ASSEMBLY PUBLIC SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4529

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 17, 2024

      The Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4529.

      As reported by the committee, this bill requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Superintendent of State Police, the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, and the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, to conduct a study and prepare a written report concerning residential burglaries in the State.

      The bill requires the report to include, but not be limited to:

· annual State residential burglary statistics beginning with calendar year 2018 through the most recently available data, itemized by county, including, but not limited to: the number of residential burglaries reported, including whether the burglary occurred during the day, night, or weekend, and whether any weapon was used; the number of residential burglaries resulting in injury or death to a resident or law enforcement officer; the number of residential burglaries that coincided with theft of a motor vehicle; the average and median dollar value of property damage or theft incurred; and the number of adults and juveniles charged with and convicted or adjudicated delinquent of burglary of a residence;

· a summary of law enforcement initiatives and activities, including public awareness activities, implemented during the reporting period to address the issue of residential burglaries Statewide, and the effects of those initiatives and activities; and

· recommendations to decrease the number of residential burglaries committed in the State, including any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action that may be necessary to effectuate this purpose.

      Under the bill, the Attorney General is required to submit an initial report to the Governor and the Legislature within six months of the bill’s enactment, and to submit an annual report thereafter.