CJ Griffin Quoted in TAPinto Westfield regarding New Searchable Database for Police Internal Affairs Statistics
CJ Griffin, director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was quoted in TAPinto Westfield article, “New Database Contains Information on Police Internal Affairs Investigations in NJ.” The article discusses the new searchable database of police agencies’ internal affairs statistics recently launched by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Public records attorney CJ Griffin, director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., however, told TAPinto that the database only contains statistics, and that’s not enough for the public.
“This is not the level of progress we need when it comes to police transparency—we are still not a national leader, despite what the press release says,” Griffin said. “All the data in the dashboard was already reported publicly through Internal Affairs Annual Summary Reports.”
She said it is helpful the reports are now contained in a central database that tabulates some of the data, but “it still deprives the public of the ability to truly monitor the internal affairs process.”
“The AG could give us full access to these files with the stroke of a pen, but instead we are once again just getting a 50,000-foot-view with stats that were already available,” she said. “We need real transparency—full access to police misconduct files, like in NY, FL, and so many other places.”
Griffin had represented a retired police officer in a lawsuit against the Union County Prosecutor’s Office that secured the release of internal affairs reports concerning the former Elizabeth police director’s racist and sexist comments.
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