They need no privacy while on duty.
Since federal oversight began, the State Police have improved training, revised their procedures and tightened supervision of troopers, including the installation of video cameras in patrol cars to record highway stops.
For years people of color who traveled New Jersey’s highways knew that they were at a higher risk of being pulled over by state troopers. In 1998, this shameful policy of racial profiling was revealed — but only after troopers fired 11 shots into a van carrying black and Latino men — and New Jersey’s state police were placed under federal oversight. Now a special advisory committee to Gov. Jon Corzine has concluded, persuasively, that the State Police have changed their ways, and the governor has asked for an end to federal monitoring.
New Jersey’s experience offers an important lesson for police departments across the country. The committee’s conclusions, based in part on testimony gathered during 18 public hearings over the last 17 months, demonstrate that vigilance and resources can root out systemic racism in law enforcement. Since federal oversight began, the State Police have improved training, revised their procedures and tightened supervision of troopers, including the installation of video cameras in patrol cars to record highway stops.
The committee also warned, persuasively, that political willpower and a continued investment of resources will be necessary to ensure that the reforms are permanent. Committee members recommended that the state’s attorney general monitor the agency to make sure that troopers follow proper protocols for traffic stops.
Mr. Corzine embraced the report, hailing it as a “sobering, objective review” of an embattled law-enforcement agency’s attempts to restore public confidence in its procedures. It is now up to Mr. Corzine and state lawmakers to make sure that the State Police have the support and the full scrutiny they’ll need to stay on track.
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