SENATE, No. 162
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Senator BRYANT
An Act establishing a special task force in the Division of State Police to assist certain municipalities in their narcotics enforcement efforts, supplementing chapter 1 of Title 53 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Neighborhood Drug Enforcement Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Eligible municipality" means a municipality having a population in excess of 50,000, according to the most recent federal decennial census.
"Special task force" means the special narcotics enforcement task force established in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of this act.
"Superintendent" means the Superintendent of the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
3. There is established in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety a special narcotics enforcement task force, under the supervision of the superintendent, which shall be available, upon application and approval thereof, to assist eligible municipalities in their narcotics enforcement efforts.
4. The special task force shall have a basic cadre of not less than 500 officers, troopers and detectives, who shall be members of the State Police within the meaning of chapter 2 of Title 53 of the Revised Statutes.
5. The governing body of any eligible municipality may, as hereinafter provided, apply to the Attorney General to have a detail of the special task force stationed within the municipality for the purposes of augmenting and enhancing the municipality's narcotics enforcement efforts.
The application shall be in a manner and form prescribed by the Attorney General. In addition, the governing body shall submit a narcotics enforcement plan for the municipality. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, an outline of the scope of the narcotics problem confronting the municipality, the program initiatives the municipality proposes to undertake to address and combat that problem, the proposed roles of the special task force detail and the municipality's existing law enforcement agency in those program initiatives, the size of the special task force detail the governing body is requesting be stationed in the municipality, and any other information that the Attorney General deems necessary.
An application submitted in accordance with this section shall be deemed to constitute a petition on the part of the governing body of the applicant municipality formally requesting the State to assume operational responsibility for directing and coordinating all narcotic enforcement efforts within the municipality's borders
6. The Attorney General, in consultation with the superintendent, shall review each application and narcotics enforcement plan. Upon the completion of that review, the Attorney General shall establish a priority list of the applicant municipalities. In determining an applicant municipality's priority, the Attorney General shall consider the municipality's crime rate, violent crime rate, drug abuse violations, and its fiscal and budgetary condition.
The Attorney General may approve, disapprove or approve in principle, pending amendment, each application and plan.
a. In the case of an approved application and plan, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body of the municipality and the superintendent shall forthwith station the special task force detail within the municipality.
b. In the case of a disapproved application and plan, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body, setting forth in writing the reasons for disapproval. The governing body may submit a revised application and plan.
c. In the case of an application and plan which has been approved in principle pending amendment, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body, setting forth in writing the amendments deemed necessary and proper. Upon the adoption of those amendments by the governing body, the application and plan shall be deemed approved and the superintendent shall forthwith station the special task force detail within the municipality.
7. The special task force detail shall be under the operative control of an officer of the State Police appointed by the superintendent and shall be utilized exclusively for the purposes set forth in the narcotics enforcement plan approved by the Attorney General.
To fully effectuate the municipality's narcotics enforcement plan, members of the special task force shall be assigned to serve on each duty shift of the municipality's law enforcement agency.
To coordinate effectively the narcotics enforcement efforts of the special task force and the general law enforcement duties and responsibilities of the municipal law enforcement agency, the State Police officer appointed by the superintendent to supervise the special task force shall work in conjunction with the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality.
8. Pursuant to the rules and regulations promulgated by the Attorney General, in consultation with the superintendent, the officer of the State Police appointed by the superintendent to have operational control of a special task force shall submit regular progress reports on the implementation of the municipality's narcotics enforcement plan.
The reports, which shall be in a form prescribed by the Attorney General, shall be submitted to the Office of Special Task Force Intelligence, established by the superintendent, for analysis and review. If the office, after consultation with the superintendent, so determines, any information set forth in any such report may be transmitted to any other special task force detail or any other law enforcement agency.
Whenever, in the course of its review and analysis of such reports, the office shall determine that a municipality's narcotics enforcement plan, including the utilization of local police officers in implementing that plan, should be amended or that the size of a municipality's special task force detail should be increased or decreased, the superintendent shall be notified. If, after his review, the superintendent concurs with that determination, he shall forthwith notify the Attorney General of his recommendations. Before implementing any such recommendation, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body of the municipality wherein the special task force is stationed.
If the governing body of the municipality does not concur with the superintendent's assessment and recommendations, it shall so notify the Attorney General and may submit such supportive evidence as it deems appropriate and necessary. After reviewing any such evidence, the Attorney General shall either accept, reject or accept in part the superintendent's assessment and recommendations. The Attorney General's determination in all such cases shall be final and conclusive.
9. No special task force detail shall be stationed in a municipality for more than two years unless the governing body of that municipality shall reapply and submit a new narcotics enforcement plan to the Attorney General. The reapplication shall be in a manner and form prescribed by the Attorney General. The new narcotics enforcement plan shall include, in addition to the information required under the provisions of section 5 of this act, an assessment of the program initiatives undertaken during the previous two years, any new initiatives the municipality proposes, an assessment of the role and utilization of local law enforcement personnel in the program, and any such other information the Attorney General deems necessary.
The Attorney General, in consultation with the superintendent, shall review each reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan. After review, the Attorney General may approve, reject or approve in principle, pending amendment, the reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan.
a. In the case of an approved reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body of the municipality and the superintendent shall provide for the continued stationing of the special task force detail within the municipality.
b. In the case of a disapproved reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body of the municipality, setting forth in writing the reasons for disapproval and the terminating of the stationing of the special task force detail within the municipality.
c. In the case of a reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan which have been approved in principal pending amendment, the Attorney General shall so notify the governing body, setting forth in writing the recommendations for amendment. Upon the adoption of those recommendations by the governing body, the reapplication and new narcotics enforcement plan shall be deemed approved and the superintendent shall provide for the continued stationing of the special task force detail within the municipality.
10. In the event that, after all eligible municipalities have had an opportunity to apply pursuant to the provisions of this act, the Attorney General should determine that there remain special task force details available for stationing, the Attorney General, after consultation with the superintendent, may invite other municipalities that are not otherwise eligible under the provisions of this act to submit applications and narcotic enforcement plans.
The applications and plans required under the provisions of this section shall be in the same manner and form as those required of eligible municipalities.
11. The chief law enforcement officer of each municipality in which a special task force is stationed shall appoint, from among the officers of that municipality's police department or force, a community liaison officer. It shall be the duty of the community liaison officer to develop and implement an outreach plan designed to involve individual citizens and various community and neighborhood organizations in the municipality's narcotic enforcement efforts. The liaison officer also shall undertake a public education program designed to inform the citizens of the municipality about the role of the special task force in the municipality's narcotic enforcement effort.
12. The Attorney General, after consultation with the superintendent, shall, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
13. The Attorney General, in consultation with the superintendent, shall file biannual reports as to the effectiveness of the special task force details established under this act with the Legislature. The reports shall be filed on April 1 and October 1 of each year.
The report filed on October 1 of each year shall include a progress assessment and program evaluation prepared by the governing body and chief law enforcement officer of each municipality in which a special task force detail is stationed.
14. Should the provisions of this act expire as provided in section 16, the officers, troopers and detectives who are members of the special task force shall be assigned regular duties as members of the Division of State Police.
15. There is appropriated from the General Fund $28,000,000.00 to the Department of Public Safety to effectuate the purposes of this act.
16. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on January 1 of the 11th year following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill, the "Neighborhood Drug Enforcement Act," would establish a special narcotics enforcement task force within the Division of State Police.
The force would consist of not less than 500 officers, troopers and detectives who would be available to assist eligible municipalities in augmenting and enhancing their anti-drug and narcotic enforcement programs.
Municipalities having populations in excess of 50,000 could apply to the Attorney General, requesting the stationing of a special task force detail within the municipality. In addition to the application, the governing body of the municipality would have to submit a narcotics enforcement plan for the municipality. The plan would outline the scope of the drug problem within the municipality, the program initiatives the municipality intended to undertake to combat the local drug problem, the proposed roles of the special task force detail and the local law enforcement agency in those program initiatives, and the size of the special task force detail requested by the municipality.
The bill specifies that the filing of an application for assistance constitutes a petition by the governing body of the municipality formally requesting the State to assume operational responsibility for directing and coordinating all narcotics enforcement efforts within the applicant municipality's borders.
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Superintendent of State Police, is to establish a priority list of applicant municipalities based upon crime rates, violent crimes, drug abuse violations, and the budgetary and fiscal conditions of the municipalities. The Attorney General may approve, disapprove, or approve in principle, pending amendment, each application and plan. If the application and plan are approved, the special task force detail would be immediately stationed in the municipality. If the application and plan is approved in principle, pending amendment, the special task force detail would not be stationed in the municipality until the governing body amended the municipality's application and plan in accordance with the Attorney General's recommendations.
Under the provisions of the bill, a State Police officer, appointed by the superintendent, would be in charge of the special task force detail. To assure the effective implementation of the plan, the bill requires that members of the task force be assigned to each duty shift. In addition, the State Police officer in charge of the detail would be required to file regular progress reports on the municipality's narcotics enforcement plan with an Office of Special Task Force Intelligence. The information set forth in the reports may be shared with other task forces or law enforcement agencies. The office may also recommend changes in the size of the special task force detail stationed in a municipality. If the superintendent and the Attorney General concur with those recommendations, the municipality would be directed to make the necessary changes. The municipality, however, may appeal the recommendations and submit supporting evidence to the Attorney General for his further consideration.
The special task force detail would be stationed in the municipality for two years. If the governing body wishes to keep the detail for a longer period, it must reapply and submit a new narcotics enforcement plan. In addition to the information required in the initial application, the governing body is to include an assessment of the program initiatives undertaken in the previous two years, an outline of any new program proposals, an assessment of the role and utilization of local law enforcement personnel in the program, and any other information the Attorney General deems necessary.
If, after all the eligible municipalities have had an opportunity to apply, the Attorney General determines that there are still special task force details available for assignment, he may, after consultation with the superintendent, invite other municipalities to participate in the program.
The bill includes a "sunset" provision, specifying that the program is to terminate after ten years. If the Legislature fails to reauthorize the program, the officers, troopers and detectives who are members of the special task force are to be reassigned to regular duties as members of the State Police.
Finally, the bill appropriates $28,000,000 to the Department of Law and Public Safety to cover the costs of this program.
Establishes special State Police task force to assist certain municipalities in narcotics enforcement; appropriates $28 million.