ASSEMBLY, No. 1720
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS -JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Verrelli and Assemblywoman Timberlake
SYNOPSIS
Requires cultural diversity and implicit bias training be included in police
basic training curriculum.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Community Development and Affairs
Committee with technical review.
A1720 SPEIGHT, REYNOLDS-JACKSON
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EXPLANATION – Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is
not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
Matter underlined thus is new matter.
AN ACT concerning cultural diversity and implicit bias basic 1
training for police officers, supplementing P.L.2016, c.23, and 2
amending P.L.1961, c.56. 3
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BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
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1. (New section) a. The Police Training Commission shall 8
include in the basic training course curriculum for police officers 9
the cultural diversity training course materials developed or 10
identified by the Department of Law and Public Safety pursuant to 11
section 1 of P.L.2016, c.23 (C.52:17B-77.13). 12
b. The Department of Law and Public Safety shall develop or 13
identify training course materials concerning implicit bias in 14
policing. The Police Training Commission shall include these 15
training course materials in the basic training course curriculum for 16
police officers. 17
c. For the purposes of this section, “implicit bias” means 18
having attitudes towards people or associating stereotypes with 19
them without conscious knowledge. 20
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2. Section 6 of P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-71) is amended to read 22
as follows: 23
6. The commission is vested with the power, responsibility and 24
duty: 25
a. To prescribe standards for the approval and continuation of 26
approval of schools at which police training courses authorized by this 27
act and in-service police training courses shall be conducted, including 28
but not limited to currently existing regional, county, municipal, and 29
police chief association police training schools or at which basic 30
training courses and in-service training courses shall be conducted for 31
State and county juvenile and adult correctional police officers and 32
juvenile detention officers; 33
b. To approve and issue certificates of approval to these schools, 34
to inspect the schools from time to time, and to revoke any approval or 35
certificate issued to the schools; 36
c. To prescribe the curriculum, the minimum courses of study, 37
attendance requirements, equipment and facilities, and standards of 38
operation for these schools. Courses of study in crime prevention may 39
be recommended to the Police Training Commission by the Crime 40
Prevention Advisory Committee, established by section 2 of P.L.1985, 41
c.1 (C.52:17B-77.1). The Police Training Commission may prescribe 42
psychological and psychiatric examinations for police recruits while in 43
the schools; 44
A1720 SPEIGHT, REYNOLDS-JACKSON
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d. To prescribe minimum qualifications for instructors at these 1
schools and to certify, as qualified, instructors for approved police 2
training schools and to issue appropriate certificates to the instructors; 3
minimum qualifications for these instructors shall include specialized 4
training in cultural diversity and implicit bias in policing; 5
e. To certify police officers, correctional police officers, juvenile 6
correctional police officers, and juvenile detention officers who have 7
satisfactorily completed training programs and to issue appropriate 8
certificates to the police officers, correctional police officers, juvenile 9
correctional police officers, and juvenile detention officers; 10
f. To advise and consent in the appointment of an administrator 11
of police services by the Attorney General pursuant to section 8 of 12
P.L.1961, c.56 (C.52:17B-73); 13
g. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1985, c.491.) 14
h. To make rules and regulations as may be reasonably necessary 15
or appropriate to accomplish the purposes and objectives of this act; 16
i. To make a continuous study of police training methods and 17
training methods for correctional police officers, juvenile correctional 18
police officers, and juvenile detention officers and to consult and 19
accept the cooperation of any recognized federal or State law 20
enforcement agency or educational institution; 21
j. To consult and cooperate with universities, colleges, and 22
institutes in the State for the development of specialized courses of 23
study for police officers in police science and police administration; 24
k. To consult and cooperate with other departments and agencies 25
of the State concerned with police training or the training of 26
correctional police officers, juvenile correctional police officers, and 27
juvenile detention officers; 28
l. To participate in unified programs and projects relating to 29
police training and the training of correctional police officers, juvenile 30
correctional police officers, and juvenile detention officers sponsored 31
by any federal, State, or other public or private agency; 32
m. To perform other acts as may be necessary or appropriate to 33
carry out its functions and duties as set forth in this act; 34
n. To extend the time limit for satisfactory completion of police 35
training programs or programs for the training of correctional police 36
officers, juvenile correctional police officers, and juvenile detention 37
officers upon a finding that health, extraordinary workload, or other 38
factors have, singly or in combination, effected a delay in the 39
satisfactory completion of the training program; 40
o. (1) To furnish approved schools, for inclusion in their 41
regular police training courses and curriculum, with information 42
concerning the advisability of high speed chases, the risk caused by 43
them, and the benefits resulting from them; 44
(2) To review and approve new standards and course curricula for 45
police training courses or programs to be offered by approved schools 46
for the training of police officers to be certified as a Drug Recognition 47
Expert for detecting, identifying, and apprehending drug-impaired 48
A1720 SPEIGHT, REYNOLDS-JACKSON
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motor vehicle operators. The commission shall consult with the 1
Cannabis Regulatory Commission established by section 31 of 2
P.L.2019, c.153 (C.24:6I-24) with respect to any aspects of the course 3
curricula that focus on impairment from the use of cannabis items as 4
defined by section 3 of P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-33) or marijuana. Any 5
police officer certified and recognized by the commission as a Drug 6
Recognition Expert prior to the effective date of this section, as 7
amended by the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement, 8
Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act,” P.L.2021, c.16 9
(C.24:6I-31 et al), shall continue to be recognized as certified until that 10
certification has expired or is no longer considered valid as determined 11
by the commission, or the certification is replaced by the police officer 12
with a new certification in accordance with the new standards and 13
course curricula described in the paragraph. 14
p. To review and approve new standards and course curricula 15
developed by the Department of Corrections for both basic and in-16
service training of State and county correctional police officers and 17
juvenile detention officers. These courses for the State correctional 18
police officers and juvenile detention officers shall be centrally 19
provided at the Corrections Officers' Training Academy of the 20
Department of Corrections. Courses for the county correctional police 21
officers and juvenile detention officers shall also be centrally provided 22
at the Corrections Officers' Training Academy unless an off-grounds 23
training program is established by the county. A county may elect to 24
establish and conduct a basic training program for correctional police 25
officers and juvenile detention officers seeking permanent 26
appointment in that county. The Corrections Officers' Training 27
Academy shall develop the curriculum of the basic training program to 28
be conducted by a county; 29
q. To administer and distribute the monies in the Law 30
Enforcement Officers Training and Equipment Fund established by 31
section 9 of P.L.1996, c.115 (C.2C:43-3.3) and make rules and 32
regulations for the administration and distribution of the monies as 33
may be necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which 34
the fund was established. 35
(cf: P.L.2021, c.16, s.85) 36
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3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month 38
next following enactment. 39