Department profile · Sussex County
Franklin Borough Police Department
Reported as: Franklin Boro PDMunicipal police
Jurisdiction context
Not a civil service jurisdiction
This department is not among the NJCSC Appendix A jurisdictions, so major discipline here follows a different statutory track (generally N.J.S.A. 40A:14), with appeals that usually go to the Superior Court rather than the Civil Service Commission.
See the context on non-civil-service departments.
Reflects the NJCSC Appendix A roster as of 2026-07-04. Context only, not legal advice.
In brief
The Franklin Borough Police Department is a municipal police agency in Sussex County. It reported 10 sworn officers in 2025 and opened 29 internal affairs investigations that year. At 290 investigations per 100 officers, its rate ran above the 125.6 median for municipal agencies. None of the 29 investigations detailed for 2025 reported a sustained complaint. The most common allegation categories were Other Departmental Rule Violation and Differential Treatment.
Four major discipline records appear in the 2020 through 2025 releases, with no terminations among them. On the report card the department received an F, which means the 96th percentile of its peer group of 361 departments with 1 to 14 officers. More internal affairs activity can point to more misconduct or to a stronger reporting culture.
Written by this site strictly from the figures on this page; every number is cited below.
Sworn officers, 2025
10[1]
IA investigations, 2025
29[1]
Incidents, 2025
17[1]
Major discipline records
4
All years, 2020-2025
Internal affairs investigations by year
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 29 |
Complaint mix, 2025
Most serious allegation per investigation, as categorized by the reporting agency. Allegations are not findings: of 29 investigations, 0 reported one or more sustained complaints. Officer-level rows list 26 officers involved.[7]
Most serious allegation
| Other Departmental Rule Violation | 7 |
|---|---|
| Differential Treatment | 6 |
| Other Criminal Violation | 6 |
| Improper Entry | 6 |
| Theft | 1 |
| not provided | 1 |
| False Documentation/Falsifying A Report (Criminal) | 1 |
| Improper Search | 1 |
Internal disposition
| Exonerated | 13 |
|---|---|
| Administratively Closed | 10 |
| not provided | 3 |
| Unfounded | 2 |
| Not Sustained | 1 |
Against peers, 2025
| Franklin Boro PD | 290.0 |
|---|---|
| County median, municipal police (11) | 150.0 |
| NJ median, municipal police (447) | 125.6 |
Investigations per 100 sworn officers, using the officer counts each agency reported for 2025. A higher number is ambiguous on its own: it can reflect more misconduct, or a stronger internal reporting culture. Medians are computed within the same agency type only.
Major discipline records
| Year | Officer | Rank | Sanction as reported | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nicholas Della Fera | Patrol Officer | Suspended 45 days | [8] |
| 2022 | Jeffrey Smith | Lieutenant | Suspended 30 days | [9] |
| 2021 | Zachary Oren | Patrol Officer | Suspended 30 days | [10] |
| 2021 | David Macquesten | Patrol Officer | Suspended 90 days | [11] |
Every name links to the officer's record page with the agency's full synopsis and citation.
Questions and answers
- How many internal affairs investigations did Franklin Borough Police Department report in 2025?
- Franklin Borough Police Department reported 29 internal affairs investigations in 2025, according to New Jersey Attorney General data. It reported 10 sworn officers that year.
- How many major discipline records does Franklin Borough Police Department have?
- Franklin Borough Police Department has 4 major discipline records in the Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, of which 0 were terminations. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
Sources
- [1]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2507. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 466. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1487. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1996. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 971. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2507. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
- [7]New Jersey Internal Affairs Investigations, 2024-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. Aggregated from every Franklin Boro PD row for 2025; row 1 is the header. ↩
- [8]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 1427. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [9]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2384. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [10]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2769. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
- [11]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 2770. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩