THE NJSACOP WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS
June 2026
POLICE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS IN NEW JERSEY: A RISK MANAGEMENT IMPERATIVE IN THE ERA OF POLICE LICENSURE
Don Pavlak, E. Ds, Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice
A police department that cannot meaningfully evaluate performance is not managing people. It is managing risk blindly. New Jersey policing has changed in a fundamental way. State law now requires a valid, active law enforcement license for employment as a law enforcement officer, reflecting a broader move toward treating policing as a regulated profession rather than simply a local employment function.
That change raises an important question for police leaders and policymakers. If New Jersey now licenses police officers as professionals, should law enforcement agencies also be expected to maintain comprehensive, defensible performance evaluation systems? From a professional standards and risk management perspective, the answer is yes: comprehensive performance evaluations are necessary in New Jersey policing. Licensure establishes an entry and renewal framework, but it does not create a day-to-day management system capable of identifying weak performance, documenting deficiencies, directing remediation, and addressing officers who repeatedly fail to meet acceptable standards.
Police performance evaluations should be viewed first as a risk management tool. They are not simply administrative paperwork, nor should they be reduced to a once-a-year form that produces inflated ratings and vague praise. A meaningful evaluation system allows an agency to identify weak performance early, document it fairly, connect it to training, and intervene before poor performance grows into citizen harm, civil liability, disciplinary exposure, or licensure concerns. Gordon Graham’ s familiar risk management warning,“ Predictable is preventable,” captures the point well. If patterns of poor judgment, avoidable escalation, weak report writing, repeated policy violations, or chronic failure to perform core duties are visible, then they are risks that should be managed before they become crises.
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NJSACOP 2026 STATE CHIEFS BRIEFINGS
January 8 th February 5th March 5th April 2nd May 7th June 4th September 3rd October 1st November 5th
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THE NJSACOP WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS
ACTIVE MEMBERS
Chief Michael Carrino, Lyndhurst PD; Chief Daniel Finkle, Newton PD; Chief Marc Metzinger, Bergen County Sheriff’ s Office; Chief Anthony Rodriguez, Pompton Lakes PD; Chief Stanley Titterington, Harrison PD; Chief Michael Trover, Glen Rock PD
PROVISIONAL MEMBERS
A / Chief James Ryan, South Brunswick PD
New Jersey Police Chief Magazine / 27