Bill Text: NJ A870 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Director of Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in DHS to evaluate and report on interactions occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-12-10 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [A870 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A870-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Director of Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in DHS to evaluate and report on interactions occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring the Director of the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Department of Human Services to evaluate and report on the nature of interactions occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Within six months after the enactment of this act, the Director of the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Department of Human Services shall evaluate and report on the approach that is used by law enforcement when interacting with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
b. The evaluation conducted pursuant to this section shall include a review of:
(1) the existing laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, practices, and protocols that govern interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including, but not limited to, the laws, rules, regulations, practices, policies, procedures, and protocols that are used by law enforcement officers, in their street-level interactions with citizens and offenders, to identify and appropriately communicate with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; and the laws, rules, regulations, practices, policies, procedures, and protocols that are used by law enforcement officers when questioning, apprehending, taking into custody, or incarcerating individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(2) the nature and extent of training in sign language that is available to, or mandated for, law enforcement officers in the State;
(3) the nature and extent of training in de-escalation and crisis management that is available to, or mandated for, law enforcement in the State, particularly in regard to the de-escalation of situations involving individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(4) the availability and responsiveness of qualified interpreters in law enforcement agencies and offices, and in the field;
(5) the treatment received by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing while in the custody of law enforcement;
(6) the nature, extent, and manner of resolution of any civil, criminal, or administrative complaints that have been filed by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or by their family members on their behalf, in relation to the individuals' interactions with law enforcement; and
(7) any other subject matters or data that may be deemed by the director to be relevant.
c. When conducting the evaluation pursuant to this section, the director may consult with, and request appropriate data and information from, the Department of Law and Public Safety, any division thereof, and any State or local law enforcement agency or office, as may be deemed to be necessary. The Department of Law and Public Safety, each division thereof, and each State or local law enforcement agency or office shall promptly provide any data or information requested by the director for the purposes of this section.
d. (1) Upon completion of the evaluation pursuant to this section, the director shall prepare a written report that: (a) describes the current nature of interactions occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; (b) identifies existing laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, practices, and protocols that govern interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; (c) highlights specific areas where interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can or should be improved; and (d) provides recommendations for executive, legislative, or administrative actions to be undertaken, or for policies, procedures, practices, or protocols to be implemented, by the Governor, by the Legislature, by the Department of Law and Public Safety, and by individual law enforcement agencies and offices throughout the State, as may be necessary to improve law enforcement officers' responsiveness to, ability to communicate with, and overall treatment of, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
(2) The report prepared pursuant to this subsection shall be: (a) submitted to the Governor and, pursuant to P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature; (b) distributed to the Department of Law and Public Safety, and to every law enforcement agency or office in the State; and (c) published on the Internet website of the Department of Human Services.
2. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire on the 30th day following the distribution and publication of the report required by subsection d. of section 1 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Director of the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Department of Human Services, within six months after the bill's enactment, to evaluate and report on the interactions that are occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The evaluation would include a review of: 1) the existing laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, practices, and protocols that govern interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; 2) the nature and extent of training in sign language that is available to, or mandated for, law enforcement officers in the State; 3) the nature and extent of training in de-escalation and crisis management that is available to, or mandated for, law enforcement in the State, particularly in regard to the de-escalation of situations involving individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; 4) the availability and responsiveness of qualified interpreters in law enforcement agencies and offices, and in the field; 5) the treatment received by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing while in the custody of law enforcement; 6) the nature, extent, and manner of resolution of any civil, criminal, or administrative complaints that have been filed by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or by their family members on their behalf, in relation to the individuals' interactions with law enforcement; and 7) any other subject matters or data that may be deemed by the director to be relevant.
The bill would authorize the director, when conducting the evaluation, to consult with, and request appropriate data and information from, the Department of Law and Public Safety, any division thereof, or any State or local law enforcement agency or office, as may be deemed to be necessary.
Upon completion of the evaluation, the director will be required to prepare a written report that: 1) describes the current nature of interactions occurring between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; 2) identifies existing laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, practices, and protocols that govern interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; 3) highlights specific areas where interactions between law enforcement and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can or should be improved; and 4) provides recommendations for executive, legislative, and administrative actions to be undertaken, or for policies, procedures, practices, or protocols to be implemented, by the Governor, by the Legislature, by the Department of Law and Public Safety, and by individual law enforcement agencies and offices throughout the State, as may be necessary to improve law enforcement officers' responsiveness to, ability to communicate with, and overall treatment of, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The report would be submitted to the Governor and Legislature, distributed to the Department of Law and Public Safety and every law enforcement agency or office in the State, and published on the Internet website of the Department of Human Services.
The bill would expire 30 days after the distribution and publication of the report.
