www.njcopsmagazine.com
know, police departments don’t need the legislature to institute a body camera procedure as it stands now. The use of the
cameras will certainly be a growing issue in 2015.
We will also be looking at fighting for officer rights in 2015.
We will continue to expose the hidden, and not-so-hidden,
world of ticket quotas some departments are deploying. Legislation has been introduced already to eliminate the use of
tickets and summonses than a measuring stick for officer
“performance” that can lead to discipline.
Legislation is also moving to treat assaults on sheriffs and
corrections officers because of their status as law
enforcement officers as an aggravated assault. A loophole in
the law stipulates that an attack on a sheriff or corrections
officer not acting in the line of duty is treated less harshly as
an attack on a local law enforcement officer. Legislation promoted by the State PBA will upgrade that penalty so everyone
in uniform is protected equally.
The State PBA is also taking the lead on legislation to prevent an employer from dismissing as “unfit for duty” officers
injured in the line of duty who are awaiting their retirement
from the PFRS Board if light duty, sick leave or workers comp
is available.
Finally, 2015 should be a year full of political stories. Most
importantly, everyone will be carefully watching whether
Gov. Christie throws his hat into the ring to run for U.S. President. Running for President takes a tremendous amount of
effort – putting together staff and consultants, getting organizations built in key primary states, building and delivering a
message and, most importantly, raising the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to run effectively.
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Few doubt Christie won’t be a candidate. The unanswered
questions are when does he announce, and does he remain
governor in 2015 while he runs. The running political wisdom
is that he doesn’t step down and stays in office into 2016, both
to continue to control his “narrative” as an active governor,
and to protect himself should he flame out early in the vetting
process and find himself out of the running and therefore out
of power at home. Remember, his term as governor runs until
January 2018, and he is under no pressure to give away his
position. It will be a major national story regardless, but certainly one that PBA members should watch closely for all its
nuisances.
This year will also climax with a General Assembly election
that should be a snooze for voters, but one that PBA members
can make a major impact on across the state. This will come
months after the establishment of the new State PBA Political
Action Committee (PAC). The new PAC will immediately
launch the State PBA as one of the largest PACs in the state,
and it has the potential to alter our abilities inside the political
landscape.
But it also comes hand-in-hand with the PBA pulling
together politically well before November 2015. Money
without manpower is like thunder without lightning. It may
make noise but it won’t do any damage. In the end, all the
things we will be addressing, large and small, require us to
be in a position with the governor and legislature to literally
put our money where our mouth is. So in many ways, political success in 2015 is as much in our hands as it has ever
been. d