New Jersey Attorney General

About the AG’s Office The New Jersey Attorney General has broad oversight of the state’s legal and law enforcement matters. As the head of the Department of Law Public Safety, the Attorney General supervises a wide range of Divisions, Offices, and Commissions, consisting of 2,800 uniformed officers, 600 lawyers, and thousands of other public servants. Generally speaking, the Attorney General’s responsibilities can be divided into five subject matters: criminal, civil, regulatory, grant-making, and juvenile rehabilitation. Criminal Responsibilities The Attorney General’s criminal authority extends beyond the Divisions under his direct supervision. Under the Criminal Justice Act of 1970, the Attorney General is responsible for the “administration of criminal justice throughout the state.” N.J.S.A. 52:17b-98. This responsibility takes several forms. The Attorney General may issue statements of statewide policy – known as “law enforcement directives” – that are binding on all 36,000 state, county, and local law enforcement officers in New Jersey. In addition, the Attorney General oversees the state’s 21 County Prosecutors, and may assume responsibility for, or “supersede,” investigations or prosecutions handled by a County Prosecutor’s Office. Finally, through DCJ, the Attorney General oversees the Police Training Commission, which establishes standards for law enforcement training and the state’s police academies. The Attorney General is the state’s chief law enforcement officer. As part of that responsibility, the Attorney General oversees the New Jersey State Police (NJSP), the state’s largest law enforcement agency, and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), which has statewide authority to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses. In addition, the Attorney General oversees three specialized prosecution agencies: the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP), which investigates insurance fraud, and the Office of Public Integrity Accountability (OPIA), which investigates public corruption and other abuses of public trust, and the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions (OSFFCP), which investigates securities and complex financial fraud crimes.. Civil Responsibilities The Attorney General also serves as the state’s chief lawyer, providing legal representation to the Office of the Governor and the state’s departments, boards, and agencies. The Attorney General carries out this responsibility through the Division of Law (DOL), which assigns its attorneys to represent various state entities. (In New Jersey, state agencies are not permitted to employ their own in-house counsel, except where explicitly permitted by law, and so DOL serves as the “sole legal adviser” for most departments. Florio Executive Order 6 (1990); N.J.S.A. 52:17A-4(e).) In certain circumstances, including cases involving a conflict of interest, the Attorney General may retain private counsel to carry out these responsibilities. Through DOL, the Attorney General defends state agencies when they are sued and also represents agencies when they bring enforcement actions against companies and individuals that violate state law. These enforcement actions – known as “affirmative litigation” or “affirmative civil enforcement” – ensure compliance with New Jersey’s civil rights, consumer protection, environmental, health care, labor, and securities laws. The Attorney General also oversees two agencies that work closely with DOL to protect New Jersey residents: the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), which investigates violations of the state’s Law Against Discrimination, and the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA), which among other things investigates violations of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.