www.njcopsmagazine.com ■ FEBRUARY 2015
She notes initiatives in support of
AARP including hospital safety, environ,
mental preservation and criminal justice,
as
other
areas
of
legislative
concentration. And she has led passage
of several bills related to school safety,
including one increasing the scrutiny of
school bus drivers’ records prior to being
hired.
Greenstein’s newest frontier is chairing
the Law and Public Safety Committee, her
first chair in the Senate. She says she will
draw on her experience chairing the
Assembly Judiciary Committee and is excited to work on issues and improvements
related to police and fire, prisons and prisoners, juvenile justice, Megan’s Law and
homeland security, among others.
She says she will use a little shuttle
diplomacy when necessary, and she suspects her unconditional belief in law
enforcement officers – “We have to start
from the perspective that the police officer
is right,” she submits – will be a valued
asset. She is proud of her brother-in-law,
who recently retired as a Port Authority
Sergeant after serving for 34 years.
If one of Senator Greenstein’s first
actions as committee chair is an indication, then law enforcement officers can
expect good things. In her first meeting,
the controversial topic of officers wearing
body cameras came to the forefront. She
spearheaded an effort that led to passing
State Senator Linda Greenstein takes a few questions...
If you could make one improvement to the legislative structure or process, what would
it be?
I have a tendency to want to get things done yesterday, so sometimes I feel impatient with
the pace of the legislative process. But I also realize that we are a deliberative body and
shouldn’t rush into making major changes without considering the ramifications.
What are your thoughts about the increased scrutiny on police officers and the
incidents it has caused?
One of the problems is that we citizens only know what we read in the newspapers or see
on television. We really don’t know all the facts. I would start from the premise that,
generally, police officers are good and are trying to do the right thing. They have to make
split-second decisions and it’s very hard for the public to realize what it’s like. We should start
from the point of view that we believe in and support police.
What’s your take on the new PBA leadership?
I am so impressed with them. I think (President) Pat Colligan is a great guy, and I look forward
to working with him, Vice-President (Marc) Kovar and Rob Nixon. I can’t emphasize enough
how much I think these leaders and the police officers out there are doing a great job.
Is there a hot issue for law enforcement?
I am sponsoring a bill to ensure that law enforcement officers and firefighters receive proper
medical care and compensation for conditions resulting from their actions in the line of duty,
particularly those that may not manifest until long after the event. We need to look at
changing the presumption of worker’s comp coverage and shift the burden of proof from
employee to employer.
a bill through her Committee to do a
study of the subject before taking any
action.
“There are a lot of important issues
that I believe we can work on with community leaders and police law enforce-
ment leaders,” Senator Greenstein asserted. “If we need to work on them on a
case-by-case basis, we will, and anything
we can do in my committee to advance
and support law and public safety, we
will.” d
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