Articles
Reporting from the record
Every piece here is built from the same public data the rest of the site runs on, with each factual claim cited to a specific source file. No anonymous sourcing, no outside reporting: the records do the arguing.
Explainer · 2026-07
The New Jersey agencies that report no internal affairs investigations
Each year the Attorney General publishes a list of law enforcement agencies that reported zero internal affairs investigations. Most are small. A few appear year after year.
Explainer · 2026-07
Corrections agencies account for a large share of New Jersey's major police discipline
Two state and county corrections departments together produced more than 900 major discipline records from 2020 to 2025. Here is why they sit apart from municipal policing in this data.
Explainer · 2026-07
Major discipline reports are rising. Read the trend carefully.
Finalized major discipline in New Jersey climbed from 226 records in 2020 to 816 in 2025. Three things could drive that, and only one of them is more misconduct.
Explainer · 2026-07
The officers disciplined more than once
Most officers in New Jersey's major discipline data appear a single time. But 385 appear more than once, and one appears fifteen times.
Explainer · 2026-07
Radio encryption and what the public can still see
At least 95 New Jersey departments in this site's data encrypt their radio communications. That choice closes one window on policing. The records here are another.
Explainer · 2026-07
How to read a department report card
A grade on this site is not a verdict. It is a department's position among agencies like it, on the two things the records can measure.
Explainer · 2026-07
What counts as major discipline in New Jersey
The state's most detailed public record of police discipline covers only the serious end of the scale. Here is how to read it.
Explainer · 2026-07
What major discipline in New Jersey actually looks like
Suspension, not termination, is the common outcome. The median suspension is 18 days. 471 officers were fired. Here is the shape of the record.
Explainer · 2026-07
Where internal affairs activity concentrates in New Jersey
Two counties reported more internal affairs investigations in the most recent year than the twelve smallest counties combined. Population and department size explain much of it, but not all.