A new report from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) found the New Jersey State Police is continuing to effectively handle allegations of trooper misconduct, while also continuing to comply with professional standards concerning racial profiling.

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Racial profiling events that occurred in the 1990s led to a transformation of New Jersey State Police policies and procedures, aimed at eliminating discrimination and bias from law enforcement practices on our roadways.

The 23-page report evaluated the State Police's Office of Professional Standards and the state's Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards, the main entities responsible for the trooper disciplinary process.

"There are dozens of allegations of trooper misconduct each year," said State Comptroller Matthew Boxer. "We did look at many of those cases to ensure they had been resolved in an appropriate way."

However, OSC found areas in need of improvement and set forth recommendations to address those issues. In order to better ensure impartiality, the review recommends a change in the current law that has one office dealing with both the monitoring of trooper discipline, as well as the prosecution. Also, OSC recommended the State Police consider adopting measures to ensure discipline for misconduct is consistent, fair and transparent.

Under state law, OSC has been required to periodically review the performance of the State Police and its efforts to prevent racial and other forms of discrimination in its policies, practices and procedures.

OSC's previous State Police review focused on the Training Bureau and the state's transition away from federal monitoring of State Police practices. Reviews to follow will focus on other areas.

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