New Jersey AG Platkin recommends State Police reforms after investigations into bias, inequity

TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin says two recent reports from his office show the need for immediate changes to the New Jersey State Police.

After thorough investigations by both the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and an independent law firm , Platkin says he’s spoken with State Police Col. Pat Callahan about implementing needed reforms.

These reforms come after a May report from the state’s comptroller found issues of bias and racial profiling that went unaddressed for years.

According to a report from the law firm Kaufman Dolowich LLP, former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal hired the firm in 2020 to investigate “allegations of inequity within the New Jersey State Police in recruiting, hiring, and promotions.”

In addition, OPIA launched an investigation into the state police’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS), which handles internal affairs functions. Investigators found issues including favoritism and lack of confidentiality.

Recommendations from both reports include requiring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training for officers, changing the racial makeup of the state police force to better reflect the demographics of the state, and changing sick leave and physical fitness tests to allow for the hire of more female troopers.

Platkin has also made some changes of his own, which include removing all human resources and equal opportunity hiring functions from state police, embedding employees from his office with state police to monitor misconduct complaints, and making some changes to the academy training program.

Callahan says they cannot allow these problems to tarnish the honor of the state police, and he’s committed to working with the AG to implement the reforms.