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Welcome to Probation Association of New Jersey Website |
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George Christie
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George Christie has served as president of the Probation Association of New Jersey (PANJ) since 1993.
During his tenure, George has worked to unify, strengthen and raise the public profile of the union.
George became a probation officer in 1979 supervising adult criminal offenders. He also oversaw the Bail
Project, worked in child support enforcement and conducted pre-sentence investigations. George joined the
union’s leadership team first as treasurer and then as first vice president and chair of the PANJ Education
Foundation’s conference.
During his tenure leading PANJ, George has sought to protect the more that 2,800 probation officers and
supervisors in the union. He also leads the union’s public affairs efforts to improve the state’s community
supervision system. His focus during recent years has been on transferring the Division of Probation to the
State Parole Board; protecting state pension and benefits for probation officers; improving safety and training
protocols; addressing policies that decrease caseload; and increasing salaries for probation officers from among
the lowest in the country to among the highest. During a recent session of the Legislature, George made PANJ
the single driving force behind legislative approval of adding the 3% increase that was deferred last year to
probation officer’s pensions. This significant accomplishment is a testament to his reputation with leaders in
both houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s Office. George also has worked to strengthen relationships
with law enforcement groups and community organizations such as: the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey
State PBA, the New Jersey State FMBA; the Friends of Amanda and Amanda’s Easel.
Prior to working in the probation supervision system, George was a member of the New Jersey State Police as a
road trooper. He received seven letters of commendation in his ten years with the State Police. He later
worked as a park planner with the Monmouth County Park Department for two years.
George served in the United State Marine Corps Fleet Marine Force from 1961 until 1967. He was stationed at
Camp Lejune with the 2nd Marine Division and served with a marine detachment on the U.S.S Long Beach, a
nuclear cruiser manned with only marines who had top secret clearance.
Christie earned an A.B. degree from Ocean County College and a B.A. from Richard Stockton College. He lives
in Neptune with his wife Colleen, who also is a probation officer. Christie has five children.
A few words from George Christie:
"Welcome to the PANJ Web Site. Through the Internet, PANJ hopes to share information more efficiently with its
members and other interested constituents of the global village. I am extremely proud to be the chief executive
of this organization. The other leaders and I are all employees of the New Jersey Judiciary. We recognized many
years ago that Probation Officers represent themselves better than anyone. We also understand that professionals
in community corrections are treated like second class citizens of the law enforcement community. This is true in
New Jersey and all across this country. We rarely share in the billions of dollars spent on law enforcement
initiatives. We are, for the most part, woefully under trained, under equipped, and under paid."
"All the functions of PANJ are carried out by employees from the groups we serve. They share in the gains and
suffer with the losses, just like the other 'customers.' We are truly a grass roots union but we call upon
attorneys and other professionals to aid us in our endeavors, when necessary. PANJ is well organized and never
shy of doing battle to protect the integrity of our profession or our rights under the law."
"As a group that has found the way to improve working conditions for professionals, we stand ready to assist our
colleagues who have needs in this area."
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