S3823

An Act concerning State correctional police officer training, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2019, c.410 and P.L.1991, c.110.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) a. The Police Training Commission shall, pursuant to its statutory authority to certify correctional police officers as set forth in subsection e. of section 6 of P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-70), establish and incorporate throughout the required basic training course for State correctional police officers the concept that the core mission of these officers is to treat every inmate with dignity, fairness, and respect.

b. To implement the core mission established in subsection a. of this section, the commission shall ensure that the basic training course for State correctional police officers includes, at a minimum, comprehensive training and education on the following topics:

(1) de-escalation, including training in interacting with combative or threatening inmates and inmates experiencing mental health crises;

(2) minimization of use of force against inmates;

(3) cultural diversity and implicit bias;

(4) appropriate methods of engaging with inmates of diverse cultures and religions and inmates who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community and gender nonconforming inmates;

(5) the rights of inmates;

(6) lifestyle stressors, self-awareness, and self-regulation;

(7) maintaining officer and inmate safety;

(8) communication skills; and

(9) any other topic deemed necessary by the commission to advance the core mission of treating inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect.

2. Section 1 of P.L.2019, c.410 (C.30:1B-6.13) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. In addition to the duties of the commissioner set forth in section 6 of P.L.1976, c.98 (C.30:1B-6), the commissioner shall institute a mandatory annual in-service training program of at least [20] 40 hours for each correctional police officer in every State correctional facility. The commissioner shall establish and incorporate in the in-service training program curriculum the concept that the core mission of a State correctional police officer is to treat every inmate with dignity, fairness, and respect.

b. At least four hours of the mandatory [20] 40 hours of training required by subsection a. of this section shall include training in:

(1) sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment prevention as required pursuant to the provisions of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA);

(2) non-fraternization and undue familiarity; and

(3) conditioning and manipulation awareness.

c. Sixteen hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall be dedicated to topics chosen by the training department of each State correctional facility from a list of approved courses developed by the commissioner.

d. The training required in subsection a. of this section shall be in addition to firearms qualification training and use-of force training.

e. Twenty hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall include training in;

(1) de-escalation, including training in interacting with combative or threatening inmates and inmates experiencing mental health crises;

(2) minimization of use of force;

(3) cultural diversity and implicit bias;

(5) the rights of inmates;

(6) lifestyle stressors, self-awareness, and self-regulation;

(7) officer and inmate safety;

(8) communication skills; and

(9) any other topic deemed necessary by the commissioner to advance the core mission of treating inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.410, s.1)

3. Section 1 of P.L.1991, c.110 (C.30:4-3.11) is amended to read as follows:

1. [No] A person shall not be appointed as a [corrections] correctional police officer of any correctional institution assigned, maintained, or operated by the Department of Corrections unless that person:

a. [Is] is a citizen of the United States;

b. [Is] is able to read, write and speak the English language well and intelligently and has a high school diploma or its equivalent;

c. [Is] is sound in body and of good health;

d. [Is] is of good moral character; and

e. [Has] has not been convicted of any offense which would make [him] the person unfit to perform the duties of [his] the office as evidenced by a criminal history record background check.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.110, s.1)

4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires that the core mission of State corrections officers to treat inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect be established and incorporated throughout both the basic and in-service training these officers are required to complete.

To implement this requirement, the basic training and in-service curriculum is to include training and education on the following topics: de-escalation, including training in interacting with combative or threatening inmates and inmates experiencing mental health crises; minimization of use of force against inmates; cultural diversity and implicit bias; appropriate methods of engaging with inmates of diverse cultures and religions and inmates who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community and gender nonconforming inmates; the rights of inmates; lifestyle stressors, self-awareness, and self-regulation; officer and inmate safety; communication skills; and any other topic deemed necessary to advance the core mission of treating inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect.

Current law requires 20 hours of in-service training for State correctional police officers. Of these 20 hours, four hours of this mandatory training is required to cover sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment prevention as required by the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA); non-fraternization and undue familiarity; and conditioning and manipulation awareness. The remaining 16 hours is to be dedicated to topics chosen by the training department of each State correctional facility from a list of approved courses developed by the Department of Corrections. This bill increases the mandatory in-service training from 20 hours to 40 hours. The additional 20 hours are to be dedicated to the topics implementing the core mission as specified in the bill.

The bill also clarifies that passing a criminal history record background check is a qualification for employment as a State corrections officer.