Have things improved since NJ took control of Paterson police? New leader claims success

PATERSON — Creating a police advisory council composed of citizens. Providing training to officers on how to perform police work within constitutional requirements. Hiring civilians so fewer officers are handling administrative tasks.

Those are three of the 16 goals that Isa Abbassi, the state-appointed officer in charge of the Paterson Police Department, says have been reached during the past six months.

Abbassi issued his checklist this week, updating the status of 55 initiatives he unveiled in September as part of his two-year strategic plan. At that time, the Paterson Police Department had already achieved 15 of Abbassi’s goals, officials said. Now the number of boxes checked off has reached 31, with 20 in progress and four not yet started, officials said.

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“In a relatively short time we have made great strides in moving the Paterson Police Department forward, while improving the quality, transparency, and accountability of the service we provide for everyone who calls the city of Paterson home,” Abbassi said in his announcement.

“We are continuing to evolve this department with our goals and initiatives, both big and small, to create the premier law enforcement agency in the state, if not the entire country,” he added.

State attorney general seized control in March of 2023

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin seized control of the Police Department in March 2023, weeks after officers from a Paterson SWAT team shot and killed a knife-wielding man following a lengthy standoff.

Abbassi — a retired chief from the New York Police Department whom Platkin picked to take charge — started working in Paterson last May. None of the benchmarks he set last year involved reducing homicides, shootings or violent crime. But those numbers all went down in Paterson at rates that surpassed reductions in other New Jersey cities.

Paterson activist Ernest Rucker — long a harsh critic of Paterson police — is giving the new leader high marks.

“I’m very impressed with his style of policing,” said Rucker, among the appointees to the new advisory council. “He’s involving the community and he’s changing the culture in the Police Department.”

Paterson Press sent Mayor Andre Sayegh a copy of Abbassi’s press release and asked if he thinks the department has made progress since the state takeover.

The mayor didn’t say whether he thinks the Police Department is in better or worse shape under the attorney general. He simply cited his ongoing lawsuit seeking to end the state intervention, challenging Platkin to name the state law that allowed the takeover.

Platkin said things are getting better in Paterson since he acted. “As we successfully meet the goals and benchmarks defined in the report, we are also rebuilding trust and cooperation with the residents, business owners and community leaders of the city of Paterson,” Platkin said of Abbassi’s plan.

The goals that Abbassi said are still in progress include developing an early intervention program to help at-risk officers, improving the process for handling civilian complaints, and establishing an accountability program for police supervisors.

The four initiatives that have not yet started are:

• Establishing a community council to strengthen relationships and collaboration between police and citizens.

• Creating community coordination officers as liaisons for each ward.

• Starting a quality assurance unit for professional police standards.

• Implementing a review program for officers’ use-of-force incidents.

In contrast to Rucker’s praise, Paterson Black Lives Matter activist Zellie Thomas has remained critical of the city’s law enforcement agency.

“It’s hard to claim relationships between community and police have improved when internal complaints by civilians more than doubled in 2023,” Thomas said.

The BLM leader said that “without measurable data,” the claims of improvement are “propaganda.”

But Councilman Luis Velez said he believes that the talk of improved relations between cops and community is true. “I’ve seen police out there interacting with the people,” Velez said. “It’s much better.”

Paterson Policemen's Benevolent Association President Angel Jimenez said the additional funding the state has allocated for the city Police Department — $10 million for the budget year that ends June 30 — has been crucial to the improvements.

“Without that money, the strategic plan would not succeed,” Jimenez said. “What’s going to happen when the AG leaves? Is the money going to go with them?”

Platkin has not said exactly how long the intervention will last. The time frame under Abbassi’s plan seems to indicate that it will continue at least into 2025.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson police new leader reports on progress within department