Know justice, know peace
The country is boiling over with calls for reforms and repairs. Justice for many means accountability.
Police brutality is in the spotlight because of high-profile deaths, but is more pervasive than just the tragedies that get national attention.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal took a bold first step toward addressing one of the many questions around accountability which is transparency.
His recent directive was designed to put out the names of all officers who have been fired or faced major disciplinary action at any department in New Jersey.
Publishing this information is clearly in line with The Trentonian’s values of open government and transparency, so we applaud this effort as a beginning to what could be sweeping reforms in the state of New Jersey
to build trust between communities and their police.
More transparency will allow for communities to know the difference between the “bad apples” and the majority of cops in New Jersey who do their jobs with honor and integrity. Community visibility will help departments get rid of those “bad apples,” leaving departments with officers people can trust.
There are more steps involved to create trust, but this will help build a better structure.
“For decades, New Jersey has not disclosed the identities of law enforcement officers who commit serious disciplinary violations,” said Attorney General Grewal in a recent press release announcing the program. “Today, we end the practice of protecting the few to the detriment of the many. Today, we recommit ourselves to building a culture of transparency and accountability in law enforcement.” “We cannot build trust with the public unless we’re candid about the shortcomings of our own officers,” Colonel Pat Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in the same statement. “By releasing the names of State Troopers who committed serious disciplinary violations, we are continuing the long, hard work of earning and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve.”
Almost immediately there was pushback from police unions around the state. They claim that the policy is overreaching and will create danger for officers who may face retribution from the community. The claim they make, in part, says that the lists will lump together officers who commit banal infractions like uniform violations with actual bad actors who face discipline for criminal behavior.
The information being released will include a synopsis of why the officers faced discipline, the severity of the suspension, and if they are still employed.
The unions are basically saying that they don’t believe the general public is smart enough to distinguish between banal infractions that accumulate and require suspensions and the brutality and criminal behavior that is giving all cops a bad name.
It’s been said many times, but the good cops should want to push out the bad cops, and the discomfort of change shouldn’t prevent them from supporting measures like this.
Unions for too long have fought to protect all officers, which seems noble, but in reality hurts their own best interest. The union leaders and rankand-file officers should be just as eager to get rid of cops who cross the line as are the various groups calling for police reform.
Dumping the trash would make communities feel safer. Building true community with the departments and the people they serve and protect would make it safer for both the officers and the citizens. Trust can’t be built when the “blue wall of silence” protects the bad cops who abuse their power. When citizens know that the good cops are more interested in protecting everyone’s rights and not just the rights of bad cops to overstep their bounds, more communities will feel safe helping police get rid of criminals as well.
Communities who fear the police are more likely to just accept crime around them than to call the police when they don’t know which ones they can trust.
Trust can only be built with accountability. Accountability can only happen with real transparency.