials concerning interactions with hearing impaired; requires annual training for law enforcement and contracting with qualified interpreters.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning law enforcement practices and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Law and Public Safety shall develop or identify training course materials and an online tutorial regarding appropriate recognition and response techniques concerning the interaction of law enforcement officers with the hearing impaired, including, but not limited to, a hearing impaired person’s right to the assistance of a qualified interpreter pursuant to P.L.1983, c.564 (C.34:1-69.7 et seq.).
b. The Department of Law and Public Safety shall cause the training course materials and online tutorial developed or identified pursuant to subsection a. of this section to be made available to every State, county, and municipal law enforcement department in the State and to each campus police department at an institution of higher education in the State that appoints police officers pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.) for use in providing officer training.
c. The Department of Law and Public Safety shall periodically assess the training course materials and online tutorial developed or identified pursuant to subsection a. of this section and update them where the department finds appropriate.
d. Every State, county, and municipal law enforcement department in the State and every campus police department at an institution of higher education in the State that appoints police officers pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.) shall provide annual in-service training of its personnel utilizing the training course materials or online tutorial developed or identified by the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
e. Every State, county, and municipal law enforcement department in the State and every campus police department at an institution of higher education in the State that appoints police officers pursuant to P.L.1970, c.211 (C.18A:6-4.2 et seq.) shall contract with an agency that is capable of providing a qualified interpreter within two hours of a request.
As used in this act:
“Hearing impaired person” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of P.L.1983, c.564 (C.34:1-69.8).
“Qualified interpreter” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of P.L.1983, c.564 (C.34:1-69.8).
2. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS) to develop or identify training course materials and an online tutorial regarding appropriate recognition and response techniques concerning the interaction of law enforcement officers with the hearing impaired. The training is required to include information regarding when a hearing impaired person has the right to request the assistance of a qualified interpreter. Under the bill, the DLPS is required to make the training materials and online tutorial available to every State, county, and municipal law enforcement department and at every institution of higher education in the State that appoints police officers.
This bill also requires every State, county, and municipal law enforcement department and every institution of higher education in the State that appoints police officers to provide annual in-service training according to the training protocols established by the DLPS and to contract with an agency that is capable of providing a qualified interpreter within two hours of a request.
The bill defines a “hearing impaired person” as a person whose hearing is impaired so as to prohibit the person from understanding oral communication and further includes a person who, because of loss of hearing, cannot communicate spoken language. In addition, the bill defines a “qualified interpreter” as an interpreter certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. and listed by the State Division of the Deaf in the Department of Labor or the New Jersey Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.