Camden County Police To Be Equipped With Body Worn Cameras

The Camden County Police Department received a $118,500 grant for body worn cameras, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced on Monday.

It is part of $20 million in grants that are being awarded nationwide. New Jersey State Police and police departments in Evesham, Haledon and Newark also received grants.

The awards, funded under the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Fiscal Year 2016 Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program, will help law enforcement organizations implement body-worn camera policies, practices and evaluation methods to make a positive impact on the quality of policing in individual communities.

An additional $474,000 was awarded earlier this year under the 2016 Small Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program.

The Camden County Police Department launched its program earlier this year, and is in the final stages of equipping all its officers with the cameras, according to the department. Many officers have already been using them for more than six months.

The department also participates in the federal Police Data Initiative, in which police departments voluntarily released over 90 data sets that were not previously available to the public in an effort to increase transparency and communication between police and the public. Police departments participate in that program for free.

The Body Worn Camera program was also launched last year in response to a recommendation by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing that law enforcement agencies use technology to strengthen relations with communities.

BJA convened a Body-Worn Camera Expert Panel that identified issues and considerations confronting communities considering adoption of body camera technology.

Initial research has shown that law enforcement use of body-worn camera programs improve law enforcement’s interaction with the public, authorities said.

Locally, the Moorestown Police Department also uses body worn cameras.

The attached image is a Patch file photo