New Jersey comptroller finds more departments paid for Street Cop Training courses than previously known

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More than 300 police departments and law enforcement agencies across New Jersey have collectively spent more than $1 million on a private police training company the State Comptroller’s Office previously criticized for teaching tactics deemed likely unconstitutional.

The supplemental six-page report released Thursday found that departments from all 21 counties and other law enforcement agencies on the county and state level paid for courses provided by Street Cop Training between Dec. 1, 2019 through March 13, 2023.

At least 20 officers defied Attorney General Matt Platkin’s directive against attending courses from Street Cop Training. Their names were on a registration list for the company’s 2024 conference in Florida.

At least 32 departments continued to use public funds to pay for training courses from the controversial company even after attending a 2021 conference where instructors allegedly made offensive remarks about women and encouraged officers to conduct traffic stops without cause, according to the comptroller’s investigation. The comptroller also found that the company was willing to help officers conceal their participation in its courses or their involvement as instructors.

A December 2023 report revealed roughly 1,000 officers nationwide — nearly a quarter hailing from New Jersey — attended the seminar at taxpayer expense.

Overall, 2,721 government entities from 49 states, including New Jersey, have paid for Street Cop Training courses and events. In Pennsylvania, 323 entitles were included on a list the comptroller’s office released, while 70 New York entities were named.

West Chester University police officers took a course from the company on social media surveillance in 2022.

Platkin ordered New Jersey officers who attended the seminar to be retrained.

Street Cop Training, a company with a contentious reputation, has seen its training courses banned in nine states, including New Jersey, where it was originally based.

The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, has since moved to Florida.

Nearly three dozen departments were ‘repeat customers’

Most law enforcement agencies that continued to spend money on courses after the 2021 conference were in North Jersey, including Hackensack and Newark.

Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda disclosed that a “small number” of his officers attended the Street Cop conference and were later retrained by the Attorney General’s Office. Miranda emphasized that “there are no plans for Newark Police to attend Street Cop training in the future.”

In South Jersey, 10 departments were on the list: Atlantic City, Cherry Hill, Egg Harbor Township, Hamilton (Atlantic County), Millville, Moorestown, Pennsauken, Pleasantville, Vineland and West Deptford.

There were also 10 agencies from Central Jersey, including Brick Township and Plainsboro.

Moorestown Police Director Patrick J. Reilly told WHYY News two officers were sent to the Street Cop Training. He added, “I do not plan on utilizing this training company going forward.”

Atlantic City Police spokesman Capt. Kevin Fair said his department has not sent any officers to a Street Cop training since the comptroller’s original report.

“The ACPD complied with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s directive and sent officers who attended Street Cop Training sessions to retraining,” he said.

Comptroller renews call for oversight of training programs

The Comptroller’s Office reiterated its previous recommendations from their December 2023 report, adding their findings “further underscores that there is a need for a dedicated entity to oversee post-academy training, including establishing uniform standards and reviewing and approving training courses provided by private companies.”

Post-academy police training is not currently regulated.

Dr. Jon Shane, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former police captain in Newark, said one of the pitfalls that police agencies need to watch out for is the credentialing process.

“Simply because the decision is rendered from the New Jersey Supreme Court or the Appellate Division doesn’t mean that someone is automatically qualified to read that and understand that in the broader context of the state of the law within that area,” he said. “That sort of stuff is best left to someone in the law field who is digesting this material on a near daily basis, someone like the prosecutor’s office or the Attorney General’s office or a law school.”