“Each County Prosecutor and the Division of Criminal Justice shall establish a system of on call assistant prosecutors and deputy attorneys general to be available on a 24/7 basis to provide real time legal advice and charging approvals to law enforcement officers pursuant to this Directive.6 All assistant prosecutors and deputy attorneys general assigned to on-call duty pursuant to this Directive shall have sufficient experience to perform the functions required for on-call duty, and shall receive training in accordance with Section 14 of this Directive. Advice and charging approvals may be provided by on-call assistant prosecutors and deputy attorneys general in person or by means of telephonic or other electronic communication. The County Prosecutor shall make contact information and procedures available to all agencies operating within the prosecutor’s jurisdiction. The Director may specify the circumstances when a law enforcement agency or officer should directly contact the Division of Criminal Justice rather than a County Prosecutor’s Office. Except as otherwise provided pursuant to Section 3.3, when a law enforcement officer operating under the authority of the laws of the State of New Jersey makes an arrest for any indictable crime, or for a disorderly persons offense involving domestic violence where any of the grounds specified in N.J .S.A. 2C:25-2l (a)(l) to (4) apply, see note 5, the officer shall contact the appropriate County Prosecutor’s Office, or the Division of Criminal Justice where appropriate, as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so. The consultation with the prosecutor may be made in person or by means of telephonic or other electronic communication. Except as may otherwise be authorized pursuant to Section 3.3, no complaint-summons for any indictable crime, or for a disorderly persons offense involving domestic violence where any of the grounds specified in N.J.S.A. 2C:25-21(a)(l) to (4) apply, shall be issued, and no application for a complaint-warrant for any such crime or offense shall be submitted to a judicial officer authorized to approve a complaint-warrant, without the express approval of an assistant prosecutor or deputy attorney general designated pursuant to Section 3.1. The general requirement established in this section to consult with an assistant prosecutor or deputy attorney general does not apply if the most serious offense for which a defendant is arrested is a disorderly persons offense other than one involving domestic violence where any of the grounds specified in N.J.S.A. 2C:25-2l(a)(l ) to (4) apply. Cf. Section 3.5 (authority of County Prosecutor to require prosecutor review/approval in cases where approval is not required by this Directive).”
This is another example of the potential cost saving benefits of the automated risk assessment system being offset by the use of an additional paid employee as part of the system. Here, it is not just an entry level prosecutor, but an experienced one who commands a higher salary.
