ASSEMBLY, No. 897
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman ROCCO
An Act requiring criminal history background checks on applicants for certain State, county or municipal law enforcement positions and supplementing chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (4) of N.J.S.40A:14-122, paragraph (5) of N.J.S.40A:14-145, paragraph (5) of N.J.S.40A:14-9 or section 3 of P.L.1985, c.439 (C.40A:14-146.10) or any other law or regulation that establishes standards for the appointment of law enforcement officers based upon the candidates' criminal history, a person shall not be appointed to a position as a law enforcement officer in a law enforcement agency until the appointing authority has first determined, consistent with the requirements and standards of this act, that no criminal history record information exists on file in the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which would disqualify that person from employment as a law enforcement officer. This act shall not apply to employees of the Department of Corrections who are subject to criminal history checks required pursuant to P.L.1988, c.45 (C.30:4-3.5).
b. A person shall be disqualified from employment as a law enforcement officer if the criminal history record check or other investigation reveals:
(1) A conviction of any offense graded by Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes as a crime of the first, second or third degree or a conviction of any offense in any other jurisdiction which, if committed in New Jersey, would constitute a crime of the first, second or third degree; or
(2) A conviction of any crime involving fraud or dishonesty; or
(3) A conviction of any other offense or combination of offenses or adjudications of delinquency which, by their number or severity, raise a substantial question as to the applicant's fitness or qualification to enforce the criminal law.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection b. of this section, an individual may be considered eligible for employment or service despite a conviction disclosed by a criminal record check performed pursuant to this act if the individual has affirmatively demonstrated to the appointing authority, or a designee thereof, clear and convincing evidence of his or her rehabilitation and fitness and qualification to perform the duties of a law enforcement officer. In determining whether an individual has affirmatively demonstrated rehabilitation, the following factors shall be considered:
(1) The nature and seriousness of the offense;
(2) The circumstances under which the offense occured;
(3) The date of the offense;
(4) The age of the individual when the offense was committed;
(5) Whether the offense was an isolated or repeated incident;
(6) Any social conditions which may have contributed to the commission of the offense;
(7) Any evidence of rehabilitation, including service to the community, acquisition of additional academic or vocational training and successful employment record.
d. As used in this section:
"Criminal history record background check" means the process whereby the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation compare a set of fingerprints with those in their files for a determination as to the criminal history of the person identified by the request.
"Law enforcement department or agency" means a police force, authority or organization functioning within this State, whose officers are required to receive training approved by the Police Training Commission, and which has by statute or ordinance the responsibility for investigating violations of the criminal laws, detecting crime and enforcing the general criminal laws of this State.
"Law enforcement officer" means a person holding a position as a regular, temporary, provisional or special officer of a law enforcement department or agency with the power conferred by law to enforce the criminal laws of this State and apprehend the offenders thereof.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that a criminal history record background check through the State Bureau of Identification or the Federal Bureau of Investigation be completed on any applicant for a position as a law enforcement officer before that applicant is appointed to that position. The bill establishes criteria for evaluating the fitness of applicants and criteria for establishing possible rehabilitation for those applicants who may have a criminal record.
Under the provisions of the bill, the appointing authority may reject any applicant whose overall criminal history raises a substantial question as to his or her fitness to enforce the criminal law. Any candidate who has been convicted of an offense of the first, second or third degree under Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, or an equivalent offense from another jurisdiction, or any offense involving fraud or dishonesty or any combination of offenses or adjudications of delinquency which, by number or severity, raise a question as to fitness, is presumptively disqualified from appointment as a law enforcement officer. However, any individual disqualified on those bases shall be given the opportunity to demonstrate his or her rehabilitation and fitness to the appointing authority. In order to overcome the presumption, the applicant must make a clear and convincing showing of rehabilitation. This statutory scheme, and the factors that must be considered if a candidate attempts to demonstrate rehabilitation, are roughly modeled on the statute currently used by the Department of Education to assess the fitness of certain employees under N.J.S.A.18A:6-7.1. The standards for exclusion are similar to the standards for forfeiture of public office under N.J.S.A.2C:51-2.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that the character and integrity of an applicant is evaluated before an appointment is made in order to maintain the public's confidence in the quality of the police forces of this State.
Requires criminal history background check on applicant for law enforcement position.