SENATE, No. 1536

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 27, 2014

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JEFF VAN DREW

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires 40 hours annual in-service training for State corrections officers.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

An Act requiring in-service training for State corrections officers and supplementing P.L.1976, c.98.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.  a.  In addition to the duties of the commissioner set forth in section 6 of P.L.1976, c.98 (C.30:1B-6), the commissioner shall institute a mandatory annual in-service training program of at least 40 hours for each State corrections officer.

     b.  Sixteen hours of the mandatory 40 hours of training required by subsection a. of this section shall include safety training in:

     (1) gang management and intelligence;

     (2) riot control;

     (3) contraband interdiction; and

     (4) counter-terrorism issues.

     c.  Twenty-four hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall be dedicated to topics chosen by the training department of each State correctional facility from a list of approved courses developed by the commissioner.

     d.  The training required in subsection a. of this section shall be in addition to firearms qualification training and use-of force training.

 

     2.  This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but the commissioner may take such anticipatory action prior to the effective date as needed to effectuate the act's provisions.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill would require the Commissioner of Corrections to institute a mandatory annual in-service training program of at least 40 hours for each State corrections officer.  Sixteen of the 40 hours must include safety training in gang management and intelligence, riot control, contraband interdiction, and counter-terrorism issues. The remaining twenty-four hours would be on topics chosen by the training department of each State correctional facility from a list of approved courses developed by the commissioner.  The training required by the bill would be in addition to firearms qualification training and use-of force training which corrections officers currently receive.

     The sponsor notes that the American Correctional Association recommends that corrections officers receive a minimum of 40 hours annual in-service training.

     This bill implements recommendation 1 of the Assembly Prison Gang Violence Task Force which issued its final report on December 12, 2006.