A4086

An Act concerning correctional police officer training and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

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

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 40 hours for each correctional police officer in every State correctional facility.

b. At least eight hours of the mandatory 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. Thirty-two 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.

2. The in-service training on non-fraternization and undue familiarity required by paragraph (2) of subsection b. of section 1 of this act shall include training on the parameters of authorized contact that a correctional police officer may have with a current and former inmate as follows:

a. prohibit an officer from making personal contacts with or engaging in a personal relationship with a current inmate except as explicitly authorized;

b. limit ongoing contacts with a current or former inmate, member of the inmate’s family, or close associate of the inmate to those persons with whom the officer was acquainted or associated with before the inmate entered the correctional facility, and in these situations, require the officer to provide the officer’s supervisor, in writing, of the nature, extent, and history of the relationship;

c. prohibit an officer from engaging in any of the following activities related to an inmate, a member of the inmate’s family, or a close associate of the inmate for a minimum of 90 days after the release of the inmate:

(1) display favoritism or preferential treatment toward one inmate or group of inmates over another;

(2) give gifts, favors, or services beyond those required by the facility;

(3) accept for the officer or a family member of the officer any tangible or non-tangible personal reward or other consideration;

(4) engage in any business relationship;

(5) engage in any non-incidental contact outside the facility;

(6) engage in a personal relationship; and

(7) require any authorized contact to be conducted in a professional manner.

3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but the Commissioner of Corrections may take such anticipatory action prior to the effective date as necessary to effectuate the act’s provisions.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Commissioner of Corrections to institute a mandatory annual in-service training program of at least 40 hours for each correctional police officer in every State correctional facility.

Of these 40 hours of training, at least eight hours is to include training in: sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment prevention as required pursuant to the provisions of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA); non-fraternization and undue familiarity; and conditioning and manipulation awareness. The remaining 32 hours of training 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 commissioner. The in-service training on non-fraternization and undue familiarity is to include training on the parameters of authorized contact that a correctional police officer may have with a current or former inmate. Officers are to be trained that they are prohibited from making personal contacts with or engaging in a personal relationship with a current inmate except as explicitly authorized, and to limit ongoing contacts with a current or former inmate, member of the inmate’s family, or close associate of the inmate to those persons with whom the officer was acquainted or associated with before the inmate entered the correctional facility. In these situations, the officer is required to provide the officer’s supervisor, in writing, of the nature, extent, and history of the relationship.

The non-fraternization training also is to include prohibitions on officers engaging in any of the following activities as they relate to an inmate, a member of the inmate’s family, or a close associate of for 90 days after the release of the inmate: