Dedicated to Corrections Officers, Policemen, & Firemen throughout the Garden State
As reported by nj.com, four years after a State Police union leader, David Jones, tangled with radio talk show host Craig Carton, the sizzle has long gone out of the feud. Yet, the labor dispute it spawned lives on.
Jones faced a five-day suspension for bringing personal information about Carton to a news conference …
As reported by nj.com, crime in Camden is on the rise following deep cuts to the police force earlier this year. An analysis of crime data by The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill finds violent crime was up 13 percent from January 1 through June 20 compared with the same period a year ago.
The …
As reported by nj.com, labor leaders in New Jersey, still licking their wounds after losing a fight over pension and health benefits in the Democratic Legislature last month, are being told a new anti-union bill does not stand a chance.
The leader of the state Assembly told The Associated Press that New Jersey …
As reported by nj.com, Attorney General Paula Dow, flanked by county prosecutors and state officials, formally unveiled a group of reforms designed to eliminate the abuse of anabolic steroids in New Jersey’s law enforcement ranks.
The measures, recommended by a panel Dow formed in December, pave the way for police departments to randomly test officers for steroids, increase safeguards in taxpayer-funded prescription drug plans, and heighten scrutiny of physicans who improperly prescribe steroids and human growth hormone. The reforms follow a series of Star-ledger reports about the use of steroids in law enforcement. The newspaper found at least 248 officers and firefighters obtained the substances from an unscrupulous Jersey City physician, Joseph Colao. In most cases, they used their government benefits to pay for drugs that ran as much as $1,100 a month. Taxpayers picked up the bill, which amounted to millions of dollars.
“The investigative series done by The Newark Star-Ledger highlighted the damage that can be done when a doctor’s actions go unchecked and individuals become aware of the opportunity to obtain medications they may not be entitled to,” Dow said at a press conference in Hamilton. “The cost is borne not just by taxpayers, but in the erosion of faith people have in those who protect and serve. This is unacceptable.”
Among the initiatives, state guidelines on drug-testing will be rewritten to explicitly authorize departments to randomly test their officers for steroids. The guidelines will also allow chiefs or prosecutors to test officers if they have a “reasonable suspicion” of steroid use or as a condition of fitness-for-duty evaluations.
Other measures include:
· Any officer who tests positive will be required to provide a note from a physician confirming that the use of steroids or human growth hormone is for a legitimate medical condition and that the officer is fit for duty.
· Departments are encouraged to require officers to self-report prescriptions for anabolic steroids and human growth hormone based on the authority to determine fitness for duty.
. Dow will recommend prescriptions for steroids or growth hormone be filled largely by mail order through Medco, the state’s pharmacy benefits manager. The provision is meant to help Medco spot potential abuses.Continue Reading NJ Attorney General Unveils Reforms To Stop Steroid Abuse By Law Enforcement Officers
As reported by nj.com, two days after a tirade by Senate President Stephen Sweeney against Governor Chris Christie was published on the front page of The Star-Ledger, Sweeney refused to walk back his comments. “Could I have gone over the top with my language? Probably, I did,” said Sweeney. “But I don’t apologize for it. The governor …
As reported by nj.com, state law enforcement authorities are mounting a coordinated response to rising gang activity in cities and suburbs, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Gang violence in the state has become “more widespread, more violent and more sophisticated” in recent years, Fishman told about 400 law enforcement agents at the …
As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie signed into law controversial legislation that will force public employees to pay more for their pension and health insurance. Christie, who signed the bill flanked by a bipartisan cast of mayors, said passage of the bill is his biggest legislative victory since taking office.
“It is an …
As reported by nj.com, a contentious bill raising pension and health benefits costs for more than half-million New Jersey government workers goes back to the state Senate one more time on Monday for a formality vote.
A provision in the main bill allowing health plans that restrict out-of-state care will be removed. The provision …
As reported by nj.com, New Jersey lawmakers voted to enact a sweeping plan to cut public worker benefits after a long day of high-pitched political drama in the streets of Trenton and behind closed doors. Union members chanted outside the Statehouse and in the Assembly balcony, and dissident Democrats tried to stall with …
As reported by nj.com, New Jersey’s battle over benefits could hit a fever pitch today. Thousands of public workers are expected to stage what leaders vow will be their biggest Statehouse protest yet over a controversial bill to force them to pay more for health insurance and pensions. The bill is up for final passage …
