The cities of Camden and Newark were forced to lay off more than 160 police officers each last year. Since then, arrest numbers have fallen and violent crime has risen. Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson, and others, blames the layoffs for the changes, but as the Star-Ledger reports, this blame may be misdirected.

Newark’s arrest rate dropped 16% from 2010 to 2011. In Camden, the rate fell 43%. Between the two cities, there were 32,703 arrests in 2010 and 25,012 in 2011. While police officials would have you believe this drop is due to fewer cops being available to execute the arrests, the arrest rate had actually been falling before the layoffs occurred.

According to the Star-Ledger, the arrest rates for both cities have fallen for the past 3 years in Newark and the past 2 in Camden. During these periods, “the number of shootings, homicides and robberies have risen” as well.

This means the trends were in effect before the layoffs and one can’t rush to assume the layoffs made things worse.

But Chief Thomson is suggesting exactly that. “Many organizations had layoffs. In one day, we had a decimation,” he said, blaming the problems on a lack of officers.

Everyone in the situation seems content to point fingers, with the spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s office remarking that the layoffs wouldn’t have been necessary had the union been more willing to compromise beforehand.

“Had there been furloughs, levels could have stayed a lot higher” said Paul Louriquet. “But this was what was decided amongst the ranks. It’s unfortunate that those were the decisions that were made.”

Despite murders being up and arrests down, the city of Newark is said to be making progress on their fight against gun violence. Police Director Samuel DeMaio said that this is due to the department focusing its efforts on gun seizures.

DeMaio also remarked, however, that with a smaller department, they are unable to investigate drugs and gangs, pointing out that his gang unit is 35% smaller than it was before the layoffs took place.

When the number of police is cut and arrests are also down, many people would assume that crime would naturally rise. But crime trends are often far more complex than this.

If you are accused of a criminal offense and arrested, you cannot assume that you will be treated with leniency simply because the city is experiencing tough financial times. On the contrary, because arrest numbers are down, the prosecutor would likely be more apt to make an example out of you.

Contact my offices today if you are charged with a criminal offense and in need of representation.

The NJWeedman is back, and he is trying to shake up the system with a bold legal defense  against felony charges his is facing for possession of a pound of marijuana found in the back of his car.

Edward Forchion is due in court on April 10, from charges originating from a 2010 police stop. He obtained the pot legally in California where he previously operated a legal medical marijuana dispensary.

His defense strategy is to argue that the New Jersey marijuana laws themselves are unfair given that NJ passed a medical marijuana law, yet the NJ marijuana possession statute states explicitly that marijuana has no legitimate uses.

His views and personality make Mr. Forchion something of a cause celeb amount libertarians, Rastafarians, and medical marijuana advocates. He is a leader in the marijuana legalization movement nationwide.

Deployment of new police surveillance equipment like license plate scanners are rolled out with regularity, and civil liberties and privacy concerns are rarely addressed or considered.

So it is with another announcement of a local New Jersey law enforcement agency using these systems, this time in Mt. Laurel.  From the article:

An ALPR can be likened to the town watch concept, adding extra eyes in the community to assist law enforcement who have a responsibility to enforce laws and apprehend criminals.

Comparing it to a friendly neighborhood watch, is one way to look at it. Another way is to suggest that it is a massively intrusive big brother collecting and scanning the location and movements of all citizens, regardless of any accusation of a crime or due process.

And that data, where your car was located, what time, near or with whom, it all logged and stored indefinitely in nationwide databases, where it can be matched with data from other law enforcement sources, to retroactively track your movements.

There is little to no oversight as to what law enforcement or government officials are able to use this information, and for what purpose.

But the surveillance state appears to be here for good, privacy be damned.

Governor Chris Christie announced this week that he would like to see drug treatment be mandatory for nonviolent drug offenders that have substance abuse problems. While some are worried that making it mandatory could ruin the treatment experience of those who actually want help, most are applauding the Governor’s plan.

According to the Inquirer, Christie’s plan would take at least a year to get started, but lawmakers in both chambers have already introduced the legislation.

In the meantime, in an effort to help those who are already serving time, Christie wants to offer treatment to 1,000 to 1,500 of those in prison who need help with addiction.

The plan would cost an estimated $2.5 million to implement and would serve as many as 7,000 people annually, in the long run. Currently, it costs $49,000 a year to incarcerate someone, so this move to treatment instead of prison time would ultimately save the state on the front end and possible on the back end by lowering recidivism.

Treatment officials say the $2.5 million initial investment would only pay for an additional 50 beds, treating 200 to 800 people annually. Eventually, they say, it will cost much more.

But finances aren’t the only concern—drug treatment could help many people in ways that money simply doesn’t matter. And right now, many people are being turned away from drug treatment because the facilities simply don’t exist.

If you are charged with a drug crime, there are drug courts in each county now. These courts mandate treatment instead of incarceration. But, if you’re not accused of a crime, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to find any cost-effective drug treatment.

About half of people who qualify to have their cases heard in drug court, turn it down. They simply aren’t ready to get help, for whatever reason. Some are worried that mandating treatment will bring people who aren’t ready for help into contact with those who are and potentially mess up the treatment experience for those willing to lay drugs down permanently.

Christie, however, believes it needs to be done. “If we mandate people to jail, we can mandate people to treatment.”

When you are addicted to drugs, you can turn to extreme measures in order to get them. Sometimes, you can make bad choices that lead to your arrest. If you are charged with a crime, we may be able to help you get the help you need. Contact our offices today to discuss your case.

Five cities in New Jersey have seen major police layoffs in the past year and this drop in patrolling officers has already led to fewer arrests as the departments must re-prioritize. Citizens claim they already see the effects, with some low-level criminals being more brazen in their activities.

It stands to reason that the police would begin making fewer arrests for the least serious offenses. If they only have enough officers for a certain number of arrests and contacts everyday, it makes sense to focus on the most serious offenses. But many are worried that decreased enforcement for the less serious offenses will ultimately increase all crime.

According to NJ.com, one Camden resident says that the drug dealers already present in her neighborhood have become more brave, taking over her stoop. She chases them away and they are back within minutes. Another woman in the Waterfront South area says dealers are openly manning their street corners and that “it’s getting worse.”

From January 2009 through November 2010, Newark police officers made arrests or issued summonses for about 5,100 “other infractions” every month. Since the layoffs, that rate has dropped to about 2,600 per month. These infractions include things like curfew and noise violations—those things which can hurt the quality of life.

Paterson has also seen a drop in misdemeanor shoplifting and drug possession charges, with about 700 arrests per month before the layoffs, falling to about 545 per month afterwards. Camden has seen the change among traffic tickets, falling from 3,820 to 1,850 per month.

When a police agency has the money, addressing these so-called quality of life offenses can help reduce overall crime by keeping communities safe and signaling would-be law violators that the police are present and are actively enforcing even the most minor criminal offenses.

Police in these cities have declined to comment on the decreased arrests and citations. But what would they say? They simply don’t have the manpower to address all violations and disregarding the more serious offenses would lead to even an even direr situation.

Criminal justice professor Mike Maxfield with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice says, “In general, the less serious stuff is treated with more discretion. You can’t write off a bank robbery, you can’t ignore a homicide.”

So it seems this is the way things will unfold, at least until the agencies have funds to rehire officers for the enforcement of crimes or until we figure out a way to address the actual causes of crime.

Whether you are accused of something “trivial” or a very serious felony crime, we may be able to help. Contact my offices today to discuss your case.

This year, New Jersey has a much-discussed new law that is considered the nation’s toughest anti-bullying statute. Adopted following the suicide of Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi.

Many states across the country join New Jersey in having introduced laws trying to prevent intimidation, harassment, and bullying in their schools and districts. Anti-bullying laws are written to minimize violence at school.

The New Jersey law specifically requires schools to create policies to prevent bullying, as well as training for faculty, as how to police behavior that may lead to bullying. Students who violate anti-bullying provisions can be suspended and face possible expulsion; and the school district may face huge fines from civil liability claims.

Examples of bullying include:

• Wearing gang paraphernalia such as bandanas and other clothing meant to intimidate non-members
• Spreading rumors or posting degrading, harmful, or explicit pictures, messages, or information using social media, text, email or other forms of electronic communication (cyber-bullying).
• Harassment based on someone’s sexual orientation, or sexual harassment;
• Making offensive remarks about a person’s religion, gender, ethnicity, physical size or socioeconomic status
• Physical bullying, such as pushing, punching, slapping, or tripping.

The crime of cyber-bullying is truly a terroristic act that can have huge consequences, and even lead to deaths of innocent kids. What often starts as an “innocent” prank on an unpopular peer often turns into a nightmare for the harassed and ridiculed child, as well as his or her parents.

The bullying begins in the hallways at school, which should be safe havens of education, and simply doesn’t stop. With the technology of instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, email, texting and other social media outlets, bullies have stalked into the cyber world to give their victims no place to hide.

Teens and even twenty-something, college-age adults have no escape from the bullying. College campuses are still notorious for frat house initiation stunts that are organized by outright social predators.

Tyler Clementi was one out of thousands of victims of cyber crime that had no choice in what ended up being his undoing.

New Jersey anti-bullying laws are tough for a reason. Bullying and Cyber-Bullying are crimes against humanity. It’s hard enough growing up in this world without the constant harassment from a disturbed classmate, or “friend”.

Penalties for Bullying

All state anti-bullying laws include penalties of at least one, or all three of the following:

1. Suspension or expulsion from school
2. Civil Fines
3. Jail time depending on the severity of the offense

School districts, including those in New Jersey, may face monetary fines, arising out of its failure to prevent or punish certain types of behavior by students within their district.

Resources: Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights

In departments across the state, police officers have been laid off in alarming numbers this year. And while many hope to get hired back or find another job in law enforcement, most are collecting unemployment and taking on side work as they wait. One union president has warned the frustration among cops may lead to rioting, but it seems there are no organized revolts in the immediate future.

According to NJ.com, 705 cops statewide have been laid off since January 1^st and have been unable to find employment as of yet. Some have been fortunate enough to find work in their field, though they are few and far between. The Essex County Sheriff’s Department hired 7 laid off Newark police officers, but this was only a dent in the 162 that were laid off there.

Cities are broke. They don’t have the money to maintain large police forces, even when police presence is needed. Trenton laid off a third of its force this month when it let go of 105 officers. Camden laid off 93 earlier this year and more than half are still unemployed.

In Camden, the local police union president John Williamson seemed to want to stir things up when he warned of rioting. “Based on my observations and history in the U.S. and in the world, where people feel desperate and impoverished, they tend to let out their frustrations.” He goes on to say that his remarks aren’t “fear mongering”, though he can’t seem to back his predictions with any evidence.

Sure the officers are frustrated—most unemployed are. And how the cities will fare with fewer cops on patrol remains to be seen.

At the county level, however, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura says his office has recently come off of a 3 year hiring freeze, just in time to lose 35 officers to retirement. He was able to hire 20 new officers and plans to hire even more.

Fortunately, as the number of officers on the streets drops, so has the crime rate in most cities across the country. No one is quite sure why but violent crime last year dropped dramatically. One can only hope the decrease in police doesn’t cause the numbers to climb again.

As someone accused of a criminal offense in New Jersey, you likely didn’t think about the police layoffs before you followed through with the act you are now accused of. You may have acted on the spur of the moment, with little thought at all.

If you are currently facing criminal charges, we may be able to help. Contact our offices today to discuss the details of your case.

The New Jersey Supreme Court issued a ruling this week that could go on to change eyewitness identification handling procedures in courts across the country. Not because their ruling has to be followed throughout the nation but because the NJ High Court is often recognized as a trailblazer in criminal law. The changes are seen as much needed and a step towards reducing wrongful convictions.

Eyewitness identifications are often the most convincing pieces of evidence in a criminal case. There’s nothing quite as damning as a witness pointing out the suspect in a court of law and saying with certainty that they are the one who committed the crime. But despite their dramatic impact, they are often flawed.

In the majority of wrongful convictions, discovered through DNA testing, an eyewitness identified the suspect. Human memory is fallible and although an eyewitness identification is convincing, it isn’t always correct.

There are several factors that can make an eyewitness id less credible—things like lighting, the race of the witness versus that of the suspect, he time elapsed between the offense and the lineup, any input given to the witness by the police officers, and how the lineup is presented to the witness.

Over the last several years, new revelations have come about leading justice advocates and researchers to call for changes in how police and courts handled eyewitness identifications and accounts. While some departments made slight changes, showing photos to witnesses in a sequential manner rather than a photo-spread, for instance, not all departments were as proactive.

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s latest ruling could stand to show police departments and courts across the country that the time is nigh for real changes to how they handle identifications like this.

The 134 page decision, authored by Chief Justice Stuart J. Rabner, includes a new list of rules for judges to follow when encountering cases involving eyewitness identification. The rules dictate that a judge must hold a hearing about the credibility of the identification when there is evidence the identification was influenced. The hearing will look at such things as police behavior, lighting, and other factors that can influence such an id.

While the ruling included more than 12 factors for a judge to consider in evaluating the reliability of an eyewitness identification, it stopped short of “bright line rules that would lead to suppression or reliable evidence any time a law enforcement officer makes a mistake.” In most cases, the evidence would still go before the jury, though it might be accompanied with judicial instruction as to the fallible nature of eyewitness testimonies.

Jurors are convinced when a witness identifies a suspect. Each jury should be informed of the problems with eyewitness procedures and their repeated presence in wrongful convictions.

When you are accused of a criminal offense in New Jersey and someone identifies you as the suspect, it may seem like all hope is lost. But witnesses make mistakes and more judges are aware of that these days than in days past. If you are accused of an offense you simply didn’t do, contact us today to discuss your case and what can be done.

After placing medical marijuana on the backburner for three months, and leaving many people suspicious that it would never come to fruition, Governor Chris Christie has given state officials the ok to get the program up in running, possibly by the end of the year. And he hasn’t only asked them to move ahead with the plan, but to “move forward as expeditiously as possible.”

Governor Christie had put the program on hold because he wanted to know for certain if state workers involved in the program would be vulnerable to federal prosecution, since selling and possessing marijuana is a federal offense. Following a memo released by United States Deputy Attorney general James Cole, he said he felt more confident that New Jersey workers would not be scrutinized by the feds.

Since the beginning of 2011, federal law enforcement has raided numerous dispensaries in other medical marijuana states. Warning letters were also sent out by the U.S. Justice Department to alert states that their legislation did not negate the federal controlled substances act, which still considers marijuana to be a Schedule I drug.

Cole’s memo didn’t explicitly state that state medical marijuana workers would be immune from investigation or arrest but gave Christie the feeling that they would remain unbothered if they stayed within the tight restrictions under the New Jersey medical marijuana program (referred to as one of the most restrictive).

Christie seems more dedicated than ever to getting the program in full swing. He said he would be disappointed if the dispensaries weren’t up and running by the end of the year. The president of Compassionate Care Foundation Inc, one organization planning on opening a dispensary in New Brunswick, says the best-case scenario is that they will be able to provide patients with their marijuana by right after Thanksgiving.

This news is hopeful for people suffering from chronic, debilitating diseases that would qualify for the drug. Those who have been recommended by their physician to participate in the medical marijuana program will be required to apply for an identification card and register with the state.

Although New Jersey will be the latest state to throw their hat in the medical marijuana ring, officials remain steadfast in their desire to keep the program as limited and as tightly controlled as possible. This could certainly mean that those not authorized to smoke under the medical marijuana program will face just as harsh if not more serious penalties than before.

If you’re facing marijuana charges, you will face the courts and you could go to jail. Contact my offices today to discuss your charges and what options may be available to you.

Forty years after a drug conviction, Rasheed Abdul-Haqq is in his second term serving on the local Plainfield school board. But he stands to lose this position because of a new law that bans people convicted of certain crimes from serving on any school boards in the state. Abdul-Haqq has contacted the ACLU and states he will not leave his post willingly.

The ban includes people convicted of serious violent crimes, but also those convicted of 1^st and 2^nd degree drug possessions. There are no exceptions written into the law and some believe this is the problem.

Abdul-Haqq spent 8 months in a state reformatory in 1968 for possession of heroin. He admits he was an addict but says his stay there helped change his life. Upon his release he became a Muslim leader within the community, a community activist, business owner, and was eventually voted to serve on the local school board.

He states most of the people who voted for him knew about his history and they elected him anyways. He, and many others, believe he has served his time for his error and shouldn’t continue to be punished today.

One of the law’s primary sponsors is Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Union). Abdul-Haqq believes Green may have pushed the law for some personal political reasons to force Abdul-Haqq out. Green says that’s not true and that he merely wanted to make things fair. As it stood, employees of the school board (including janitors and the like) cannot have criminal records, so the elected members should not either.

The law does allow for people to serve if they’ve had their record expunged. But getting an expungement isn’t always easy. Abdul-Haqq tried and his request was denied. One lawmaker says it’s the expungement law that should be changed.

But what no one is suggesting is that perhaps a criminal conviction should not have any bearing on employment or service. No, that would be out of line. Interesting, considering how many people in the state have criminal records.

A criminal conviction can haunt you for decades, and Abdul-Haqq is living proof. You can serve your time, pay fines, and completely change your life but still be haunted by your past. It’s unfair. But, at least for now, it’s the reality we live in.

The key to avoiding this type of trouble down the road is to avoid the conviction in the first place. While this can sometimes be easier said than done, a criminal charge does not always mean a criminal conviction. Consulting with a local criminal defense lawyer could be the first step in avoiding such a situation.

If you are facing criminal charges in the state of New Jersey contact me today for a consultation on your case.