EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ’ S REPORT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ’ S REPORT
MITCHELL C . SKLAR
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine — Today and Yesterday
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2024
Each month I go through the NJSACOP archives to write the “ From the Archives ” feature of our New Jersey Police Chief Magazine . These items , taken from our meeting minutes and other sources , extend as far back as our first meeting . I hope you agree they provide a fascinating insight into not only your organization ’ s history , but also the history of our state , nation , and the policing profession .
Going through this exercise , I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the evolution of the NJ Police Chief magazine itself . Our monthly publication does not go back quite as far as our monthly meeting minutes , so I thought I would begin with the March 1999 edition . Full disclosure : I chose this particular edition not only because it , like the magazine you are reading now , was published in the month of March , but because it contained this little note from the President : “ The Executive Board will be interviewing candidates for the Executive Director ’ s position on Monday , March 29th at the West Windsor Police Department . We sent out 11 invitations for the position , of which 10 have responded back to us .” As you might have guessed , I was fortunate enough to be one of the 11 invited to that interview , and nearly 25 years later , I have the honor to write this column each month .
The first thing to note about that March 1999 edition is that , rather than a magazine , the NJ Police Chief was in fact a newsletter . Longtime members will recall that familiar blue mailer that arrived ( US Postal Service permitting ) sometime around the first of the month . Believe it or not , at that time the newsletter was still copied in the State Office , stapled , folded , stamped and mailed out , all by hand in the Office .
Looking at the content of that March 1999 newsletter , a few interesting things stand out : specifically a notation about a recent court decision and an announcement about an upcoming State Chiefs Meeting . The note about the state Supreme Court decision ( State v . Widmaier ), indicated that the Court unanimously held that “ anything short of an unconditional , unequivocal assent to an officer ’ s request to take a breathalyzer test is a refusal .” The newsletter also informed the membership that the
NJ Press Association has been invited to appear before the membership at an upcoming meeting . They want to discuss open access to records and the release of information .
A sign of things to come ….
A year later , the March 2000 NJ Police Chief newsletter informed the membership that the Association was working on constructing our own internet homepage .
By March 2002 the newsletter had grown to 24 pages and was printed and mailed offsite . That edition included a notice that on the 27th of the month New Jersey would become the first state in the nation to honor fallen law enforcement officers with a Law Enforcement Memorial license plate .
Starting with the September 2006 edition , the Association finally said goodbye to the old blue newsletter . The New Jersey Police Chief was now truly a magazine — printed in full color , with a wide range of articles , notices , ads , and promotions for the Association ’ s various programs and services . The March 2009 edition notified the membership that the current issue of the New Jersey Police Chief Magazine was in fact to be the final edition — of the printed version , that is . As my March 2009 “ Executive Director ’ s Report ” put it
It is often not easy to keep pace with all the advances and changes in technology that are having an impact on every industry and profession . As law enforcement professionals , our members are keenly aware of the incredible changes that these advances have brought to the world of police work .
Like the police management sector , technology has changed the association management world as well . In recent years the NJSACOP has significantly upgraded our internet presence … And now technology is allowing us to keep pace with the most advanced operations in the association world .
Now many years into publishing the New Jersey Police Chief Magazine as an online journal , the publication is more dynamic , interactive , and immediate than any traditionally printed publication could ever be . Of course , if you are reading this , you are already taking advantage of all that the magazine has to offer . We encourage all our members and stakeholders to do so each and every month . To quote , well , myself , from that final printed edition of our Magazine , our monthly online periodical “ is in keeping with our tradition of being at the forefront of professional law enforcement — and association — management .”
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