ASSEMBLY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 1720
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: FEBRUARY 3, 2022
The Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee
reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1720.
This bill requires the Police Training Commission in the Division
of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety to
include cultural diversity and implicit bias training in the basic training
course for police officers appointed to a police department or force.
Current law requires the Department of Law and Public Safety to
develop or identify a uniform cultural diversity training course,
including an on-line tutorial, which includes instruction promoting
positive interaction with all members residing in the community,
regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. The
training course is available to every State, county, municipal, and
campus police department or force for in-service training of its
officers. This bill would require this cultural diversity training to be
administered to police officers during their mandated basic training.
The bill further requires the Department of Law and Public Safety
to develop or identify training course materials concerning implicit
bias in policing. The Police Training Commission also is required by
the bill to include the implicit bias training course materials in the
basic training for police officers. The bill defines “implicit bias” as
having attitudes towards people or associating stereotypes with them
without conscious knowledge.
Finally, the bill requires instructors at basic training academies for
police officers to receive specialized training in cultural diversity and
implicit bias in policing.
This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2022-2023 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed.