Criminal Laws

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. [Read more…] about N.J. High Court Issues Ruling Changing Eyewitness Identification Procedures

The New Jersey legislature is proposing to make use of a cell phone while driving fall under the state’s reckless driving statutes. [Read more…] about NJ Reckless Driving Charge for Cell Phone?

Ten members of the notoriously dangerous MS-13 gang have been arrested in Plainfield for conspiring to kill a man who slapped one of their gang members. Under the state’s gang criminality law (§2C; 33:29), those suspects will be facing a more serious penalty specifically because they acted in conjunction with other gang members for furtherance of the gang’s objectives. [Read more…] about MS-13 Members Charged Under Gang Criminality Law

Last month Governor Chris Christie signed legislation canceling the mandatory early release program that set inmates free after serving only a portion of their sentence. He stated that it took away the discretion of the parole board to determine who warranted an early release. More recently, Christie backtracked on a plan to send drug addicted inmates into residential treatment programs. All of these changes are quite possible spurred by fear of looking soft and losing political clout. [Read more…] about Christie Backtracks on Criminal Sentencing Reform

Under new policies, police departments across the state of New Jersey will be more closely scrutinized in their handlings of misconduct allegations. The public may also see more in the way of internal investigation results and there will be closer tabs kept on such cases overall. Attorney General Paula Dow announced the policy changes a week ago, much to the approval of the NJ ACLU.

Newark’s Police Department, now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, isn’t the only department who needs some oversight. The Star-Ledger reveals that of 90,423 complaints from 2000 to 2008, only 86,925 dispositions were available in public records. What happened in the missing cases isn’t clear.

But under the new policies, fewer such complaints will fall through the cracks thanks to stricter guidelines and closer scrutiny by county prosecutors.

The state’s policy on handling such cases hadn’t been reviewed since 2000. Dow brought together a task force of prosecutors, police chiefs, and union officials to draft the changes now being implemented.

County prosecutors will be required to collect reports on all complaints and to collect documentation on completed investigations. The police will have to adhere to stricter standards, keeping files on officers and monitoring them for patterns of misconduct. Finally, even if complaints are dismissed by the courts, Internal Affairs will be required to follow through on investigations to completion.

Another problem is transparency. In an effort to improve this issue, the public will be privy to summarizations of the most serious misconduct cases, though officers may not be named. Though the ACLU wanted to see all internal affairs’ investigations made public, this was a point of compromise.

Statewide New Jersey has faced problems with misconduct over the years. While many of the problems were centralized in Newark, a statewide policy change will only help ensure those same issues don’t reach to other departments.

When you deal with the police, you want to be assured that you are dealing with trustworthy people. Allegations of misconduct deal a significant blow to the relationship between public servant and the public at large. This is part of the reason so many people have a hard time trusting police.

If you are facing criminal charges, you want to know you have someone in your corner who is truly looking out for your best interests. Your criminal defense attorney is that advocate. If you are up against a criminal case, contact my offices today for a consultation.