RACIAL AND ETHNIC COMMUNITY CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IMPACT STATEMENT
[FIRST REPRINT]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4976
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
SUMMARY
|
Synopsis: |
Establishes crime of reckless discharge of firearm. |
The Office of Legislative Services does not develop or maintain source data concerning the criminal justice system in the State. The Office of Legislative Services makes reasonable efforts to obtain data from Executive Branch Departments and the Judiciary. This statement may reflect information provided by the United States Census Bureau, the Administrative Office of the Courts within the Judiciary, the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, and the Juvenile Justice Commission in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. The publicly available data and the data provided by the responding departments and agencies contained within this statement allows for a general overview of the frequencies of events of interest (i.e. arrests, charges, and convictions) for racial and ethnic minorities for the crimes identified herein. This statement does not provide for an in-depth analysis of that data.
Additional data concerning recidivism rates and incarceration rates for the specific crimes addressed within this statement sorted by race and ethnicity is needed in order to make a conclusion on the impacts on racial and ethnic minorities. Additional data concerning the deterrent effects of similar laws of this type is needed to determine the impact on community criminal justice and public safety. It should be noted that the data needed may not currently be collected by the responding departments or agencies or may not exist.[1]
BILL DESCRIPTION
Assembly
Bill No.4976 (1R) establishes
that it is a crime to discharge a firearm unlawfully or for an unlawful
purpose. Under the bill, a person commits a disorderly persons offense for
recklessly discharging a firearm using live ammunition rounds as a first
offense, a crime of the fourth degree for a second offense, and a crime of the
third degree for a third or subsequent offense.
Additionally, if the violation knowingly occurs within 100 yards of: (1)
an occupied structure; or (2) a school, college, university or other
educational institution, school bus, or child care facility, whether or not
occupied, the violation is upgraded to one degree of crime higher than what would
have been charged.
A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of
imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by
a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or
both. A disorderly persons offense is
punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to
$1,000, or both.
The bill provides that a conviction for recklessly discharging
a firearm does not preclude an indictment and conviction for an offense under a
different provision of law, and a subsequent conviction is not to merge with
the original conviction. The bill also
provides that in instances in which the court imposes multiple sentences of
imprisonment for more than one offense, those sentences are to run
consecutively. This bill implements
Recommendation 3 of the State Commission of Investigation’s 2024 report,
“Illegal Firearms Use & Trends in New Jersey.”
Federal
and State Census Information[2]
Federal and State
Inmate Population Data
|
|
Population |
Caucasian |
African
American |
Native
American/Alaska Native |
Asian |
Native
Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander |
Hispanic |
Two or More
Races/Other |
|
Actual
Federal Adult Inmate Population[3] |
156,241 |
56.9% |
38.8% |
2.8% |
1.5% |
N/A |
29.2% |
N/A |
|
Actual
State Adult Inmate Population[4] |
12,978 |
22% |
60.8% |
0.0% |
1% |
N/A |
17% |
N/A |
State Census and State Inmate Population
Data
|
|
Population |
Caucasian |
African
American |
Native
American/Alaska Native |
Asian |
Native
Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander |
Hispanic |
Two or More
Races/Other |
|
State
Census Estimate |
9,289,000 |
53.5% |
15.3% |
0.7% |
10.3% |
0.1% |
21.5% |
2.4% |
|
Actual
State Adult Inmate Population[5] |
12,978 |
22% |
60.8% |
0.0% |
1% |
N/A |
17% |
N/A |
DATA PROVIDED BY THE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The following data was provided, as a part of the submission, from the Office of the Attorney General:
The below displays the number of arrest
events with any paragraph of the enumerated charges below displayed by
race/ethnicity for all arrests between January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2024.
|
Statute |
Statute
Description |
Degree |
White
(incl. Hispanic origin) |
Black |
Asian/
Pac.
Islander |
Am.
Indian/ Alaska Native |
Unknown/ Not
Provided |
|
2C:33-2 |
Disorderly conduct |
PDP |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
The below displays
the number of Unique Persons Convicted of any paragraph of the enumerated
charges below displayed by race/ethnicity for all arrests between January 1,
2017 to December 31, 2024.
|
Statute |
Statute Description |
Degree |
White (incl. Hispanic origin) |
Black |
Asian/ Pac. Islander |
Am. Indian/ Alaska Native |
Unknown/ Not Provided |
|
2C:33-2 |
Disorderly conduct |
PDP |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
The following response was provided by the Juvenile Justice Commission:
The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) does not maintain or have direct access to detailed data on youth arrests, prosecutions, or adjudications (i.e. convictions). The JJC is not a prosecutorial agency. The JJC does not keep racial and ethnic data segregated by crimes for arrests, prosecutions, or adjudications for the juveniles committed to its care.
The Department of Corrections has made available to the public statistical data concerning the State inmate population categorized by race and ethnicity for 2024, which are reflected in the charts on page 2, and offenders by base offense for 2022, 2023, and 2024 in the following charts:
Offenders by Base
Offense for 2022
|
Base
Offense |
Total |
Male
Offenders in Other Facilities |
Youth
Offenders |
Adult
Diagnostic Treatment Center (ADTC) |
Edna Mahan |
Halfway
Houses, County Jails, St.
Francis Hospital |
||||||
|
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
|
|
TOTAL
OFFENDERS |
12,492 |
100% |
9,442 |
100% |
1,139 |
100% |
410 |
100% |
408 |
100% |
1,093 |
100% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weapons Offenses |
1,357 |
11% |
820 |
9% |
269 |
24% |
0 |
0% |
19 |
5% |
249 |
23% |
Offenders by Base
Offense for 2023
|
Base
Offense |
Total |
Male
Offenders in Other Facilities |
Youth
Offenders |
Adult
Diagnostic Treatment Center (ADTC) |
Edna Mahan |
Halfway
Houses, County Jails, St.
Francis Hospital |
||||||
|
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
|
|
TOTAL
OFFENDERS |
13,196 |
100% |
9,133 |
100% |
1,174 |
100% |
402 |
100% |
356 |
100% |
2,131 |
100% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weapons Offenses |
1,524 |
12% |
844 |
9% |
302 |
26% |
0 |
0% |
20 |
6% |
358 |
17% |
Offenders by Base Offense for 2024
|
Base Offense |
Total |
Male Incarcerated Persons |
Edna Mahan |
Residential
Community Release Program (RCRP), County Jails, Central Medical
Unit (CHR) |
Interstate Corrections Compact |
|||||
|
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
# |
% |
|
|
Total Offenders |
12,978 |
100% |
11,176 |
100% |
386 |
100% |
1,140 |
100% |
276 |
100% |
|
Weapons Offenses |
1,818 |
14% |
1,389 |
12% |
21 |
5% |
371 |
32% |
37 |
13% |
Note: weapons offenses
include weapon possession and operation
DATA PROVIDED BY THE JUDICIARY
The Administrative Office of the Courts was unable to provide data within the timeframe, established by the Legislative Services Commission, for the production of the Racial and Ethnic Community Justice and Public Safety Impact Statement.
[1] This racial and ethnic community
criminal justice and public safety impact statement has been produced by the
Office of Legislative Services pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2017, c.286
(C.52:11-57.1). Although impact statements are considered a tool for
policymaking, the Office of Legislative Services does not take a policy
position in preparing a racial and ethnic community criminal justice and public
safety impact statement. The role of the Office of Legislative Services
is to gather and present data for legislators to review. This statement
may reflect information provided by the United States Census Bureau, Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the United States Department of
Justice, New Jersey Department of Corrections, and Juvenile Justice Commission
in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety.
[2] Publicly available data obtained from the federal
census for national and State populations as of April 1, 2020.
[3] Publicly available data of federally sentenced persons
in custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as of June 1, 2024.
[4] Publicly available data produced by the New Jersey
Department of Corrections concerning the State inmate population on January 1,
2024. It has been reported by the New
Jersey Department of Corrections that the Fiscal Year 2024 average daily
population was 12,490. However, that
number has not been sorted by race or ethnicity.
[5] Publicly available data produced by the New Jersey
Department of Corrections concerning the State inmate population on January 1,
2024. It has been reported by the New
Jersey Department of Corrections that the Fiscal Year 2024 average daily
population was 12,490. However, that
number has not been sorted by race or ethnicity.