In July 2023, New Jersey troopers who patrol the state’s busiest highways and remote rural roads began writing far fewer traffic enforcement tickets. The next month, citations for speeding, drunken driving, cellphone use and other violations plummeted by 81 percent across the state compared with the year before.
The sweeping slowdown in enforcement continued for more than eight months and coincided with an almost immediate uptick in motor vehicle crashes, records obtained by The New York Times show. The duration and scope of the slowdown are unrivaled in modern policing, according to academics who study traffic data and law enforcement tactics. The reduction in traffic enforcement within the State Police is the subject of a criminal investigation by the New Jersey attorney general, Matthew Platkin.
The drastically reduced enforcement began the week after the release of a report that found glaring racial disparities in road safety enforcement. The analysis evaluated more than a decade’s worth of State Police traffic stops and reopened a wound in a department that spent a decade under the control of a federal consent decree because of similar patterns of bias. Troopers who believed that they had been closely adhering to strict rules adopted as a result of the consent decree said the report left them concerned that even small missteps might derail their careers. “All members are reminded of the dangers of conducting motor vehicle stops,” warned an internal memo sent to troopers by union president Wayne. Blanchard. “Unfortunately, we must also contend with internal and external entities who seemingly wish to see us fail,” he added. “Whatever their motivation, one thing is certain: Every stop and enforcement action you take will be highly scrutinized.” Troopers who typically issued more than 6,000 tickets a week wrote 1,205 the first week of August. The slowdown continued, largely unabated, through the busy travel holidays of Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve before showing signs of ending in late March 2024.
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