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Bill > S5005


NJ S5005

NJ S5005
Adds training concerning coercive control to domestic violence training for judges and law enforcement officers.


summary

Introduced
12/11/2025
In Committee
12/11/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/12/2026

Introduced Session

2024-2025 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill adds training concerning coercive control to the existing domestic violence training requirements for judges, court personnel, and law enforcement officers. Under current law, N.J.S.A.2C:25-29, indicators of coercive control by an abuser include, but are not limited to: (1) isolating a person from friends, relatives, transportation, medical care, or other source of support; (2) depriving a person of basic necessities; (3) monitoring a person's movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services; (4) compelling a person by force, threat, or intimidation, including, but not limited to, threats based on actual or suspected immigration status; (5) threatening to make or making baseless reports to the police, courts, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) within the Department of Children and Families, the Board of Social Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or other parties; (6) threatening to harm or kill an individual's relative or pet; and (7) threatening to deny or interfere with an individual's child custody or parenting time, other than through enforcement of a valid custody arrangement or court order. Under the bill, the Attorney General and the Administrative Director of the Courts will be required to update the domestic violence training curriculum as necessary to implement the bill.

AI Summary

This bill amends existing New Jersey law to require domestic violence training for judges, court personnel, and law enforcement officers to include specific instruction on coercive control. Coercive control is defined as a pattern of behavior that includes actions like isolating a person from support networks, monitoring their movements and communications, threatening harm to relatives or pets, making baseless reports to authorities, and interfering with child custody. The bill mandates that the Attorney General and the Administrative Director of the Courts update their existing domestic violence training curriculum to incorporate recognition of these coercive control indicators. This training will be part of initial and annual training sessions for law enforcement officers, municipal and Superior Court judges, and judicial personnel handling domestic violence cases. The goal is to improve understanding of the complex dynamics of domestic violence by highlighting less visible forms of abuse beyond physical violence, helping professionals better recognize and respond to patterns of controlling behavior in domestic situations.

Committee Categories

Budget and Finance

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee (on 12/11/2025)

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