Policy Critique: New Jersey Use of Force Policy
According to the Division of Criminal Justice
(2001) the police officers in New Jersey are permitted the authority to apply
force or aggression in the pursuit of law and order in their areas of
jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the use of such force is based on the officers’ understanding
and compliance to the established laws of New Jersey on how force should be
applied. As a consequence of this, the police commission in New Jersey is
tasked with the responsibility of making sure that all their officers are
adequately trained and prepared for crime scenes in which use of force is
inevitable. In the event that the police officers in New Jersey have no other
option but to use force in deterring crime, it is advised that they do it with
as much caution and restraint as they possibly can. The use of force should be
avoided as much as possible and only resorted to when there is no other option;
the police officers should also possess enough aptitude to gauge the level of
force that is necessary in different circumstances.
There are strengths and
weaknesses of this policy. The most obvious weakness is the fact that at times,
the police officers may use force illegally. Some officers may opt to use force
in order to pursue personal interests. In such cases, they are perceived as
breaking the law and losing their professionalism, and can be charged in a
court of law. The police officers in New Jersey are thus expected to be each
other’s keepers and ensure that their colleagues do not apply force illegally. It
has also been arguing that allowing the police officers to be armed or use
force in their line of duty is ineffective in managing the main issues
underlying high rates of crime in many modern societies. In addition to this,
the use of force by armed officers may cause harm to innocent civilians
suspected of being criminals. An advantage of this force policy is that it is
very effective in deterring crime. In addition to this, by using force and
being armed, the police officers are allowed to protect themselves from the
dangers they are exposed to daily in their line of duty. More over, the public
feels more protected when they know that their officers are well armed and can
forcefully counter any attacks from criminals if necessary (Division of Criminal Justice, 2001).
According to Corzine and Milgram (2008) the use less-lethal cartridge by
the New Jersey police force is part of the use state’s of force policy. The
governor and attorney general of New Jersey State, on the 19th of
March 2008 a new guiding principle was endorsed to direct the police
department’s utilization of the less-lethal impact bullets when handling
suspected criminals. According to N.J.S.A. 2C:3-11(f) less lethal ammunition
describes the projectiles made available to police officers by the attorney
general’s office in New jersey to be used in making a suspect temporarily
unconscious or causing them uneasiness or ache for some time so as to prevent
their criminal activities and apprehend them. The main point is that the
projectiles should not enter the suspect’s body. This policy is only applicable when directed
to persons as indicated in N.J.S.A. 2C:3-11(f); it is also specific to
ammunitions and not any other form of less lethal force. Regardless of the less
lethal projectiles being designed in a manner which does not allow them to go
into the body of targeted victims, they still have a propensity to cause death
or grave injury to the victim depending on the victims locomotion during the
confrontation or failings in their physical health which weaken and make the
more susceptible to death from the impact of less lethal ammunition.
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (2010) asserts
that there are certain characteristics that the less-lethal projectiles should
portray for them to be utilized; firstly, they musty be designed in a manner
that allows them to target one suspect at a time and from a specified range of
deployment. New Jersey State accepts the projectiles that are manufactured to
be deployed from a 37-40mm rifled bore system, a 12 gauge shotgun or a paintball
device with a bore diameter of .68-.691 inch fraction. There are several
projectiles that are acceptable in the state. Under the Defense technology
Corporation, permitted40mm Direct Impact OC and sponge rounds 40mm XM 1006.
There are other less lethal ammunitions which are described under the
categories of combined tactical systems; A. L. S. incorporated technologies and
Lightfield less lethal research. There are several laid down guidelines on when
an armed officer in New Jersey may or may not utilize the less lethal
projectiles. The situations which warrant such usage include when an armed
suspected or one suspected to be in possession of a deadly weapons in
uncooperative and refuses to disarm. An officer may also use the projectiles on
an individual with self-destructive mannerisms so as to avoid their taking
their own lives or causing themselves injury.
According to Division of Criminal Justice (2001), there are some situations in which the use of less lethal
ammunition is unwarranted. A police officer, for example, is not allowed to use
the projectiles in stopping the flight of a suspected criminal unless it is
evident that the suspect has intentions of causing injury or death to the
officer or innocent civilians. In addition to this, the less lethal weapons are
not fashioned to be used in the control or management of a large number of
people unless it is necessary to stop the target suspect from causing grave
harm to the officer or others. The utilization of these weapons is also
prohibited in stopping an individual from destructing property; it should also
be noted that the less lethal projectiles should not be deployed on a target
that is inside any form of building. The use of this kind of ammunition in real
police operations is only allowed if the officer has a written warrant signed
by the chief executive officer of the relevant department. Not every police
officer has the authority to use the less lethal projectiles; the officers
allowed to do this must have undergone training supervised by the Police
Training Commission to make sure that they have the required skills to utilize
the less lethal ammunition. In this course the officers are coached on the body
parts they should aim at so as to lessen the chances of suspects’ death of
grievous harm. After every half a year these officers are expected to attend
refresher courses on the same.
Corzine and Milgram (2008) state that after a suspected
criminal has had less lethal ammunition deployed on them, immediately after
their incapacitation they should be ferried to a medical center for the health
practitioners to conduct a health examination to ascertain whether they have
any serious damages to their physiques which may require therapeutic
management. The officer who deployed the ammunition is also expected to fill
any necessary forms and report on the incident and why it required the use of
less lethal ammunition and if the use of the weapons was effective in deterring
crime. There are several factors that prompted the office of the attorney
general in New Jersey to come up with this policy. Firstly, the policy is
expected to enable the police officers to determine the level of aggression
that is required in different circumstances and crime scenes so as to avoid
either injuring the suspected criminals or putting their own lives at risk.
According to the laws of New Jersey, lethal force can only be perpetrated by a
police officer when they are convinced that it is necessary to do so, so as to
avoid impending loss of life or grave bodily harm to themselves or innocent
civilians. There are two major strengths of this policy; first is the fact that
it allows the police officers to defend and protect themselves when confronted
by violent or armed criminals. In addition to this, the use of less lethal
bullets or projectiles allows the armed officers an alternative to the
utilization of lethal weapons or deadly force when handling criminals or
suspected criminals.
Conclusively, the policy of using force in the state of New
Jersey has both advantages and disadvantages. Despite the fact that the utilization
of less lethal ammunition has lessened the weaknesses of the policy, police
officers still need to exercise caution whenever the need to utilize force in
maintenance of law and order arises.
References
Corzine, J. S. and Milgram, A.(2008):
‘Supplementary Policy on Less than Lethal Ammunition’
Division of Criminal Justice (2001): ‘Use of
Force: Attorney General's
Use of Force Policy’
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (2010): ‘Attorney General’s
Approved List of less-
Lethal Ammunition’ New Jersey department of Law and Public
Safety
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