What is Watchung Police Department's police report card grade?

Watchung Police Department receives a grade of C on this site, meaning its reported internal affairs volume and discipline severity place it in the 46th percentile of its peer group (municipal police agencies, 1-14 officers). The grade is analysis, not an official rating, and a higher volume can reflect more misconduct or a stronger reporting culture.

How is the report-card grade calculated?

The grade combines three components, each ranked within a peer group of the same agency type and size: internal affairs volume per officer (40%), sanction-weighted discipline severity (40%), and mean allegation severity (20%). The combined standing is re-ranked among peers, and the grade is the fifth of the peer group it falls in. Full method and weights are on the methodology page.

Report card

Watchung Police Department

AnalysisA grade is interpretation, not a record. The records behind it stay one click away.

Grade C: Middle fifth of peers

On reported IA volume and discipline severity; see methodology

Peer group: Municipal police, 1-14 officers (361 agencies)
Combined standing: 46th percentile of peers
Confidence: Medium confidence

small agency; per-officer rates swing widely on a handful of cases

How the grade is built

Three components, each a percentile within the peer group (higher = more reported volume or severity). The combined standing is their weighted mean, re-ranked among peers; the grade is the fifth of the peer group it lands in. Weights are an editorial choice, published on the methodology page.

IA volumeweight 40%

49th

119.9 investigations per 100 officers (multi-year mean)

Internal affairs investigations per 100 reported officers, averaged over the years where the agency reported both figures.

Discipline severityweight 40%

68th

44.4 severity-weighted discipline per 100 officers, 2020-2025

Major discipline records weighted by sanction (termination 4, demotion 3, suspension 2, other 1) per 100 officers.

Allegation severityweight 20%

11th

1.60 mean severity tier (1 low - 4 critical)

Mean severity tier of IA allegations across 2021-2025, using the published tier map; unknown values excluded.

Volume trend

Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers at Watchung Police Department, by year
2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
116.7	110	100	154.5	118.2

Investigations per 100 reported officers, per year.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The inputs, on the record

Sworn officers, 2025

11^{^[1]}

IA investigations, 2025

13^{^[1]}

Major discipline records

All years, 2020-2025

Terminations

All years, 2020-2025

Internal affairs investigations per 100 officers, 2025 (investigations per 100 sworn officers)
Watchung PD	118.2
County median, municipal police (18)	141.7
NJ median, municipal police (447)	125.6

What this grade can and can't tell you

The underlying data is self-reported by agencies, one yearly snapshot at a time.
Allegations are not findings; many complaints end unfounded, exonerated, or not sustained.
There is no arrest, population, or call-volume denominator in this data, so nothing here is a per-capita misconduct rate.
A higher internal affairs volume is ambiguous: it can indicate more misconduct, or a more robust oversight and reporting culture. The grade weighs it anyway, because volume is what the record offers; that choice is published, not hidden.
The grade is one lens. Weights are a transparent editorial choice on the methodology page, and the records are always one click away.

See the underlying records

Questions and answers

What is Watchung Police Department's police report card grade?: Watchung Police Department receives a grade of C on this site, meaning its reported internal affairs volume and discipline severity place it in the 46th percentile of its peer group (municipal police agencies, 1-14 officers). The grade is analysis, not an official rating, and a higher volume can reflect more misconduct or a stronger reporting culture.
How is the report-card grade calculated?: The grade combines three components, each ranked within a peer group of the same agency type and size: internal affairs volume per officer (40%), sanction-weighted discipline severity (40%), and mean allegation severity (20%). The combined standing is re-ranked among peers, and the grade is the fifth of the peer group it falls in. Full method and weights are on the methodology page.

Sources

[1]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2492. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
[2]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 453. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
[3]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1474. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
[4]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 1982. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
[5]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 958. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩
[6]New Jersey Internal Affairs Agency Totals, 2021-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Sheet1", row 2492. Snapshot retrieved 2026-06-09. ↩