State report takes aim at NJ constables | Local News | pressofatlanticcity.com – Press of Atlantic City

But there are constables in the state, appointed at the municipal level. They are far different than the officers of the London Metropolitan Police. New Jersey’s constables have no police authority and no training.

In some cases, that has caused problems, according to a report from New Jersey’s State Commission of Investigation that was released this week.

The report found that constables are frequently unsupervised civilians but sometimes try to act the part of police. Some constables have faced charges of impersonating officers. Some have purchased their own handguns and their own uniforms, designed to resemble police uniforms as closely as possible.

The report cites several instances of constables trying to act as police. It also includes quotes from law enforcement officers who want to repeal the state law that allows municipalities to name constables.

In December 2019, a mass shooting in Jersey City left six dead, including a police officer. A group of Essex County constables took it upon themselves to provide backup at the scene, according to the report.

“These findings underscore the point that constables are outdated relics that have no place in the highly organized and sophisticated system of modern law enforcement,” the report states. “Rather than serving as a beneficial adjunct to police, the role instead far too frequently represents a potential hazard to the constables themselves, the police they claim to want to help and the public at large.”

The title dates from the Colonial period, according to the State Commission of Investigation. Constables were once the primary form of law enforcement. The report states that with the trend toward oversight and transparency in law enforcement and the extensive training and coordination with law enforcement, the naming of private citizens as constables in New Jersey is an anomaly.

The commission recommends abolishing the position in New Jersey. Towns have not eliminated the position in the past 20 years, and some continue to appoint constables “despite grave concerns by sworn law enforcement leaders about constables who deliberately look like or blatantly misrepresent themselves as police.”

Atlantic City has an ordinance on the books allowing the appointment of constables, but both police and city officials indicate that no one currently holds the position. Lt. Kevin Fair, a police spokesman, said he’s been with the department for 20 years and has never heard of one or met one.

“The last constable I remember was Al Black,” said Dennis Levinson, the longtime Atlantic County executive.

Albert Black was a private detective and Atlantic City native who died in 2006 at the age of 70. According to his obituary, he directed security when the Beatles arrived in Atlantic City in 1964 and was praised by Richard Nixon.

In a case that made national headlines, Black wore a wire for a State Police investigation into corruption in Atlantic City in 1989. Operation COMSERV resulted in 12 arrests, but only four went to trial. One was found guilty while Mayor James Usry pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of violating campaign contribution regulations.

Levinson said he has never appointed anyone as constable.

In Cape May County, Gerald Thornton, director of the Board of County Commissioners, said he does not know of any constables being appointed in the county. He recalled there being constables in Cape May decades ago, but had not heard of any more recently.

Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock said he did not know of anyone with the title in Cape May. The city does use a volunteer force of fire-police, whose duties include traffic control. They have no police powers, Mullock said. Most members are retired from other careers.

Part of the concept is for the volunteers to direct traffic or handle other minor duties during an emergency, freeing up firefighters and police officers who might otherwise have to do it. According to Mullock, they are also used during parades and other events.

The title of constable means different things in different states. For instance, in Connecticut, it is an elected municipal position, serving court papers and performing other duties, while in Ohio, constables serve as police officers in some small towns.

Some towns have found constables useful, the report states. The work can range from enforcing noise ordinances to installing child seats in cars, at little or no cost to the town. Still, New Jersey’s State Commission of Investigation report argues that those jobs would be better done by part-time employees under supervision.

Not everyone wants the constables gone. In a letter to the Commission of Investigation in November, Philip Geron, the president of Guaranteed Subpoena Service Inc., wrote that the constable’s badge is an important part of serving subpoenas.