New Jersey AG wants better tracking of police misconduct complaints

Attorney General Paula Dow plans to form a task force to rework the guidelines for keeping tabs on allegations of police misconduct. ACLU seeks a broader review.

New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow is planning to form a task force to rework the guidelines for tracking police misconduct allegations.

The task force is expected to examine how misconduct information is collected and used.

Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said while it’s a good starting point, there must be a broader review of the internal affairs policy.

“There is a strong need for prosecutors to take a bigger role in looking at police department internal affairs operations. Not just the statistics but looking at individual cases,” said Jacobs. “Making sure that best practices are being used. Making sure there is accountability and no conflicts of interest in the operations.”

Jacobs says if the state does not take its oversight role seriously, police misconduct will cost taxpayers money that could be spent to make police departments more professional.