At a press conference held in City Hall this morning, Mayor Baraka announced that he intends to appoint a civilian to direct the Newark Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division. The bold move of appointing a civilian to fill the position traditionally held by a sworn officer is another step this administration is taking in an effort toward strengthening law enforcement in Newark by improving the relationship between the police and the community.
This direction has been seen already in Seattle and in Oakland, where both cities have appointed lawyers with extensive police experience to head their Internal Affairs divisions.
Police Chief Anthony Campos also announced that he would soon be retiring from the Newark Police Department after 30 years and will be replaced by Lt. Darnell Henry, a 22-year police veteran.
“Law enforcement is most effective when trust exists between the police and the communities they serve. When trust exists, citizens share information with the police about gangs and gang members, drug dealers, and other criminals. Witnesses to crimes have the confidence to come forward and reveal what they saw. You rarely have killings in broad daylight where no witness can be found,” said Mayor Baraka.
The mayor added, “We are seeking a lawyer with extensive experience with police practices, a strong communicator capable of working with rank-and-file officers, city attorneys, the command staff, citizens and the police union. The person who heads Internal Affairs must be an impartial fact-finder and someone who can assure both the public and the Department of Justice monitor that citizen concerns will be impartially addressed, not swept under the rug. The appointee must also be someone who the police can trust to be fair. We don’t want somebody who is always on the side of the police, nor somebody who assumes that the police are always wrong.”
