SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1536

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 7, 1996

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1536.

      This bill permits the governing body of a municipality of the first class with a population of more than 270,000 persons, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, to establish, by ordinance, a housing authority police force to patrol housing authority grounds, buildings, facilities and other areas. The ordinance is to provide for the maintenance, regulation, compensation and control of the force either as a separate department or as a division or unit of the municipal police force; however, the officers of the housing authority police force will not be deemed regular municipal police officers. If the housing authority police force is established as a separate municipal department, the appropriate authority for the force is to be the same as the authority for the municipal police force.

      A person appointed as a housing authority police officer must meet the same qualification standards and training requirements that municipal law enforcement officers are statutorily required to meet. After successful completion of the training requirements, a housing authority police officer will be granted general police powers and may carry a weapon at all times while in New Jersey, subject to the training and requalification requirements of N.J.S.2C:39-6.

      The municipal housing authority would be responsible for the funding of the police force. However, the housing authority may request of the governing body of the municipality reimbursement for a portion of the costs associated with the appointment, training and compensation of housing authority police officers.

      The committee amended the bill to provide that a housing authority police officer may carry a weapon at all times while in this State. As introduced, the bill provided that the officer could carry a weapon while on-duty and going to and from his place of duty.