New Jersey State Commission of Investigation

Last updated
New Jersey State
Commission of Investigation
NJ - Commission of Investigation Logo.png
Agency overview
Formed1969
Jurisdiction New Jersey
Headquarters50 West State Street, 14th Floor, Trenton, NJ 08625-0045
Parent agency New Jersey State Legislature
Website http://www.nj.gov/sci/

The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) is an independent governmental fact-finding agency in the U.S. State of New Jersey whose mission is to identify and investigate organized crime, corruption and waste, fraud and abuse in government spending by state, municipal and school bodies.

Contents

History

The SCI was established in 1969 as an independent agency funded directly by the New Jersey Legislature.

No more than two of the Commission's four members may be of the same political party, and its members are appointed by the Governor of New Jersey, the President of the New Jersey Senate and the Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis. Members and staff of the SCI are prohibited from participating in non-federal political activity in New Jersey.

The Governor, members of the Legislature, and other public officials at the federal, state, county and local level can refer matters to the Commission, as can average taxpayers. The SCI is an investigative body that operates in the fashion of an inspector general. It conducts fact-finding probes, often targeting wasteful and abusive governmental practices, and makes the results public even if no criminal prosecution is contemplated. The SCI is required by law to pursue these investigations beyond the sphere of political influence or favoritism and is required to make its findings public through written reports and/or public hearings. Since the SCI does not have prosecutorial functions, it is required to refer information of possible criminality to the appropriate authorities.

See also



Related Research Articles

Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary, which is sometimes called the trias politica model. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems where there can be overlap in membership and functions between different branches, especially the executive and legislative.

Prosecutor Legal profession

A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the state or the government in the case brought against the accused person.

Tennessee General Assembly Legislative branch of the state government of Tennessee

The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation, the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.

Texas Department of Public Safety Department of the Texas state government

The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license administration. The Public Safety Commission oversees the DPS. However, under state law, the Governor of Texas may assume command of the department during a public disaster, riot, insurrection, formation of a dangerous resistance to enforcement of law, or to perform his constitutional duty to enforce law. The commission's five members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate, to serve without pay for staggered, six-year terms. The commission formulates plans and policies for enforcing criminal, traffic and safety laws, preventing and detecting crime, apprehending law violators, and educating citizens about laws and public safety.

Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales) Anti-corruption agency in New South Wales, Australia

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), an independent agency of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for eliminating and investigating corrupt activities and enhancing the integrity of the public administration in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Commission was established in 1989, pursuant to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act, 1988 (NSW), modeled after the ICAC in Hong Kong.

A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, police officers, prosecutors, municipal law enforcement officers, special police officers, customs officers, state troopers, federal agents, secret agents, special investigators, coast guards, border patrol officers, gendarmerie officers, immigration officers, court officers, probation officers, parole officers, arson investigators, auxiliary officers, animal control officers, game wardens, sheriffs, constables, marshals, deputies, detention officers, correction officers, sworn campus police officers and public safety officers. Security guards are civilians and therefore not law enforcement officers, unless they have been granted powers to enforce particular laws, such as those accredited under a community safety accreditation scheme such as a security police officer.

Constitution of New Jersey State constitution of New Jersey

The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the state has been governed by three constitutions. The first was adopted on July 2, 1776, shortly before New Jersey ratified the United States Declaration of Independence and the second came into effect in 1844. The current document was adopted in 1947 and has been amended several times.

The government of Texas operates under the Constitution of Texas and consists of a unitary democratic state government operating under a presidential system that uses the Dillon Rule, as well as governments at the county and municipal levels.

Government of Oklahoma Government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma

The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.

Raj Mukherji is a State Assemblyman in the New Jersey Legislature, who was first elected in 2013 and represents the 33rd Legislative District. Since 2022, he serves in the Assembly as Deputy Speaker and formerly served as Majority Whip of the New Jersey General Assembly. He is also a lawyer, former healthcare and information technology CEO, former Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, former municipal prosecutor, and political science professor. Mukherji was reelected in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021, most recently by a 4-to-1 margin. In February 2022, following the adoption of a new 10-year legislative map by the New Jersey Legislative Apportionment Commission, Mukherji announced his candidacy for an open seat in the New Jersey Senate in a reconfigured 32nd Legislative District and was rapidly endorsed by local and statewide officials such as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who enlisted two weeks following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Mukherji serves as Chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and Vice Chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. He previously served as Vice Chair of the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and is the primary investigative agency of the state government. OSBI works independent of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to investigate criminal law violations within the state at the request of statutory authorized requesters. The OSBI was created in 1925 during the term of Governor Martin E. Trapp.

Government of New Jersey Overview of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey

The government of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of the State of New Jersey are vested by the Constitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in a bicameral state legislature, the Governor, and the state courts, headed the New Jersey Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of the state legislature, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court. Like most states, the state allows the incorporation of county, and other local municipal government.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is a state-level law enforcement agency in North Carolina.

New Jersey State Detectives

The New Jersey State Detectives are commissioned by the Governor of New Jersey as police detectives with statewide jurisdiction. All are members of the historic New Jersey Detective Agency, a body politic created by the New Jersey Legislature in 1871. Current members come from the ranks of federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, with some having specialized training and experience in many facets of law enforcement including firearms, narcotics, sex crimes, arson, organized crime and street gang investigations.

Government of Kansas

The government of the U.S. state of Kansas, established by the Kansas Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Through a system of separation of powers, or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, and also some authority to regulate the other two branches, so that all three branches can limit and balance the others' authority.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governor exercises executive power with other independently elected officers: the Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Auditor. The state's judicial power rests in the Supreme Judicial Court, which manages its court system. Cities and towns act through local governmental bodies to the extent that they are authorized by the Commonwealth on local issues, including limited home-rule authority. Although most county governments were abolished during the 1990s and 2000s, a handful remain.

New York City Department of Investigation

The New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) is a law enforcement agency of the government of New York City that has been referred to by some observers New York City's "secret police" because its investigations are confidential and its investigators are not uniformed.

State police (United States) Police department of a U.S. state

In the United States, the state police is a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, state police officers, known as state troopers, perform functions that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the county sheriff, such as enforcing traffic laws on state highways and interstate expressways, overseeing the security of the state capitol complex, protecting the governor, training new officers for local police forces too small to operate an academy and providing technological and scientific services. They support local police and help to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in serious or complicated cases in those states that grant full police powers statewide.

The Office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Inspector General (OIG) is the Office of Inspector General specific to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) that is responsible for conducting monitoring and oversight of MTA activities, programs, and employees.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is an Australian federal integrity commission promised by the Albanese government to be instated before Christmas 2022 during the 2022 federal election campaign. The legislation for the NACC is expected to be introduced to Parliament in September.