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As reported by nj.com, although he has a full-time, $248,000 per year job as Union City’s police chief, Charles Everett has been raking in thousands of dollars for off-duty work for keeping tabs on the city’s pool and athletic field. According to records obtained by The Jersey Journal through the state’s Open Public Records Act, the Board of Education paid Everett $34,770 in 2009, $36,840 in 2010, and $17,520 this year, for detail security work at the Jose Marti Athletic Field and one of the two city pools. 

Everett began his detail work with the Board of Education in March 2008, and reportedly was paid $12,000 that year, but the Board of Education did not provide documents confirming that amount. His last day of work on the off-duty job was June 25, 2011.

Everett’s off-duty security work for the Board of Education was first disclosed in a report that aired on News 12 on August 3^rd. The TV news report showed Everett working out in the police gym at time that he was also supposedly working for the school district.

In response to the story, Mayor Brian Stack announced the city would hire an attorney to investigate the matter. Stack spokesman Mark Albiez said the mayor will decide whether or not to take action when the investigation is completed.   

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has also made inquiries into the matter. “We are doing our due diligence and have made some inquiries. I wouldn’t characterize it as an investigation because when you do that it confirms there is an allegation of criminality. We are not saying that,” said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

The detail work policy for off-duty officers at the UCPD was changed in 2006 to allow any officer of any rank to do off-duty work. The prior policy gave first preference to officers below the rank of Sergeant. Out of every 10 detail duties handed out, seven go to officers while three go to superior officers, according to the policy that was instituted.

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As reported by nj.com, with a flood of retirements, the sluggish economy, and a governor intent on shrinking the size of government, the number of public workers in New Jersey has dropped to its lowest level in eight years, a Star-Ledger analysis shows. New Jersey shed about 29,100 state and local government jobs during Governor Chris Christie’s first 19 months in office, trailing only New York and California in the total number of public sector jobs lost, according to federal labor statistics.

The latest figures, released earlier this month, show the state has fewer public employees-from police and teachers to college administrators and state workers-on the payrolls than at any other point since September 2003. In fact, New Jersey’s sizable decline accounts for more than 8 percent of the 357,100 public sector jobs lost in states across the country since January 2010, the month Christie took office.

The loss of public sector jobs comes as New Jersey’s post-recession economy continues to struggle, translating into a 9.5 percent unemployment rate that is 13^th highest in the nation. In recent months, Christie has recast the unemployment rate-a critical yardstick for governors-saying it’s more a measure of his success than his failures. He said the stubbornly high jobless figure is an unavoidable consequence of his mission to shrink the size of government in New Jersey.

But economists and critics argue that Christie’s outlook ignorers how the loss of so many jobs, regardless of their origin, threatens the state’s broader economy. In January 2010, there were 590,200 employees on public payrolls in New Jersey. But that has dropped by more than 5 percent, the fifth highest percentage decline in the nation. In the same time period, the total number of jobs in New Jersey-accounting for gains in the private sector and losses in public jobs-rose by 20,300. That ranks New Jersey behind 38 other states in percentage of job growth. Christie’s critics say he may have been successful at shrinking government, but he has failed to expand the economy and provide new employment opportunities.

“In previous times, the decline in public sector jobs hit administration, but these last two years we are seeing a dramatic dip in police, fire, and EMS employees because the state aid was cut,” said William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. Police and firefighters across the state have reacted with anger, framing the issue as a matter of public safety. “Our members are being asked to do their job without the manpower necessary to get things done. And at any given time, we can go to work and not come home,” said Dominick Marino, president of the International Association of Firefighters of New Jersey.

The city of Trenton is preparing to layoff 108 officers, which union officials there say would put staffing at 1930s levels.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey’s Department of Corrections is preparing for the possibility of having to relocate hundreds of state prison inmates as Hurricane Irene approaches. The department issued a statement saying emergency evacuation plans are being dusted off at all 13 state prisons.

A primary concern is the Southern State Correctional Facility in Cumberland County where some of the 2,300 prisoners are housed in modular units. Other facilities are in flood-prone areas.

Corrections spokeswoman Deidre Fedkenheuer says some low-classification inmates would be moved into brick and mortar buildings. Others would relocated to other facilities. No inmates have been moved so far.  

The Department declined to release details of the plans because of security concerns. However, about 500 inmates were relocated from Southern State ahead of a severe storm several years ago.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey’s standards for eyewitness testimony in the courtroom is unreliable and can encourage police misconduct, the New Jersey Supreme Court said in ordering a revision of investigative and court practices. The unanimous ruling follows a recent report recommending tighter restrictions on eyewitness testimony and is likely to have far-reaching effects beyond New Jersey.

The decision tightens standards adopted by New Jersey after the U.S. Supreme Court 34 years ago announced the rules for allowing eyewitness testimony in the courtroom. Since that time, however, “a vast body of scientific research about human memory has emerged,” Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote. “That body of work casts doubt on some commonly held views relating to memory.”

Noting most wrongful convictions in the United States are the result of misidentification, the court said judges should conduct pretrial hearings when there is a question about whether police suggestion influenced the outcome of an identification. The court also said jurors should be given greater instruction about how eyewitness testimony can be influenced.

Public Defender Joseph Krakora, who argued the case before the Supreme Court, praised the decision and said it would help eliminate wrongful convictions based on misidentifications. “I am deeply gratified that the court recognized the validity of over 30 years of scientific research on memory and eyewitness identification.”

The case was based on appeals filed by Larry Henderson, who was convicted in 2004 of manslaughter. Krakora argued police pressured a witness into naming him as an accomplice in the fatal shooting in Camden. Krakora argued the officer displaying an array of photos started moving them around as if he were “nudging” the witness toward Henderson’s photo.

An appellate panel in 2008 reversed Henderson’s conviction. Before the Supreme Court would take up the case, it sent the matter to a special master, retired state appellate judge Geoffrey Gaulkin, to determine whether New Jersey’s identification procedures are flawed. Gaulkin’s 86-page report issued last June concluded police need to change the way they obtain identifications and courts have to treat the identifications in a more scientific fashion.

The decision only affects future cases and the two on which this decision was based.

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As reported by nj.com, a Democratic state senator said that Governor Chris Christie is looking into eliminating the Division of Fire Safety, which is responsible for enforcing the state fire code, education programs, and firefighter training. In a news release criticizing the plan, Senator Jim Whelan said the administration wants to divide the duties of the office across state government, though the discussions have not been made public. 

The governor’s office declined to comment, and referred questions to the Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the Division of Fire Safety. Hollie Gilroy, a spokeswoman for the department, did not dispute that such a move was under consideration, but said no decisions have been made.

“Reorganizations are always discussed, but those considerations are preliminary and no decisions have been made,” Gilroy said in an email. “As we consider increasing efficiencies and decreasing redundancies in government, the number one priority will always be the people the Department is charged with protecting and serving.”

Whelan called on the Christie administration to disclose more details about eliminating the office and to conduct the planning in public. “The Christie Administration needs to answer some questions about their proposal and any further discussions on it should be done in public,” Whelan said in a statement. 

Dominick Marino, president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of New Jersey, said he is concerned that discussions are taking place about disbanding an agency that is crucial to the public’s safety. In addition to investigating large fires or firefighter injuries, he said the division provides a centralized location for municipalities to contact the state.

“The Division of Fire Safety is a very valuable division for the fire services, for both paid and volunteer,” Marino said. “We all know what happens when you divide things in state government, they get lost in the shuffle and the fire service will be hurt by that.”

Whelan, a former mayor of Atlantic City, said it does not appear to him that eliminating the office will be getting rid of redundancies. “As a former mayor of an urban area, I can attest to the importance of coordinated firefighting and investigative efforts,” Whelan said. “The division often plays a crucial component in those areas. I will await to hear the administration’s response, but I fail to see the logic of this proposal.”

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As reported by nj.com, Ed Brannigan, the leader of the state’s second-largest police union, was elected national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police last Thursday. Brannigan knocked out the incumbent, David Hiller, of Michigan, by a vote of 1,577 to 1,365 at the union’s national conference in Salt Lake City. He will remain president of the state FOP.

As the number two officer for the largest law enforcement union in the country, he said his duties will include testifying before Congress and traveling from state to state to rally public workers as governments sidestep the collective bargaining process to cut into their pensions and health benefits. More than a dozen states including New Jersey took that route in an effort to close budget holes this year.

“All of a sudden we’re the bad guy. We weren’t the bad guy on 9/11,” Brannigan said. “It’s not our fault, it’s government mismanagement.”

During his two-year term, he said he will focus on bringing state and national unions together to present a united front across the country. New Jersey’s largest unions banded together to fight a bipartisan bill rolling back public workers’ benefits this year, but they were ultimately defeated.

Brannigan said unions face historically challenging times because of the political climate, and he’s preparing for a tough battle. “I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.

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As reported by nj.com, Camden officials are now working on plans to have the Camden County government take over the city’s police force. Camden County’s Board of Freeholders approved the concept last week. City officials had already signed on.

The parties have until September 30 to submit a detailed plan for review by the state’s Division of Local Government Services. If the merger happens, Camden would be the first New Jersey city covered by a county police department.

Union officials object to the merger. However, county officials hope a countywide force would offer better coverage and lower costs for taxpayers. So far, Camden is the only municipality to sign on. None of the suburbs have expressed much interest.

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As reported by nj.com, one of New Jersey’s largest police unions is returning to Atlantic City after nearly a year of protest. The New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association pulled events in January after the city laid off 60 police officers.

The New Jersey State PBA moved its main convention last March to the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut and held smaller meetings elsewhere. Since then, the city has been bringing officers back and last week filled the last of the positions cut by layoffs.

State PBA President Anthony Wieners says the group will have its awards dinner in November, a labor training seminar in February, and a mini-convention in March in Atlantic City. Monthly meetings will also return to Atlantic City.

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As reported by nj.com, the credit rating agency Fitch has lowered New Jersey’s general bonds, citing unfunded pension and employee benefit liabilities. The agency wrote that making an increased pension payment, which Governor Chris Christie has said he will do, will “conflict with other long term challenges, such as property tax relief, school funding, and infrastructure needs.”

“The state’s budget remains structurally imbalanced inclusive of unfunded pension contributions,” the agency said in the downgrade announcement. “Reserve balances are expected to remain narrow, offering limited flexibility to absorb unforeseen needs.” Fitch dropped the state’s rating from “AA” to “AA-.”

Christie said last week Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff and Chief of Staff Richard Bagger had traveled to New York to meet with some of the credit rating agencies and try to persuade them to increase the state’s rating in the wake of passage of pension and health benefit overhauls. “It was received very well by the agencies,” Christie said.

When the state’s rating was downgraded in February by Standard & Poor, Christie blamed Democrats in the Legislature for not passing the public employee benefit overhaul he had proposed. The package has since been passed, but in a different form then he initially proposed.

“The sky started to fall in today,” Christie said of the change in credit rating. He added, “You’ve already seen this morning what the Legislature’s inaction has cost the State of New Jersey.”

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As reported by nj.com, strapped by recession and plagued by rising violence, some New Jersey police departments are about to get a little help from Washington. The U.S. Department of Justice announced state municipalities will receive $6 million in federal grant money to bolster departments thinned by deep cuts to city budgets.

“This funding will help New Jersey police departments to fund special task forces to combat the violence that is plaguing our cities,” said U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who personally petitioned Attorney General Eric Holder for the grant money, citing Newark and Camden as the most in need. “I am so pleased that the Department of Justice has released these urgently needed funds which will help to ensure the safety of our citizens.”

Newark laid off 163 police officers last year in a citywide downsizing not seen since the 1970s. Camden lost half its police force when it laid off 168 officers. It has since hired back 75, but still has one of the highest crime rates in the nation.

How the money will be distributed has not been determined, but the decision will ultimately be up to Governor Chris Christie as well as a formula dictated by the Department of Justice.

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As reported by nj.com, a Superior Court judge challenging the increased payments judges must make under newly-enacted changes to public worker health and pension benefit plans will not be allowed to have his case directly sent to the New Jersey Supreme Court. In a two-paragraph order issued yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long said the state’s highest court will not relax the rules of court to allow Judge Paul DePascale to skip the trial and appellate levels.

DePascale, who sits in Hudson County, filed a complaint last month calling the health and benefit law enacted July 1 unconstitutional for judges, saying it cuts their salaries and threatens their judicial independence. The suit is the first legal challenge to the health and benefit law. Other state public employee unions are also vowing to sue. Assignment Judge Linda Feinberg in Mercer County is scheduled to hear the matter on September 16.

Depending on the course of action, the case could take years to move through the courts, including the Appellate Division. DePascale’s attorney said the Supreme Court has the discretion to hear a matter on an expedited basis. In her order, Justice Long said DePascale can ask the Supreme Court again to take up the case after Feinberg finishes with it.

The new law, to be phased in over seven years, will make judges’ pension contributions go from 3 percent to 12 percent of their annual salaries. DePascale’s pension deductions would jump by $14,849 by 2017, he said in court filings. In court papers, DePascale also said his health benefits contribution would more than double to $5,230.86. The increased financial contributions begin October 4.

Judicial salaries, set by law, range from $165,000 for Superior Court trial judges, including DePascale, to $192,795 for Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

Governor Chris Christie has said judges traditionally have paid the least amount of money into their pension program yet they receive some of the highest payouts. Case law allows judges in New Jersey to hear cases that affect them when there is no other court that has jurisdiction over the matter. The case has not gone to federal court because DePascale’s allegations involve the state-not federal-constitution.

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As reported by nj.com, when the New Jersey State Police’s first class of recruits in two years reports for training today, only five of 123 will be black, a striking failure in the division’s decade long effort to achieve greater diversity. Now, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”), which settled discrimination claims with the State Police in 2000 to force greater minority recruitment, says it will return to court to argue the state has given only lip service to the problem.

The NAACP’s vow of legal action reignites a contentious debate about why the State Police struggles to enlist new black troopers. While minorities like Hispanics have gained ground in the past 11 years, the percentage of black troopers has fallen from 8 percent to 6.4 percent, state figures show. With more than one-third of black troopers nearing retirement, their ranks are expected to thin to levels not seen since the division was under federal oversight for discriminatory hiring decades ago.

The new State Police class, selected more than a year ago, is more diverse than the current 2,768 troopers. It is 72.4 percent white, 17.9 percent Hispanic, 4.9 percent Asian, 4.1 percent African-American and 0.8 percent Native American. It’s 88 percent male and 12 percent female. But the class is still less diverse than the state, which is 68.6 percent white and 13.7 percent black.

The State Police has faced scrutiny on hiring minorities for decades. Before the NAACP lawsuit, the division was under watch by the U.S. Department of Justice from 1975 to 1992. Minorities now make up 17 percent of the force. 

The NAACP says the state is not trying hard enough. The Attorney General’s Office says the African-American community is not referring enough qualified recruits. The troopers union says the company that scores the written tests for recruits uses a secretive system that may exclude good black candidates. ‘We’re not getting enough African-Americans and we’re not getting the best candidates,” State Troopers Fraternal Association President David Jones said. “The system is a complete farce because it’s not fair to anyone.”

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As reported by nj.com, an appeals court ruled an indictment against a North Brunswick police officer charged with official misconduct in an accident that killed a fellow officer is legal and should stand. It was the second decision by the appellate judges that the indictment charging Lieutenant Keith Buckley with two counts of official misconduct should be upheld.

In the first decision several months ago, the judges overturned Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa’s dismissal of the indictment. DeVesa had found the indictment lacked clarity and would make it difficult for Buckley to defend himself. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office appealed DeVesa’s ruling last year. Buckley also appealed parts of DeVesa’s ruling. Buckley’s appeal was rejected in yesterday’s decision.

Buckley is charged in two indictments arising from the August 12, 2008 death of Lieutenant Christopher Zerby. The first indictment charges him with vehicular homicide after allegedly causing Zerby’s death. That indictment was upheld by DeVesa, but Buckley has filed an appeal that will be heard sometime this fall by appellate judges.

Authorities said Zerby was killed when Buckley lost control of a Dodge Viper on Route 130 in North Brunswick and struck a utility pole. Police said Buckley, who was commander of the patrol division and on duty, drove his police car to his brother’s house to pick up the Viper during the day. They said he stopped by police headquarters to pick up Zerby. Authorities said the car reached speeds in excess of 94 mph before the crash.

The official misconduct charges in the second indictment arise from the fact that Buckley and Zerby were on duty when Buckley took the Viper and violated state motor vehicle laws, as well as departmental rules and regulations.

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As reported by nj.com, Camden’s police director has resigned just one month after he was appointed to the $100,000-a-year position. Mayor Dana Redd said she had accepted “with much regret” the resignation of Lanuel J. Ferguson.

Camden’s City Council had refused to confirm Ferguson’s appointment. Council members said Redd hired him without their consent. They argued that his salary could be better used for hiring back patrol officers laid off by the cash-strapped city.

The 59-year-old Ferguson is a former high-ranking officer in the New Jersey State Police. Redd hired Ferguson primarily to represent the city’s interests in an ongoing effort to create a regional police force for Camden County. Police Chief Scott Thomson was to continue running the department’s day-to-day operations while Ferguson focused on finances and strategy.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey’s largest teachers union is declining to endorse the state’s two legislative leaders, the latest sign of a rift between public employee unions and Democrats who supported an overhaul of pension and health benefits.

On Saturday, the union’s political action committee announced its endorsement of 68 candidates for state Senate and Assembly-66 Democrats and two Republicans. Among the Democrats passed up, but not the only ones, were Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, who shepherded the contentious measure through the Legislature in June. No candidate who voted for the legislation, Democrat or Republican, won the union’s backing.

In 2007, the last time all 120 seats in the Legislature were at stake, the union endorsed 88 candidates, including Sweeney, Oliver, and many Republican incumbents. This year, the only two Republicans the union endorsed are challengers. In addition, to giving its backing, the union also gave $973,000 in political contributions in 2007.

“NJEA members make these endorsement decisions and they have made it clear that they will not endorse legislators who have impaired their right to collectively bargain and who have imposed thousands of dollars of additional costs on public employees,” the union president, Barbara Keshishian, said. “Our members refuse to give precious resources and their own time to campaign for legislators who hurt them and their families.”

The endorsement decision came just two days after the Communications Workers of America, the largest state workers union, also declined to endorse Sweeney, Oliver, and other lawmakers who approved the legislation. 

“The vote came to me as no surprise,” Sweeney said today. “But I am pleased to know that a majority of the union men and women wanted to support candidates with long-standing, far-reaching pro-labor agendas, only to hear their voices smothered by a minority with a short-term political agenda.”

Oliver had far less to say about the snubs. “I have no comment on it whatsoever,” she said. “The two organizations certainly have the ability to endorse who they want to endorse.”

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As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie says contract talks with New Jersey’s largest public worker union are continuing at a slow pace. Christie says the administration has offered proposals on wages and non-economic issues to the Communications Workers of America. However, he does not expect an agreement within the next two weeks.

The contract for 40,000 state CWA employees expired June 30. Hetty Rosenstein, the union’s state director, says the two sides have not met in several weeks and no meetings are scheduled. But, she says the two sides have not reached an impasse and bargaining will continue.

An agreement between Christie and the Legislature to overhaul public worker pensions and health benefits took those issues off the table. Three Democrat union members who approved the deal were denied AFL-CIO candidate endorsements last week.

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As reported by nj.com, East Windsor Township employees fighting to claim an extra paycheck from 2009 emerged victorious this week when an appellate court ruled that the township must pay them the additional wages. In a decision upholding an arbitrator’s ruling, the appellate court found that the seven members of the Teamsters Local Union 676-all non-uniformed police dispatchers and secretaries-were entitled to the extra paycheck that resulted from the calendar that year. Each employee will receive about $1,500 as a result of the ruling.

“We consider it a victory, but it’s a shame it had to go this far,” said Howard Wells, union president. “The arbitrator ruled in our favor, and the township decided to spend money to fight the decision. I don’t know why.  Sometimes people just get it in their gut and they just want to take it on.”

The union sought relief in the appellate court when a trial judge overturned an arbitrator’s ruling that the union members are entitled to the extra pay. The calendar configuration in 2009 created an extra pay period, meaning that township employees who are paid biweekly, received 27 instead of 26 checks. Toa void overpaying its salaried employees, the township opted to divide annual salaries by 27 and issue smaller paychecks than usual each week. 

The township notified its employees of the plan in late 2008. Local 676 objected, saying its members were hourly, not salaried employees, and are entitled to overtime pay. “We expect the township to pay our members their appropriate rate of pay for every day they work,” the union wrote.

When the township proceeded with its plan in 2009, the union filed a grievance that was heard by an arbitrator, who ruled in favor of the union in April 2010. The arbitrator ruled that the employees are hourly, not salaried employees and found that the township violated the union contract by reducing members’ weekly paychecks. 

A trial judge overturned that decision but the appellate court reinstated it, ruling that an arbitrator’s decision will stand as long as it is proven plausible based on the contract.

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As reported by nj.com, two of the most prominent Democrats in the state legislature-both labor leaders-lost the support of a major union coalition Thursday, spelling possible trouble for their November reelection fights. The statewide AFL-CIO, representing 30 unions of public and private-industry members, voted in the annual endorsement conference not to support Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Sen. Donald Norcross. Losing endorsement means those legislators would not likely receive campaign funds direct from AFL-CIO’s political fund and any campaign help from coordinated labor volunteers.

The move was seen as a success by public-sector unions, led by Communications Workers of America and AFSCME, who moved to pull support from legislators who voted against union interests in a recent fight over public pensions and benefits. With Sweeney as prime sponsor, Governor Christie signed a combined pensions and benefits bill on June 28. The bill only passed the Legislature after Democrats, 8 senators and 14 assembly members, sided with Republicans. Public workers now must pay more toward health care and pensions, and lost the right to collectively bargain health care terms until 2014. All Democrats who voted to support the bill were denied support Thursday, as was John Amodeo, a Republican Assemblyman and crane operator.

However, Thursday’s decision caused a split with private-sector union members, whose benefits were not affected by the legislation and who fought to lock endorsements for Democratic legislators who work in construction trades. Sweeney, a member of Ironworkers Local 399, and Norcross, member of a electricians’ union and outgoing head of the Southern-New Jersey Central Labor Council, are two of six current legislators who have risen through the ranks of building trades unions to political careers in the state legislature.

Rae Roeder, head of CWA Local 1033, urged the approximately 1,000 delegates to vote against the Senate President. Swiveling to look around the room to lock eyes with Sweeney, Roeder said, “I’m turning round to look at the person who stabbed us in the back.”

Hetty Rosenstein, CWA area director, said she preferred to view the day’s vote as a positive endorsement of every lawmaker who voted against the pensions and health changes. “It shows it makes a difference to us, what they do,” she said. “Collective bargaining is a red line.”

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey must create a new process for selecting sergeants in municipal and county police departments after reaching a settlement to revise a system the U.S. Department of Justice said discriminates against black and Hispanic applicants, federal officials announced Monday.

If the settlement is approved by a federal judge, the state will also be required to pay $1 million in back pay to black and Hispanic officers the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says were harmed by the promotion process. Those officers may also be given priority for the next openings for sergeants.

“Police officers, whose daily responsibilities include protecting the public and ensuring the safety of others, have the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of race or national origin on the job,” said Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will challenge discrimination in employment on the basis of race or national origin, whether that discrimination is intentional or the result of promotional practices that have discriminatory impact.”

A spokesman for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Peter Aseltine, pointed out that the state did not admit any liability in reaching a settlement. “We believe that a settlement was prudent to avoid costly litigation,” he said. 

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in January 2010 in U.S. District Court in Newark saying the written civil service test required for police officers to advance to sergeant was discriminatory. Federal officials argued the exam was not useful in finding the best candidates for the job and resulted in disqualifications for a disproportionate number of black and Hispanic applicants. When the lawsuit was filed last year, a Department of Justice spokesman said at least 120 municipal and county police departments in the state have used the discriminatory system from 2000 through 2008.

During that time period, 89 percent of white candidates who took the test passed, compared with 73 percent of African-American candidates and 77 percent of Hispanic candidates, the lawsuit says. If the settlement is approved, police departments would have to stop administering the current exam.

Aseltine said he did not know how many officers would be able to claim some of the $1 million, saying federal officials would administer the process. According to the settlement, the use of the written exam prevented at least 48 more black candidates and 20 more Hispanics from becoming sergeants.

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As reported by nj.com, overwhelmed by rising crime and massive police layoffs, the struggling city of Camden pledged Tuesday to be the first municipality to join a new county police force intended to be a model for other cash-strapped New Jersey cities and towns. The city, which has one of the highest crime rates in the nation, signed an agreement with county and state officials to draft plans for the new Camden County Police Department by Sept. 30. County officials are to coordinate the formation of the department, which will then require approval of the state Department of Community Affairs.

The regional force is likely to be the first of its kind in the state. Somerset and Morris counties are considering similar arrangements. Still, it is unclear if other Camden County communities will volunteer to sign on to the force-and how much police union officials will protest the inevitable layoffs to result-making its future uncertain.

Supporters of the regional approach to policing say consolidation will take pressure off local budgets by combining administrative and back-office tasks, and at the same time bolster purchasing power to get better prices on equipment.  

Under the plan, each municipality that joins the county force would dissolve its department. Because of federal labor law, only 49 percent of the officers in each town could be rehired to join the county force. Who would hire the balance of the officers, however, remains undecided.

Edward Brannigan, president of the state Fraternal Order of Police, was quick to denounce the plan, saying he feared officers hired by the county would be paid less and receive fewer benefits. He also said he was concerned that a countywide force would focus more on Camden, where the crime rate is far higher than in the suburbs. “It’s horrible,” Brannigan said. “The whole thing is horrible. This is nothing but union busting.”

The plan was not uniformly embaraced by law enforcement officials, however. The Camden County Prosecutor, Warren Faulk, said any efforts to consolidate the police force should focus on putting more police resources into the city. “The devil is in the details, and we are very interested to learn the details of the county’s plan,” he said. “The priority for the city of Camden needs to be putting more officers on the streets, and we would be receptive to any effort that achieves this end.”

Wayne Fisher, director of the Rutgers Police Institute, said the plan will live or die depending on how many communities participate, and how the cities and towns balance their services. The agreement will not be official until votes are taken by the Camden City Council on Aug. 9 and the county freeholder board on Aug. 16.

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As reported by Bob Braun on nj.com, within months after more than 160 of its police officers were laid off, Newark erupted into a spasm of violence, including the killing of a policeman and one day when 13 people were shot, one fatally. But did the layoffs lead to the violence? And what does the future hold for a densely urbanized state where police face cuts in local, state, and federal funding?

The answer is: no one really knows. But the future looks scary. And complicated. “There is no data linking crime rates with police layoffs because this has never happened before,” says Dennis Kenney, a professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and editor of Police Quarterly. Kenney, with a doctorate at Rutgers, believes police services will be “greatly eroded and degraded” because of cuts in public spending. “Even though no one can now prove a correlation between crime and police layoffs, it’s hard to argue that anything else could occur.”

Richard Weinblatt, a former New Jersey resident and national consultant on police issues, says police escaped cuts in the past. No politician, he says, “wanted to be seen as soft on crime.” But now, even cops are not immune. “No one seems interested in public safety issues-it’s just the economy, an obsession with how people are going to survive.”

The level of public discourse can be incendiary. Consider the warnings from State Senate President Stephen Sweeney who said people would “die” because of cuts to services, including police, in Governor Chris Christie’s budget. Christie has called pay and benefits to police in New Jersey “obscene.” All that erodes support for police-and all agencies that rely on tax dollars.

According to Braun, Kenney and others are right. The historical data does not exist to show laying off police officers leads to increased crime. But, the logic is also inescapable. “It certainly would be beneficial to get the cops we lost back,” says Samuel DeMaio, Newark’s acting police director.

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage managed to hire three of those laid off cops; he freed up funds by persuading senior officers to retire. But it was a trade-off he said, “You can learn only so much from the academy, learning the streets means working with veterans.”

Moreover, he’s not optimistic. Caps on spending, loss of state aid will catch up to the city. “We need visible police presence-the guns, the drugs, and the gangs are not going away.”

To read Braun's full article, click on the nj.com link above.

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