Lawmakers are getting into the thick of the state budget process with the first departmental budget hearing Tuesday in Trenton. Attorney General Matt Platkin, New Jersey’s top law enforcement officer, outlined his office’s request for $447 million in the state’s next budget, 5% more money than last year. He said it’s necessary for New Jersey to continue to keep crime down.
Referring to the state takeover of the Paterson Police Department, Platkin said, “I believe there’s a crisis in confidence in law enforcement in that city. The fragile trust between the community and law enforcement has been decimated, and without that trust, there can be no public safety. Doing this right will require financial support. It would be unrealistic to expect otherwise.”
Platkin is also asking for a fivefold increase in funds to expand the Arrive Together program, which pairs a mental-health professional and a law enforcement officer to respond to certain 911 calls.
The attorney general’s office is asking too for continued funding of efforts to prevent pop-up parties like occurred down the Shore last summer.
