Municipal constables have exploited their public appointments in various ways, including misrepresenting themselves as sworn law enforcement personnel, engaging in policing activities far beyond their narrow authority and using the position for personal profit, the State Commission of Investigation found in a report released in December.
These politically-appointed civilians with little to no training, accountability or supervision are said to be potentially dangerous, according to the SCI report that called for abolishing the position.
There may be several hundred constables working throughout New Jersey — although nobody really knows how many there are or even whether any of them are armed.
“This is a very dangerous situation,” said Jason Williams, a professor of justice studies at Montclair State University and a Black Lives Matter activist. “They’re almost playing cops and robbers like we did when we were kids. This is a serious threat to civil liberties… and it threatens the trust and legitimacy of real law enforcement.”
The SCI found that constables – untrained and frequently unsupervised civilians – are appointed by local governing bodies in numerous New Jersey municipalities where they are equipped with badges and authorized to purchase their own uniforms often designed to look nearly identical to those worn by police officers. State laws dating back
2to the Colonial era enable municipalities to appoint constables, a position that was once the primary form of law enforcement before the advent of modern policing but has little purpose today. Their responsibilities vary from town‐to‐town, with some designating it as nothing more than a ceremonial title and others assigning constables to perform low‐level policing duties, such as issuing littering summons and enforcing noise ordinances. Not only do some constables give the appearance of sworn police personnel, but the Commission also found numerous examples of constables who engaged in questionable, and in some cases, unlawful conduct. Some constables have faced criminal charges for impersonating police officers, including one who allegedly pulled over a taxi driver and demanded production of his motor vehicle credentials after the two were involved in a July 2020 traffic dispute in Newark. In another incident, a group of Essex County constables took it upon themselves to provide backup to police during the December 10, 2019, mass shooting in Jersey City that left six people – including a police officer – dead. Another constable reportedly flashed his badge and told the law enforcement officers who stopped his vehicle that he was a police officer like them. “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 Commission also uncovered numerous instances where constables monetized their local appointment and used it to promote their private business