By John P. Mcalpin, The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The latest report by a federal panel overseeing the state police shows that authorities completed all the tasks required by a court order to end racial profiling, a first since the state agreed to federal supervision five years ago.
The court-appointed panel, in its 11th report, again found no evidence that state troopers practiced racial profiling and praised the state for its “remarkable progress” in ending the practice of race-based motor vehicle stops.
“Over time, each subsequent monitoring report has verified the continuing compliance of the state police with the tasks of the federal consent decree,” Attorney General Peter C. Harvey said Tuesday. “But this 11th installment paints the most positive picture yet of a quality law enforcement organization embracing historic change.”
The latest good report card means the state should press to end the federal supervision, said David Jones, president of the state police trooper’s union. Nearly every report has cleared troopers of allegations that they targeted minorities, he said. Claims that troopers acted inappropriately were often dismissed when videotapes showed the officers followed the rules, he said.
“I’d love to expedite some closure on this,” Jones said. “The vindication that’s taken place with the cameras is outstanding.”
Under the consent decree, every time a state trooper stops a car, the entire encounter is recorded on video tape and all elements - time, race of driver, action taken by the officer - are entered into a database. State police supervisors review those records and tapes, searching for errors made by the officers.
The federal panel then reviews those records and the action taken by the supervisors.
The latest report, which covered state police activity from April through September, found no evidence that troopers targeted drivers based on race. The monitors also found that in more than 200 vehicle stops, supervisors were able to catch procedural mistakes by the officers 98 percent of the time.
Monitors also review every time a state trooper searches a driver or vehicle. Particular attention is paid to consent searches, which are police examinations carried out after a driver gives permission to an officer.
In the consent searches, canine searches and uses of force, no constitutional violations were discovered.
Consent searches at one time were a routine practice used extensively to combat drug trafficking. Critics charged that the searches were abused by police and conducted disproportionally on minorities.
To end the practice, the state police overhauled training practices and created several new levels of oversight. The state also installed a computerized tracking system to help manage troopers.
The timely filing of paperwork and improved training were highlighted by the monitors. Past reports have noted slight lapses in these areas.
“The monitors find the focus, attention to detail, commitment of resources and results achieved by the academy this period to be exceptional,” the report said.
New Jersey agreed to the federal monitoring in December 1999, more than a year after two troopers fired on a van carrying four unarmed minority men on the turnpike, wounding three.
The incident escalated the controversy over allegations of racial profiling. In April 1999, state authorities admitted that troopers had engaged in racial profiling.
Recommended Training Video:
Line Of Duty’s Special Issue #5: Racial Profiling