Princeton Police Camera Footage Requests Now Come With A Price Tag

PRINCETON, NJ — Anyone who asks for more than 30 minutes of Princeton police body camera or dashboard camera footage will now have to pay for the time it takes to redact it.

The Princeton Council unanimously adopted an ordinance Monday, Nov. 9, setting a special service charge for public records requests for police body-worn and in-vehicle camera footage.

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The police department has been charging these fees for some time under existing town rules for records requests that take extra time and effort. The new ordinance puts that practice into the municipal code.

"What this is doing is basically just laying out what has already been a very consistent practice, in part because it puts YouTubers on notice, and that has become a huge issue," Municipal Attorney Trishka Cecil said.

Under the ordinance, footage with a total run time of less than 30 minutes is free.

For longer requests, the charge is based on the hourly rate of the lowest-ranking officer trained to do redactions. It's billed in half-hour increments. The town assumes it takes three hours of work to review and redact every hour of footage.

Requesters must get a cost estimate before police start work, and they can object to the charge. To move forward, they must pay a deposit of 50 percent of the estimate. If the cost looks like it will run more than 25 percent over the estimate, police must give a new estimate.

Requesters can't ask for a shorter clip of a longer video to stay under the 30-minute limit, according to the ordinance.

Cecil said the money collected goes into the town's general fund, not to the police department. She said there is "not a ton of discretion built in."

"It is an hourly rate, and it's the rate of the lowest paid employee who would be qualified to make the redaction," she said.

Officials said the town gets a steady stream of footage requests from YouTube channels.

"We are subject to these weekly OPRA requests from these YouTube folks, and it's very expensive," Cecile said. "And they don't want to pay a penny, by the way. So the minute you tell them, even if you tell them it's going to cost you $5, they don't want to pay."

Cecil said some channels search for videos of young women who were pulled over for DUI.

"They're trying to get them in embarrassing positions, and it's such a violation of privacy," she said.

Council member Leighton Newlin said he had questions about the ordinance before the vote. He was concerned about low-income residents who might need footage from a police encounter but couldn't afford the deposit.

"This law is a law that handles everyone the same way, but depending upon what your position is or your status in life, or how much money you make, you may not indeed have the money to spend to get the footage," he said.

He also pointed out that the police department, which holds the footage, is the one setting the price.

"You understand where there could be a conflict," he said. "But I'm satisfied that the genuine request will be supported in a genuine way."

Councilman David Cohen said people who need footage for a court case can get it through the discovery process, where the fee doesn't apply. The charge is only for requests made under the state Open Public Records Act, or OPRA.

Another council member asked whether that also covers civil lawsuits, such as when someone accuses police of wrongdoing. Cecil said yes, as long as there is a pending court case.

"So far, I don't think it's been the department's experience that this has been creating barriers to people who legitimately need this footage," she said.

She said the town would bring amendments back to the council if it turns out a group of people can't get footage they need.

Councilwoman Mia Sacks said the town wants to protect people who have a real need for footage.

"We absolutely do not want to contribute to this industry," Sacks said.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing.

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