NJ State Attorney Takes Control of Police Department

What's the story?

• New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has assumed direct control of the day-to-day operations of the town of Paterson's local police department. 
• The move comes three weeks after police shot violence intervention activist Najee Seabooks.
• According to Platkin, the takeover resulted from "high-profile misconduct by the Paterson Police Department, including a number of criminal offenses committed by police officers."
• In this position, Platkin has introduced a community-led approach to policing. He has retrained officers on the use of force, replaced department leadership, held public meetings for sharing stories of police misconduct, and expanded programs that use trained civilians to replace police officers on certain calls.
• Currently, no other state grants attorneys general authority over local police.

Police abuses in Paterson

• The Paterson police department is one of New Jersey's most notorious, with reports of Paterson police officers having robbed, beaten, shot, and killed numerous Black men.
• From 2018 to 2020, despite making up only a quarter of the population, Black residents were targeted in 57% of Paterson's police department's instances of force.
• Paterson has the highest number of police-involved deaths of any department in New Jersey.

Police department takeovers

• Traditionally, mayors and police chiefs handle local police matters. However, the Paterson takeover reflects a larger trend of officials at various government levels asserting control over local public safety matters, which directly impact state and national elections.
• If successful, police department takeovers could serve as a national model, inspiring other attorneys general to pursue similar powers from their state legislatures as a way to solve systematic issues and restore trust in law enforcement.
• Democrats support state intervention to combat police abuses and discriminatory enforcement, while Republican interventions prioritize empowering police officers.

What do you think? Should more states do the same?

-Laura Woods

(Image credit: Flickr/James Duff)