APANJ Committees

APANJ Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Mission Statement

The mission of the APANJ’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee is to support efforts to increase diversity and inclusion within our association and throughout the prosecutorial ranks statewide. The APANJ recognizes that for too long the legal profession, including prosecutor offices, have suffered from a lack of lawyers from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities. There has never been a time in our history that the need for more diverse prosecutors has been greater. New Jersey’s prosecutors serve one of the most broad and diverse communities in the nation and we need more practitioners among our ranks that hail from these communities. The densest state in the U.S., New Jersey also ranks as one of the most diverse states in the country. Nearly 45% of its residents are people of color and New Jersey is third in the nation with the largest population of foreign-born residents.

The APANJ is determined to do its part to ensure that every opportunity is afforded to people of all backgrounds to obtain a legal education and pursue a career in criminal prosecution in New Jersey. This committee will pursue collaborative projects, programs, initiatives, and events that not only raise awareness of the need for more diverse prosecutors, but actually increase their number among our ranks. Promoting diversity and inclusion within the criminal justice system enables prosecutors and their offices to continue to build trust with the people and communities they serve, as well as the victims for whom they advocate.

“Diversity” includes and is not limited to the following backgrounds: race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, languages spoken (polyglots), socio-economic status, religious creed, beliefs or practices, and veterans of our armed forces.

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