Senior Correctional Police Officer Richard McLaughlin was terminated, the Dept Of Corrections reported. McLaughlin took home a confidential Daily Activity Report from Garden State Youth Correctional Facility and posted it on social media without authorization, and he acknowledged this put an incarcerated person in danger. He also posted videos containing racial slurs while using hand signs perceived to be Security Threat Group signs. McLaughlin admitted communicating with an incarcerated person and deactivated his body worn camera during an escort. He was issued a Final Notice for removal on 5/6/25.
(a) General Causes (6) a public employee (12) HRB 84-17
as amended B2 -
loafing
idleness or willful failure to devote attention to tasks which could result in danger to persons or property B8 - Serious mistake due to carelessness which may result in danger and/or injury to persons or property C4 - Verbal Abuse of an incarcerated person
patient
client
resident or employee. C10 - Divulging confidential information without proper authority C10a - Unauthorized release of information to the media C11 - an employee D4 - Improper or unauthorized contact with an incarcerated person - undue familiarity with incarcerated persons
parolees
their families or friends D7 - Violation of administrative procedures and/or regulations involving safety and security E1 - Violation of a rule
regulation
policy
procedure
order or administrative decision E2 - Intentional abuse or misuse of authority or position
Separated while IA pending
No
Synopsis as reported by the agency
On 1/21/25, an investigation revealed that Garden State Youth Correctional Facility's Senior Correctional Police Officer (SCPO) Richard McLaughlin took home a Daily Activity Report (DAR), which is a confidential report. He posted the DAR on his social media account without authorization to do so. SCPO McLaughlin failed to notify any supervisory staff of the DAR being posted to social media and acknowledged that posting the report put an incarcerated person in danger. SCPO McLaughlin posted various videos on his Instagram stories containing racial slurs, lewd and demeaning language, while using hand signs which were perceived to be signs of a Security Threat Group. SCPO McLaughlin was seen to be wearing his New Jersey Department of Corrections uniform in some of the videos. SCPO McLaughlin admitted to having conversations with an incarcerated person’s girlfriend and to communicating with the incarcerated person via the JPAY systems. During an escort of the incarcerated person to his cell, SCPO McLaughlin deactivated his body worn camera. SCPO McLaughlin was issued a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action for removal on 5/6/25.
Similar records
AnalysisComputed by this site from shared agency, year, charge category, and sanction outcome. Not a legal or factual equivalence.
Sustained charge(s): N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a)6. Conduct unbecoming a public employee N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.3(a)12. Other Sufficient Cause B2: Neglect of duty, loafing,…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Sustained charge(s): Neglect of duty, loafing idleness or willful failure to devote attention to tasks which could result in danger to person or property.…
same agency · similar charge category · similar sanction outcome
Sustained charge(s): NJAC 4a:2-2.3(a) General Causes (1) Incompetency, inefficiency or failure to perform duties (6) Conduct unbecoming a public employee (7)…
Sustained charge(s): N.J.A.C.4A:2-2.3(a) General Causes (6) Conduct unbecoming a public employee (12) Other Sufficient Cause HRB 84-17, as amended B2 - Neglect…
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Other officers at Department Of Corrections
433 other named officers with reported major discipline records at this agency. Major discipline is final and post-appeal, as reported by the agency.
No confident pension match found. This officer's record shows a termination; a terminated officer would not have an active PFRS/SPRS record at this agency, which is one reason no match may exist here. This site links a pension record to a named officer only when the name and the exact employing agency both match a New Jersey Treasury record. Other general possibilities include insufficient vesting, a role not covered by PFRS or SPRS, a deferred or vested status not reflected in a current snapshot, or a data-matching limitation. See methodology for how these matches are made and what is withheld.
Questions and answers
What is a summary of Richard Mclaughlin's major discipline record?
Senior Correctional Police Officer Richard McLaughlin was terminated, the Dept Of Corrections reported. McLaughlin took home a confidential Daily Activity Report from Garden State Youth Correctional Facility and posted it on social media without authorization, and he acknowledged this put an incarcerated person in danger. He also posted videos containing racial slurs while using hand signs perceived to be Security Threat Group signs. McLaughlin admitted communicating with an incarcerated person and deactivated his body worn camera during an escort. He was issued a Final Notice for removal on 5/6/25.
What is Richard Mclaughlin's major discipline record at Department Of Corrections?
Richard Mclaughlin has one major discipline record at Department Of Corrections in the New Jersey Attorney General's 2020-2025 releases, from 2025. These are final, adjudicated actions, not allegations.
Does Richard Mclaughlin's record show a termination?
Yes. At least one of Richard Mclaughlin's major discipline records shows a termination, reported for 2025.
How large is Department Of Corrections, the department Richard Mclaughlin worked for?
Department Of Corrections reported 4,741 sworn officers to the FBI for 2025. This is department-level context from the FBI's Law Enforcement Employees census, not a statement about Richard Mclaughlin individually.
Sources
[1]New Jersey Major Discipline Data, 2020-2025. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Sheet "Major Discipline Data", row 679. Snapshot retrieved 2026-07-03. ↩
[2]FBI Law Enforcement Employees (LEE), New Jersey subset. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Row 8641. Derived from the public Law Enforcement Employees (LEE) / Police Employee Data dataset (1960-2025), https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/. ↩