Complaints against New Jersey State Police troopers for everything from excessive force to minor paperwork violations fell for the fourth year in a row in 2010, but more troopers faced the most serious allegations of misconduct, a new report shows.

The public and other officers filed 848 complaints against troopers in 2010, down from 886 in 2009 and the fewest of any year during the past decade, according to the report, issued late last week by the division’s Office of Professional Standards.

The complaints spawned misconduct investigations of 437 troopers, the most since 2006. With only about half of these 290 investigations against the troopers completed, 62 charges were substantiated, also the most since 2006, according to the report and past statistics.

Fifty-eight troopers were punished in 2010 for everything from driving while intoxicated, domestic violence, falsifying investigation reports and failing to properly document traffic stops. The most serious offenses resulted in lengthy suspensions, firings or resignations. More in Star Ledger.