ASSEMBLY, No. 2341

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

215th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 6, 2012

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  GORDON M. JOHNSON

District 37 (Bergen)

 

 

 

 

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 (C.30:1B-6).

 

     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)   institutional safety;

     (2)   gang management and intelligence;

     (3)   riot control;

     (4)   contraband interdiction; and

     (5)   counter-terrorism issues.

     c.     Twenty-four hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall be dedicated to topics determined by the training department of each State correctional facility.

     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 these 40 hours must include safety training in institutional safety, gang management and intelligence, riot control, contraband interdiction, and counter-terrorism issues.  The remaining twenty-four hours would be on topics decided by the training department of the individual correctional facilities.

     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.