Bill Text: NJ A3660 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires certain law enforcement officers to present identification while on-duty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A3660 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A3660-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DiMaio
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain law enforcement officers to present identification while on-duty.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning identification of certain law enforcement officers and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each law enforcement officer in this State shall provide sufficient identification while acting in the performance of the officer's official duties including, but not limited to, the duties performed during a motor vehicle stop.
b. For the purposes of this section, an officer shall be deemed to have provided sufficient identification if the officer satisfies two or more of the following conditions:
(1) the officer is dressed in a department-issued uniform bearing the agency insignia;
(2) the officer presents a department-issued identification card bearing the officer's photograph and identifying information;
(3) the officer presents a badge, tag, or label which identifies the officer by number or other department-issued identification; or
(4) the officer operates a vehicle to which the official agency insignia is permanently affixed and is clearly visible from a distance of 50 feet.
c. This section shall not apply when the release of sufficient identification could jeopardize the safety of the law enforcement officer or the integrity of an authorized investigation.
d. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a law enforcement officer in plain clothes or operating an unmarked vehicle from intervening in urgent matters of public safety.
e. The Attorney General may promulgate regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires certain law enforcement officers to provide sufficient identification while performing their official duties.
Under current law, there is no requirement that law enforcement officers show identification or otherwise exhibit signs of their status. As such, members of the community may not have the ability to verify the official status of a law enforcement officer. It is the sponsor's belief that the provisions of the bill, requiring law enforcement officers to present sufficient identification, are necessary to maintain the safety and integrity of routine law enforcement interactions.
Under the bill, each law enforcement officer acting in the performance of the officer's official duties, including the duties performed during a motor vehicle stop, is required to show sufficient identification. The bill provides that an officer will be deemed to have provided sufficient identification if the officer complies with two or more of the following conditions: the officer is dressed in a department-issued uniform bearing the agency insignia; the officer presents a department-issued identification card bearing the officer's photograph and identifying information; the officer presents a badge, tag, or label which identifies the officer by number or other department-issued identification; or the officer operates a vehicle to which the official agency insignia is permanently affixed and is clearly visible from a distance of 50 feet.
Pursuant to the bill, these provisions would not apply when the release of sufficient identification could jeopardize the safety of the law enforcement officer or the integrity of an authorized investigation, and would not be construed to prevent a law enforcement officer in plain clothes or operating an unmarked vehicle from intervening in urgent matters of public safety.
