SHEDDING SECRECY, TROOPERS VOLUNTARILY RELEASE ARREST FIGURES

In a move toward new openness, the New Jersey State Police yesterday
voluntarily released fresh figures on arrests and tickets issued by
troopers during July and said the statistics will now be provided on a
regular basis.

The report showed that the numbers of suspects arrested and summonses
issued continued to rebound slowly from a springtime slowdown that came in
response to controversy over racial profiling.

Troopers issued 35,614 tickets in July -- an increase over previous months
but still 7 percent below the number issued in July 1998.

Arrest figures showed a similar pattern: Troopers made 1,734 arrests, 203
more than in June but 9 percent below the figure for last July.

Yesterday's report represents the first voluntary release of arrest figures
by a force that once held such information confidential.

Public reporting of arrest statistics was one of a series of reforms called
for by the April 20 report from the Attorney General's State Police Review
Team. Such releases "will serve to improve public confidence in trooper
actions," according to a press release issued by the State Police yesterday.

It also included the promise of more information the State Police has long
held close to the vest. The division yesterday said future quarterly
reports will include summaries of State Police Internal Affairs cases
handled, including the nature of all allegations against troopers.

Roger Shatzkin, spokesman for the attorney general, said the reports will
become more detailed as the division sets up new computer systems to track
trooper activity.

"In keeping with the clear notion that we want the State Police to be
accountable, we are making this information available until we can provide
more complete information through computerized means," he said.

For more than a year, the State Police has been under scrutiny from state
and federal investigators over allegations that troopers illegally targeted
minorities for highway stops. In April, the attorney general's review team
released a report concluding that some troopers did engage in racial
profiling. A follow-up report in July highlighted the disparate treatment
of minorities within the force.

In March, after Gov. Christie Whitman fired Superintendent Carl Williams
for remarks linking minorities to drug trafficking, troopers cut back
sharply on ticket writing, issuing 30,000 fewer tickets than they did in
February.

Effects of that slowdown lingered for months. For the first half of the
year, the number of summonses was down 21 percent from the previous year,
and arrests dropped 17 percent. Other figures showed drug arrests along the
New Jersey Turnpike were down 71 percent in the first six months of the
year compared with 1998.

But State Police spokesman John Hagerty said yesterday the slowdown is long
over.

"There was indeed an acknowledgment of a slowdown, and as a result of that
action, the acting superintendent met with the unions, visited stations and
got the word out that troopers are expected to do jobs on regular and
routine basis," Hagerty said. "Indeed, that has happened."

He said the fact that ticket writing is still running a bit below last year
could be the result of any number of factors -- from weather to staffing
levels -- that push figures up and down from month to month.

Trooper union officials attributed the drop-offs to troopers' fears of
being accused of overzealousness. And while the state is instituting
reforms to end racial profiling, union leaders contend troopers have been
left without clear criteria for choosing which motorists to stop.

"For all that they've been taking, to have the numbers be even close to
what they used to be shows what kind of job they're doing," said State
Troopers Fraternal Association acting first vice president Ken McClellan.
"They're out there doing their job."

While they continue to arrest fewer drivers than they did a year ago,
yesterday's statistics show troopers are helping more stranded motorists.

Troopers last month registered 21,226 stops to assist -- nearly 4,000 more
than in June and 16 percent more than the previous July. The statistics
also show that 17,459 motorists got away with warnings last month -- 8
percent more than last July.

McClellan said the rise in motorists assists may be due to troopers making
sure they report all their activities to headquarters because of the
increased scrutiny of their actions.

"Everything you do, you call it in," he said. "All the stuff we do is being
put on paper."