ASSEMBLY, No. 628

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman IMPREVEDUTO and Assemblywoman QUIGLEY

An Act concerning certain county corrections officers and amending N.J.S.2A:154-3.

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

    1. N.J.S.2A:154-3 is amended to read as follows:

    2A:154-3. a. All court attendants, sheriff's officers and county correction officers in the competitive class of civil service and in the unclassified civil service who have been or who may hereafter be appointed by the sheriff or [board of chosen freeholders] the governing body of any county in this State shall, by virtue of such appointment and in addition to any other power or authority, be empowered to act as officers for the detection, apprehension, arrest and conviction of offenders against the law.

    b. In addition to the powers set forth in subsection a. of this section, any county correction officer who has satisfactorily completed a basic training course approved by the Police Training Commission, as provided by P.L.1961, c.56(C.52:17B-66 et seq.), shall have full power of arrest for any crime committed in his presence anywhere within the territorial limits of the State of New Jersey.

(cf: P.L.1993, c.248, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill amends N.J.S.2A:154-3 to clarify the police powers of court attendents, sheriff's officers and county corrections officers in the unclassified civil service.

    Under the provisions of the bill, court attendents, sheriff's officers and county corrections officers appointed to the unclassified civil service would have general police powers to detect, apprehend and arrest offenders.

    The bill also clarifies that county correction officers serving in the unclassified civil service who have satisfactorily completed a basic training course approved by the Police Training Commission have Statewide power of arrest.

Grants Statewide power of arrest to certain trained county correction officers.