Governor Murphy signed S-3943, now P.L.2023, c.94, allowing the Attorney General to appoint the Officer in Charge when superseding certain law enforcement agencies.
This law allows the Attorney General, upon superseding a law enforcement agency, to appoint a person as “officer in charge” during the period in which the law enforcement agency is superseded, even though the person has not previously satisfied the training requirements established by the Police Training Commission.
This act will not affect the vast majority of municipalities. It applies to a law enforcement agency in a city of the first class having a population of less than 200,000 according to the 2020 federal decennial census.
A person appointed as officer in charge is required to have previously served as a superior police officer and possess at least 10 years administrative and supervisory police experience. The Attorney General is permitted to establish and administer specific training requirements that consider the person’s prior training, education, experience and qualifications in light of the requirements of the position.
The Attorney General must ensure that the training is completed within one year of the person’s appointment, provided that the appointee may serve as officer in charge pending completion of the specific training requirements. Upon completion of the training requirements established by the Attorney General, the appointee shall be deemed eligible to be licensed as a law enforcement officer.
This act took effect on July 3 and is retroactive to March 1, 2023. It expires when the termination of the period which law enforcement agency is superseded by the Attorney General.
We encourage you to review this information with your municipal attorney and public safety professionals to evaluate applicability to your municipality.
Contact: Paul Penna, Senior Legislative Analyst, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.