ASSEMBLY, No. 1921
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Codifies AG guidelines on bias incident investigation standards.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Judiciary Committee with technical review.
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AN ACT concerning bias incident investigation standards and 1
supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes. 2
3
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4
of New Jersey: 5
6
1. a. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 7
Legislature as this bill), “bias incident” means any suspected or 8
confirmed violation of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection a. of 9
section 1 of P.L.2001, c.443 (C.2C:16-1). 10
b. Every county and municipal law enforcement agency shall 11
report all confirmed or suspected bias incidents through the 12
Electronic Uniform Crime Reporting system as soon as is 13
practicable, but not more than 24 hours from the initial law 14
enforcement response. 15
c. Every county and municipal law enforcement agency also 16
shall immediately notify, by telephone, the Bias Crime Unit in the 17
Division of Criminal Justice and the appropriate county prosecutor 18
when the suspected or confirmed bias incident involves: 19
(1) homicide, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, 20
aggravated assault, or arson; 21
(2) a law enforcement officer as the alleged perpetrator; 22
(3) an organized hate group as the perpetrator; or 23
(4) a potential to generate large-scale public unrest. 24
d. Every county prosecutor shall promptly notify the Division of 25
Criminal Justice, in a manner prescribed by the Director of the 26
Division of Criminal Justice, of the intention to file an accusation or 27
seek an indictment alleging bias intimidation pursuant to section 1 28
of P.L.2001, c.443 (C.2C:16-1). 29
30
2. In regard to bias incidents, every chief law enforcement 31
executive shall: 32
a. develop a clear and concise formal bias incident written order 33
or directive based upon the standards set forth in 34
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) 35
and disseminate it to all law enforcement officers of the agency; 36
b. publicly announce the agency’s bias intimidation 37
investigation policy and inform the public that they should 38
immediately contact law enforcement when a bias incident occurs; 39
c. ensure that all law enforcement officers of the agency receive 40
the required and appropriate training in bias incident response and 41
investigation; 42
d. ensure that the appropriate initial law enforcement response is 43
provided to all suspected or confirmed bias incident victims and 44
that a complete follow-up investigation is carried out, as 45
appropriate; 46
e. ensure that security is increased in the affected area, as 47
appropriate; 48
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f. offer to personally meet the victim of a bias incident or 1
designate an officer to do so; 2
g. ensure that the bias incident investigation is actively pursued 3
to a successful conclusion or until all leads have been considered; 4
h. ensure that all relevant information regarding suspected or 5
confirmed bias incidents is shared with the appropriate county 6
prosecutor and other appropriate law enforcement agencies within a 7
reasonable period of time; 8
i. ensure that victim and witness service referrals are made in a 9
timely manner, as appropriate; 10
j. enlist the aid of faith-based, community, business, and 11
educational groups, as well as other community leaders, in an effort 12
to moderate the impact of the bias incident, reduce the potential for 13
counter-violence, and promote positive police-community relations; 14
k. ensure that community relations and crime prevention 15
programs are conducted, as appropriate; 16
l. maintain contact with community leaders concerning the bias 17
incident, within limits of confidentiality; 18
m. conduct appropriate media relations and prepare accurate and 19
timely public information news releases, as appropriate; 20
n. ensure that all suspected and confirmed bias incidents are 21
reported as required through the Electronic Uniform Crime 22
Reporting system using the New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime 23
Reporting procedures; and 24
o. ensure that victims and, as appropriate, other concerned 25
parties are informed of the final disposition of the investigation. 26
27
3. a. When an initial responding law enforcement officer arrives 28
at the scene of a reported bias incident and determines that the 29
situation may involve a bias incident, the law enforcement officer 30
shall: 31
(1) apprehend the actor, if applicable; 32
(2) provide assistance to the victim; 33
(3) protect the crime scene to prepare for the gathering of 34
evidence; 35
(4) request that a law enforcement supervisor respond to the 36
scene, as appropriate; 37
(5) conduct a standard preliminary investigation; 38
(6) obtain the names and addresses of witnesses and others with 39
knowledge of the circumstances of the incident and thoroughly 40
question these persons; 41
(7) prepare a standard police incident report and document the 42
basic facts and circumstances surrounding the incident to include 43
the following: 44
(a) name, address, telephone number, and other information 45
regarding the victim and witnesses; 46
(b) location of the incident; 47
(c) person or property targeted; 48
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(d) how the person or property was targeted; 1
(e) means of attack; 2
(f) time of incident; 3
(g) method of operation, trademark, or unusual characteristics of 4
the incident; and 5
(h) any other relevant information provided by the victim and 6
witnesses; and 7
(8) refer the victim and witness to the appropriate Office of 8
Victim-Witness Advocacy. 9
b. Upon arriving at the scene of a suspected or confirmed bias 10
incident, a law enforcement supervisor shall: 11
(1) supervise the preliminary response and investigation; 12
(2) confer with the initial responding law enforcement officer; 13
(3) assist in the stabilization of the victim as required; 14
(4) ensure that the crime scene is properly protected and 15
preserved; 16
(5) take steps to prevent escalation of the incident; 17
(6) determine if additional personnel are required to provide 18
complete public safety services; 19
(7) arrange for an immediate increase of patrols throughout the 20
affected area, as appropriate; 21
(8) if the potential exists for further acts of violence or damage 22
to property, arrange for law enforcement officers to be assigned to 23
the location of the incident in a fixed post position; 24
(9) attempt to verify if the occurrence is a confirmed bias 25
incident following the guidelines for confirming bias incidents 26
pursuant to section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 27
Legislature as this bill); verification assistance shall be provided by 28
other levels of command or additional investigative personnel, as 29
required; 30
(10) request that investigative personnel respond to the scene if 31
a bias incident is suspected or confirmed; 32
(11) notify headquarters and other levels of command regarding 33
the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident; 34
(12) request that the next level of command respond to the scene, 35
as appropriate; 36
(13) provide the law enforcement agency’s headquarters with 37
updated factual information regarding the incident; 38
(14) ensure that the chief executive of the law enforcement 39
agency is notified of the incident; 40
(15) ensure that the necessary basic information is obtained to 41
sustain a follow-up investigation; and 42
(16) ensure that all initial response reports are properly 43
completed as soon as possible. 44
45
4. a. Bias incident follow-up investigations shall be conducted 46
by trained detectives or investigators in consultation with law 47
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enforcement officers who are not detectives or investigators, as 1
necessary. 2
b. Follow-up investigations and community relations activities 3
shall be timely and comprehensive. The victim shall be informed of 4
the progress of the investigation and shall be referred to the 5
appropriate social services or, if appropriate, the Division on Civil 6
Rights. 7
c. The investigator assigned to handle bias incident cases shall 8
have a background in handling sensitive cases and community 9
relations. The investigator shall exhibit compassion and sensitivity 10
towards the victim while gathering evidence necessary for 11
prosecution. In cases where language barriers are an issue, an 12
investigator fluent in the language spoken by the victim shall be 13
assigned to assist in the investigation. The investigator shall be 14
familiar with various forms of bias incidents and organized hate 15
groups operating within the State. 16
d. Investigative personnel shall respond to the scene of a 17
suspected or confirmed bias incident as directed by supervisory 18
personnel. When the investigator arrives at the scene and 19
determines that the situation may be a bias incident, the investigator 20
shall: 21
(1) assume control of the bias incident follow-up investigation; 22
(2) ensure that the scene of the bias incident is properly 23
protected and preserved; 24
(3) conduct a thorough and comprehensive follow-up criminal 25
investigation and continue bias incident verification procedures 26
following the guidelines for confirming bias incidents pursuant to 27
section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature 28
as this bill), as necessary; 29
(4) ensure that the scene of the bias incident is properly 30
documented and searched, and evidence is gathered for analysis, as 31
required. Documenting the crime scene shall include taking 32
samples of physical evidence, securing and transporting into 33
custody related movable evidence, and photographing the crime 34
scene, as appropriate; 35
(5) interview all victims and witnesses; 36
(6) canvass the community to identify other victims and 37
witnesses and conduct additional interviews, as necessary; 38
(7) determine the primary elements of the incident and obtain 39
information necessary to complete the data elements of the Uniform 40
Crime Supplementary Bias Incident Offense Report. Primary 41
elements of the investigation include: 42
(a) persons targeted, including the name, address, telephone 43
number, personal background, and other details of the victim; 44
(b) object targeted, including details on the type of premises, 45
building, or institution against which the offense was committed; 46
(c) how the person or object was targeted, including the way in 47
which the person or object was attacked or damaged; 48
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(d) means of attack, including the instrument, tool, device, or 1
method by which the person or property was attacked or damaged; 2
(e) time and date when the offense was committed and when it 3
was reported; and 4
(f) trademark, including the modus operandi or individual 5
identifying characteristics of the bias incident which may 6
distinguish the offense from others; 7
(8) conduct surveillance and other appropriate investigative 8
activities in order to obtain additional evidence and to identify 9
suspects; 10
(9) contact other appropriate law enforcement agencies for 11
assistance, as required. The county prosecutor’s office shall be 12
notified as soon as possible, but not to exceed 24 hours; 13
(10) work with the prosecutor’s office to ensure that legally 14
sufficient cases are presented for presentation; 15
(11) assist the victim or witness in obtaining appropriate support 16
services; 17
(12) prepare standard investigative reports documenting the bias 18
incident investigation, as appropriate; 19
(13) ensure that all suspected and confirmed bias incidents are 20
reported through the Electronic Uniform Crime Reporting system; 21
and 22
(14) assist with community relations activities and crime 23
prevention programs, as appropriate. 24
e. The investigator shall ensure that all physical remains of the 25
incident are removed after crime scene processing is completed. If 26
the remains cannot be physically removed, the appropriate level of 27
command shall attempt to notify building or property owners 28
regarding the need for complete removal as soon as possible after 29
the crime scene has been fully processed. 30
f. Investigators shall be sensitive to the safety concerns of 31
victims and witnesses and arrange for appropriate security measures 32
to be implemented to protect persons and property. 33
34
5. a. A law enforcement officer shall apply the following 35
criteria in confirming a bias incident: 36
(1) the absence of any other apparent motive for the bias 37
incident; 38
(2) display of any bias symbols, words, graffiti, or other types of 39
evidence; 40
(3) statements made by suspects; 41
(4) statements made by witnesses; 42
(5) prior history of similar incidents in the same area affecting 43
the same victim or community group; and 44
(6) review of the facts and circumstances surrounding the 45
incident, taking into consideration the totality of the circumstances. 46
b. If, after applying the criteria set forth in subsection a. of this 47
section, a suspected bias incident cannot be definitively determined 48
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to be any other type of incident or is a borderline case, it shall be 1
treated as a bias incident for continuing investigation purposes. 2
3
6. a. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and 4
Preparedness, the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal 5
Justice, and each bias crime officer in the county prosecutor’s 6
offices’ shall be notified of all suspected or confirmed bias 7
incidents by an instant notification from the electronic Uniform 8
Crime Reporting module within the New Jersey Infoshare system. 9
At that time, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and 10
Preparedness shall review each incident for a possible nexus to 11
terrorism and, if appropriate, enter the incident into the New Jersey 12
Suspicious Activity Reporting System. 13
b. The county prosecutor’s office shall be notified by county and 14
municipal law enforcement agencies of a suspected or confirmed 15
bias incident as soon as possible, but not to exceed 24 hours. The 16
county prosecutor’s office shall monitor the investigation of all 17
suspected or confirmed bias incidents within their jurisdiction, as 18
necessary. A law enforcement agency’s chief law enforcement 19
officer shall contact the appropriate county prosecutor’s office for 20
legal advice and investigative assistance, as necessary. 21
c. When a law enforcement agency is confronted with a 22
suspected or confirmed violation of the Law Against Discrimination 23
pursuant to P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.), the agency shall 24
inform the victim of the Division of Civil Rights’ jurisdiction and 25
refer the victim to the division. The law enforcement agency also 26
shall contact the division, if appropriate. 27
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7. a. The Division of Criminal Justice, in consultation with the 29
County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, each County 30
Association of Chiefs of Police, the New Jersey State Association 31
of Chiefs of Police, the New Jersey Bias Crimes Officers 32
Association, faith-based leaders, and community stakeholders, shall 33
either update or create a continuing education course through the 34
Community Law Enforcement Affirmative Relations Continuing 35
Education Institute on detecting and reporting bias incidents and 36
investigating and prosecuting bias crimes consistent with the 37
standards set forth in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 38
Legislature as this bill). 39
b. The Division of Criminal Justice, in consultation with the 40
Police Training Commission, the Attorney General Office of Law 41
Enforcement Professional Standards, and the Superintendent of 42
State Police, shall update pre-existing bias incidents and crimes 43
curricula consistent with the standards set forth in 44
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) 45
and the continuing education course created through the 46
Community Law Enforcement Affirmative Relations Continuing 47
Education Institute. 48
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8. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month 1
after enactment, but the Attorney General may take anticipatory 2
administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the 3
implementation of the act. 4