The City of Hoboken today thanks the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) for recognizing the Hoboken Police Department for its compliance with Attorney General internal affairs mandates, which are meant to encourage the public reporting of police misconduct.
The OSC randomly selected 100 municipal police departments for a review of their websites. A new report of those findings shows that Hoboken was one of just five departments that fulfilled key requirements and best practices laid out in the Attorney General's Internal Affairs Policies and Procedures, and corresponding Law Enforcement Directives, which govern the police disciplinary process.
The report looked at the requirement that departments make a standardized internal affairs report publicly available online, in eleven languages and commends the HPD, saying its website "serves as an example of how an information sheet can be provided to the complainant at the time of the complaint, even when the complainant is filling out the form online."
"I am grateful to, and proud of, the entire Hoboken Police Department, under the leadership of Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante and Police Chief Steven Aguiar," said Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla. "The recognition received in this report proves once again that Hoboken is ahead of the curve and leading the way when it comes to building better community-police relationships, creating fair policing policies, and promoting accountability."
“The Hoboken Police Department has been committed and remains steadfast to building trust with the residents of, and visitors to our City," said Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante. "Chief Steven Aguiar, who was the department's Internal Affairs commander when I was the Police Chief, is proving to be a leader when it comes to transparency and professionalism, and a visionary in this new era of policing."
"The entire department strives not only serve and protect the community, but to constantly improve relations and trust between our officers and the public," said Chief Aguiar. "This report is just more evidence of the dedication our officers, staff and administration have toward being transparent, well-balanced and fair."
You can read the full NJOSC report here. Learn more about the Hoboken Police Department, its internal affairs bureau, and complaint forms at: https://hobokenpdnj.gov/internal-affairs/.
