New Jersey State Police Under Fire For Minority Recruiting Practices
TRENTON, NJ (WCBS 880) - The state of New Jersey and the NAACP struck an agreement in 2002 to increase the number of blacks within state police ranks.
WCBS 880's Levon Putney With The Story
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A decade after the discrimination court settlement, the percentage of black troopers has dropped from 8 percent to 6.4 percent in a state with an almost 14 percent African American population.
"The state has not lived up to their promise," says state NAACP president James Harris. "I think everybody would agree if you're looking for apples, you go to the apple orchard. So, if you're looking for African Americans to enter the academy, you got to spend some time, some quality time, in the African American community teaching people, informing people about when the opportunities are coming up."
Harris says it's due to a lack of recruiting.
"Very few posters out advertising the job. Very few visits to sites with recruitment tables and personnel available with applications," he tells WCBS 880 reporter Levon Putney.
Harris says if they don't see results soon, the NAACP will go back to court to impose further sanctions on the state.
