Bill Text: NJ A4343 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires county and municipal police departments to establish cultural diversity training course and plan.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2016-01-19 - Pocket Veto - Bills not Acted on by Governor-end of Session [A4343 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A4343-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman VINCENT PRIETO
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires county and municipal police departments to establish cultural diversity training course and plan.
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. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Law enforcement officers have a sworn duty to protect and serve people of all backgrounds without discrimination or preference based on race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
b. One of the primary responsibilities of a law enforcement officer is to interact with people of various cultures, whether working with community members to build trust or communicating with suspects and victims.
c. Although the culturally diverse population of this State has enriched our communities, police interactions with citizens can be complicated by diversity in situations where a lack of cultural knowledge leads to inadvertent violations of citizens' rights or creates safety risks for the law enforcement officer.
d. Greater emphasis should be placed on a county or municipal police department's ability to partner with a variety of religious, civic, and social organizations to develop strategies and activities that promote a greater level of meaningful community engagement.
e. In an effort to ensure safe communities throughout this State, it is necessary that each county and municipal law enforcement department establish an education program and develop a local cultural diversity action plan that will encourage law enforcement officers to foster direct relationships with the citizens whom they serve.
2. a. Each county and municipal law enforcement department shall develop and adopt a cultural diversity training course that includes instruction and exercises designed to promote positive interaction with the racial, ethnic, and religious communities within each department's respective jurisdiction. The training course also shall include instruction and exercises designed to promote positive interaction with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals residing within each department's respective jurisdiction. The curriculum for the training program shall include, but not be limited to, a tutorial on:
(1) the various cultural communities and the effects of diversity on community relations within each law enforcement department's jurisdiction;
(2) appropriate methods by which an officer may interact with people of various cultures and religions in the community, with an emphasis on officer safety skills and conflict resolution techniques;
(3) best practices in law enforcement techniques when analyzing and solving local neighborhood problems, meeting with community groups, and working with citizens on crime prevention programs;
(4) the impact that police diversity skills have on overall law enforcement effectiveness; and
(5) the community's perception of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups, with specific attention to local stereotypes and cultural assumptions that negatively impact public safety.
b. The course shall be administered by the employing law enforcement department as part of in-service training provided to each county and municipal police officer in this State. The course curriculum and an assessment as to whether each county and municipal law enforcement officer has completed the course shall be submitted to the Attorney General as part of the cultural diversity action plan established pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. a. The chief law enforcement officer of each county and municipal law enforcement department shall develop and adopt a cultural diversity action plan. The plan shall include strategies to develop outreach programs that address the social needs and concerns regarding crime in the community, as well as efforts taken on behalf of the department in forming partnerships with various cultural, religious, and civic organizations, which shall include organizations formed on the basis of preventing discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. One of the primary objectives of each plan shall be to establish positive relationships between the police and various community groups that encourage a willingness to collaborate in identifying community safety issues and establishing innovative strategies designed to create safe and stable neighborhoods.
b. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of each cultural diversity action plan, the chief law enforcement officer of each county and municipal law enforcement department shall submit to the Attorney General the cultural diversity action plan adopted pursuant to this section within one year of the effective date of this act and at least once every three years thereafter. The Attorney General may periodically assess the plans to determine whether each county and municipal law enforcement department is meeting its goals in providing an education program required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and formulating a cultural diversity action plan established pursuant to this section.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each county and municipal law enforcement department to develop and adopt a cultural diversity training course that includes instruction and exercises designed to promote positive interaction with the racial, ethnic, and religious communities within each department's respective jurisdiction. The training course also is to include instruction and exercises designed to promote positive interaction with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals residing within each department's respective jurisdiction. Each municipal and county law enforcement officer is required to participate in the course as part of in-service training. The bill requires that the course curriculum include a tutorial on:
(1) the various cultural communities and the effects of diversity on community relations within each law enforcement department's jurisdiction;
(2) appropriate methods by which an officer may interact with people of various cultures and religions in the community, with an emphasis on officer safety skills and conflict resolution techniques;
(3) best practices in law enforcement techniques when analyzing and solving local neighborhood problems, meeting with community groups, and working with citizens on crime prevention programs;
(4) the impact that police diversity skills have on overall law enforcement effectiveness; and
(5) the community's perception of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups with specific attention to local stereotypes and cultural assumptions that negatively impact public safety.
In addition, the bill requires the chief law enforcement officer of each county and municipal law enforcement department to develop and adopt a cultural diversity action plan. The plan is to include strategies for outreach programs that address the social and criminal concerns of the community, as well as efforts taken on behalf of the department in forming partnerships with various cultural, religious, and civic organizations, including organizations formed on the basis of preventing discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The plan is to emphasize positive relationships between the police and various community groups that encourage a willingness to collaborate in identifying community safety issues and establish innovative strategies designed to create safe and stable neighborhoods.
The bill requires each county and municipal police department to submit the plan, along with the training course curriculum, to the Attorney General within one year of the bill's effective date and at least once every three years thereafter. Under the bill, the Attorney General may periodically assess the plans to determine whether each department is meeting its goals in providing a cultural diversity education course and formulating a cultural diversity action plan.
