The number of bias incidents reported in New Jersey has been climbing in recent years, and now the state is updating its guidelines for reporting and investigating such crimes. The measures will expand the groups of people who are protected by laws and take steps to better track incidents throughout the state.
FBI statistics show the number of hate crimes reported in the state exploding in recent years, climbing from 367 in 2015, to 417 in 2016 and 495 in 2017, according to the report.
N.J. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced the changes Friday, the first time the standards have been revised since 2000, according to a report by NJ.com. The measures bring the guidelines more in line with state bias laws, which were updated in 2008, the report said.
Protected classes now include when bias incidents are based on gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, or disability, according to The Record. The new guidelines require bias incidents be reported through the State Police’s new Electronic Uniform Crime Reporting system and county prosecutors to notify the attorney general’s office when pursuing bias charges, according to the report.
Quote of the Day: “Where are the advocates as members of the riding public? It’s a shame rail advocates aren’t on the list,” — Len Resto, president of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, on Gov. Phil Murphy’s nominees to the NJ Transit Board of Directors.
NJ Towns Are Increasingly Becoming ‘Rich’ or ‘Poor.’ Is the Middle Class Disappearing?
A well-functioning economy needs to have a range of workers with different skill levels and different incomes.
NJ.com Read more
Facebook Should Review Page Targeting Orthodox Jews in Lakewood
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is asking Facebook to review a page that his office says threatens violence against Orthodox Jews living in Ocean County.
Asbury Park Press Read more
Health Officials Urge More Teens to Have HPV Shots as NJ Lags Behind National Rate
More than half of New Jersey’s 13- to 15-year-olds aren’t completing vaccinations for HPV, leaving them vulnerable to the very common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause cancer, according to data from state health officials.
NJSpotlight Read more
Spurned by His Party, GOP Assemblyman Goes Full MAGA in the Primary
Most of the bills Republican Assemblyman Joe Howarth introduced before this spring had been fairly typical of a moderate to center-right lawmaker, including legislation to make prison inmates pay for their own incarceration and ease state bureaucratic hurdles for active duty military personnel.
Politico Read more
NJ Canceled a Vote on Legal Weed. Now There’s a Battle Over How to Fix the Bill.
A stunning decision to abandon a vote on legalizing marijuana last month was reached because New Jersey lawmakers needed “just a few” more yes votes to get the historic bill passed.
Inquirer Read more
NJ Towns With the Biggest Gains and Losses of Non-Citizens
A third court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration’s plan to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.
NJ101.5 Read more
State DEP: Getting Lead Out of NJ
It could cost up to $2.3 billion to replace all of the estimated 350,000
NJSpotlight Read more
Cory Booker Is the Only Democratic Presidential Hopeful Co-Sponsoring This New Pro-Israel Resolution
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is the only Democrat seeking his party’s presidential nomination to sign on to a new pro-Israel resolution that has attracted support from both sides of the political aisle.
NJ.com Read more
Here’s How Much Murphy’s Expansion of Paid Family Leave and Temporary Disability Will Cost You
Many New Jersey workers will see a big jump in how much they contribute to paid family leave and temporary disability insurance to help finance a major expansion of both programs signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this year.
NJ.com Read more
Murphy: I Won’t Commit Political Suicide and Allow Self-Serve Gas
Don’t look to pump your gas anytime soon in New Jersey. And don’t look to shop on Sunday in Bergen County, either.
NJ101.5 Read more
Kasich Talks Trump, Christie, 2020 Ahead of Drew University Appearance
Former Ohio governor, Fox News host and 2016 presidential candidate John Kasich has re-entered the media arena this year, signing a deal in January to be a senior political commentator for CNN.
Daily Record Read more
Controversy Continues Over NJ Schools Development Authority
Amid ongoing upheaval at the Schools Development Authority—the state agency that oversees construction in New Jersey’s poorest public school districts—school buildings in New Jersey are deteriorating, according to residents and local officials who say SDA money has run out.
NJSpotlight Read more