ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4058

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 2, 2021

      The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4058.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 4058 prohibits law enforcement agencies from considering how many arrests an officer makes or how many citations an officer issues as a factor when evaluating that officer’s overall performance or when making personnel determinations, including promotions, demotions, and other benefits of employment.  The amended bill provides that a law enforcement agency may collect, analyze, and apply information concerning the number of arrests and citations for the purpose of forwarding that information to the Superintendent of State Police to be included in the Uniform Crime Report. 

      As amended by the committee, law enforcement agencies are prohibited from posting arrest and citation data in common areas accessible to all law enforcement officers, such as a police station or barracks, to create competition between officers concerning arrests and citations. 

     Under current law, State and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from establishing policies requiring officers to meet quotas for arrests and citations in enforcing the State’s motor vehicle code.  However, these agencies may consider arrest and citation data as part of the officer's overall performance evaluation.  This bill prohibits this practice. 

     As amended and reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 1322 (1R), which also was reported by the committee on this same date. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amended the bill to prohibit police departments from posting the number of arrests or citations in any common areas, including police stations or barracks, in order to create competition between officers with respect to arrests and citations.