The New Jersey State Police checker rank is not a bar, but a badge
State police checker ranks in New Jersey may not be the best indicator of police performance, but they are a key indicator of officers ability to identify criminals, the police chief said.
The department said in a statement Monday that the rank was not a badge and was not the primary consideration.
The police chief also did not provide a breakdown of how many officers the rank had identified.
“Our ranks do not provide an indication of an officer’s ability to detect and prevent crimes, as the ranks are based on a number of factors,” he said.
“Our ranks can only be considered as an indicator that a police officer is doing his or her job effectively.”
New Jersey State Troopers, New Jersey’s police force, ranks among the highest in the nation at 4,726, the most of any state.
According to the New Jersey Department of State Police, the state ranks in the top five of the nation in both arrests and convictions.
The department did not release data on the number of convictions made by state troopers.
The state’s top cop, New York State Police Commissioner Joseph F. Pallone Jr., is not among the rankers.
In 2016, Pallone was named chief of the New York City Police Department, but he resigned in February.
He was replaced by New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie.
Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the first African American to serve in the Senate, also is not listed among the ranks.
