I clicked on the link and noticed they list Califon police department as one they polled. It was disbanded many years ago. I wonder how much other flawed data is in the survey.

i wonder......aclu....please....

No wonder this state/country is going down hill is due to organizations like ACLU.

Would it not appear to be a rather simple matter for police departments to correctly handle complaints about the services they deliver? If the police do not know and follow the law as it applies to them, then there is a legitimate concern regarding how they know and follow the law as it applies to others.

The Montclair Police Department is not listed as a police department that was able to respond to the questions correctly.

In 2011 there were 22 complaints filed against the Montclair Police Force. What were the complaints and what are the outcomes?

Will this well paid and well numbered police department now take the steps necessary to ensure its public accountability?

Well seeing as there are too many police officers that nothing but fools with superiority complexes that think they're above everyone else because they have a badge and a gun the complaint system should be very effective, cause it's not like just because someone is a cop they'll be taken more seriously than a civilian, oh wait... Take away the power from a corrupt cop and all you get is a coward that fell off his ego mountain.

The ACLU is a left wing "the sky is falling" organization that does more harm then good. They have their right to free speach and can take whatever opinion they want. I also have the right to disgree with them which I do most of the time. This nothing more than one of many "cry wolf" reports on any number of topics.

Good catch on the Califon one-how is that possible ? Also was the aclu exam performed like this: person: "Officer-I would like to file a complaint". Cop "Hold on, we have to take your mugshot again Luther, then you go before the judge and you can complain all you want, you know the routine".

The Attorney General will begin to distribue copies of the rules to the Deparmtents ?? They all knowthe rules are in the Attorney Generals Guidelines

By the way, I find it extemely hard to beleive that out of all the departments that answered every question rght, Jersey City was one of them, since they have their own way of doing things.

It is amazing how people love to criticize the police, until they need help.

Hookerman i disagree cops should be pr aised for risking their lives everyday to protect us but u have to admit there r some real asshole cops out there

Well said Kenny - same bored fools bashing the PD. It's all good - 19,000 people live here and the same 5 or 6 lonely JO's bash the police. Just ask Amandaa and Mike Dexter. They will tell you.

As an attorney I must say that I find the ACLU to be a divise organization, much of what they do I find to be antogonistic, verging on race-baiting. Out of 497 departments (way too may btw) they reached 121, or less then half! (way to do your due diligence). Did they speak with someone who works at the department, or ask these questions to a county dispatcher? The article does not say, probably because the ACLU did not say or more likely care to ask. They heard a voice and asked the questions, writing don whatever answers they received as factual data.

This article lacks data and is inflammatory. Let the fighting begin, you reap what you sow on this one patch.com

If Hookerman drives the way he comments then I'd venture to say it's in our best interest to have a cop tailgating him so he doesn't hurt somebody on the road. There are some good cops and some bad cops but I'm sure the cops were following hookerman for a reason. Maybe his head was so big it was affecting oncoming traffic.

The bad news is that about half of all departments answered at least some IA questions incorrectly, and another quarter of departments didn't provide citizens with enough access to even ask how they could make a complaint.

But there's good news, too. The departments that contacted the ACLU-NJ hoping to improve their IA performance after a similar 2009 survey did better this time. This suggests that the AG's new steps could make significant improvements. Contact the AG to let him know that his new changes could be a new beginning for IA, as long as he makes sure to follow through.

ACLU of New Jersey
www.aclu-nj.org

In my 40 plus years I have never had an interaction with a Police Officer that I thought was so outrageous that I needed to complain. Maybe people should look at what they were perhaps doing wrong to get the Officers attention in the first place. Im sure Simply being polite and respectful would go a long way. Don't get me wrong there are lots of assholes out there but if you can't handle someone yelling or cursing maybe you need to have mommy feed and change you before bedtime.

If our law enforcement departments and officers believe that they do not need to be accountable for their public behavior, then we can no longer rely on them for protecting us or ensuring our constitutional rights and freedoms. The Montclair Police Department should publish clear procedures for people to register complaints and they should be transparent about those complaints and the outcomes.

By allowing irresponsible police officers to continue in their behavior, we undermine the good work done by other police officers. Every good police officer as well as every citizen should be for accountability and transparency in law enforcement.

Jarhead, you suggest that people who encounter poor police behavior somehow deserve it or bring it on themselves or are just childish. Clearly you have no understanding of the many many cases of police abusing their authority and polic brutality. More importantly, your remarks are detrimental to the good police officers and departments that carry out their public responsibilities correctly.

Polite and respectful is what we should expect of all persons, regardless of their jobs or responsibilities.

A policeman might be there one day to save your life....

ENOUGH SAID

Who really cares? What I don't understand is why Patch.com is selective about reports made about laws being broken in town. Before this local paper starts questioning cops about not being familiar with process of reporting on their bad behavior, why doesn't this online site not familiaize itself with equal reporting of crimes committed in town? There was a recent scare at Columbia over a suspected anthrax being put in the building this year that Patch didn't report on and provide the names of the culprits. Simple investigative journalism would have yielded relevant details. Yet patch.com has no problems publishing irrelevant articles about local arguments at residences, cops being called for such disturbances, and peoples taxes not being paid. I think it's discrimination. ACLU should take a look at shoddy self selective publishing of 'local news' that effects the lives of some people in a big way by putting their business online unnecessarily, and protecting the privacy of other individuals by not covering such stories and putting the names of kids who make bomb threats for example.

Yes, there are good PO and very bad ones too. If they gives their lives is because that is the line of work they had chosen. Nobody asked them to do so, it was there decision.