Leading the Charge: New Jersey Transit Police Evaluate Training

Throughout the last few years, calls for police reform and emphasis on police-community relations have reverberated around the nation—and many have advocated for more training to achieve this.

In 2020, amid a fractured relationship between some police agencies and their communities, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (NJOAG) announced a state-wide revision to its use of force policy. Many changes were made, including requiring the use of de-escalation, prohibiting the use of force unless absolutely needed, and establishing a “duty to intervene” (requiring officers of all ranks to intercede when they see unnecessary use of force). Agencies across New Jersey were directed to revise policies to comply with these new regulations by the end of 2021.

To supplement these policy changes, the NJOAG required all law enforcement officers in the state to complete eight training modules on the statewide use of force policy, 12 hours of de-escalation training (Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics, or ICAT, training), and 8 hours of peer intervention training (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement, or ABLE, training). Finally, officers were required to submit all non-fatal use of force incidents to a state database within 24 hours of the incident.

Today, the National Policing Institute is working with NJOAG to evaluate the effectiveness of the statewide policy and training changes and explore how research findings may inform broader impact, including lessons learned to share with other agencies and communities.

The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is one of more than 550 law enforcement agencies that adapted to the statewide regulations. NPI is working closely with NJTPD to conduct a case study around the implemented training and its impact on officers, trainers, and the community.

NPI’s president, Jim Burch, sat down with NJTPD’s chief, Christopher Trucillo , to discuss his agency’s training, culture, and the important role evaluation plays in operations.

NJTPD is a unique and critical agency for the state of New Jersey—covering 5,325 square miles of transportation routes, including bus, train, and light rail systems. With goals of counterterrorism and crime suppression, NJTPD officers protect 270 million passenger trips annually. The job is far, wide, and, of course, challenging—but nothing Chief Trucillo’s highly-trained crew can’t handle.

Before stepping into patrol, NJTPD recruits report for duty five weeks before the official police academy to prepare them and set them up for success. Once recruits graduate from the academy and have learned how to be police officers, they are sent for more training tailored specifically to transit policing. After that, they are assigned field training officers (FTO) across the agency. This robust and lengthy training process prepares officers properly for the job. Officers already on the job receive annual training.

Maintaining the skillset needed to protect travelers in such a dynamic, fast-moving, and contained environment is not easy. Not to mention, officers and passengers are on the clock as transit doesn’t slow down, and if it must, every second delayed creates a ripple effect.

When NJOAG notified NJTPD of the state’s new requirements, Chief Trucillo ensured two new training curriculums were on the books: Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) and Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE).

As early adopters of the principles embraced by the ICAT and ABLE training programs, NJTPD was already doing much of what these trainings encourage. However, the unique nature of the agency’s environment puts some restrictions on the daily application of the trainings. For instance, ICAT teaches officers to slow down interactions. NJTPD can’t take too long to de-escalate as they have transportation schedules to consider and thousands of daily passengers relying on timely buses and rails. It’s a balancing act.

Despite these challenges, NJTPD recognizes the positive impact these trainings offer. Chief Trucillo leads his department with an evaluation mindset, so when he signed up to have his officers and training evaluated, his team didn’t blink. Plus, the results can help inform the field and potentially offer flexible and specialized training variations for other unique agencies like NJTPD.

Twice a week, NJTPD supervisors review calls for service from the last three to four days, analyzing how they were handled, the outcome, and, most importantly, how they can improve.

Overall, training and evaluation are critical to NJTPD and are an important aspect of establishing and maintaining officers’ effectiveness, professionalism, and safety. Since Chief Trucillo instilled a culture that values performance examination, his leadership has authentically driven continuous improvement throughout the agency.

Now, the agency is taking it a step further through its partnership with NPI and NJOAG to be part of the largest-known evaluation of police reform.

In this study, NPI will assess the impact of the use of force policy changes, training, and data collection. The research team is actively collecting evidence regarding implementation and impact at NJTPD and other agencies in New Jersey. Using officer surveys, interviews, and officer performance data, NPI hopes to uncover whether the combined reform efforts in New Jersey achieve—or make progress toward—improving the nature of police-community encounters.

NPI is seeking additional agencies across the state of New Jersey to participate in case studies. To learn more, visit our website or email the project’s lead researcher, Gabrielle Isaza, PhD, at gisaza@policinginstitute.org.

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