West Orange Police Get $30K For Body Cameras From State Grant

By Anthony Bellano with additional reporting by Eric Kiefer

West Orange, NJ - The West Orange Police Department will receive $30,000 in grant money to purchase 60 body cameras for its officers, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced on Monday.

The funding is part of $2.5 million for 176 police departments statewide for more than 5,000 body worn cameras, according to a release.

Hoffman announced the availability of the $2.5 million on July 28 and invited police agencies to apply for the funds through the county prosecutors.

Hoffman also previously announced plans to fully equip the New Jersey State Police with body cameras at a cost of $1.5 million.

The NJ State Police have received the first 100 body cameras out of approximately 1,000 that will be phased in over the coming months.

The first 100 cameras are being used for testing and to develop protocols and training, in preparation for the rollout of body-worn cameras on patrol. The new cameras will complement the mounted cameras in every patrol vehicle, which have been used by the State Police for the past 16 years.

“We clearly are leading the nation when it comes to our efforts in New Jersey to deploy body-worn cameras to promote transparency and mutual accountability of police and civilians,” Hoffman said. “The overwhelming response we received from law enforcement to our offer of funding demonstrates that police officers are embracing this technology to protect themselves, assist them in their work, and foster stronger police-community relations.”

“We’re gratified that we’re fully meeting nearly every request we received for the purchase of body cameras,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice said. “There is a sea change happening right now across New Jersey as law enforcement leaders recognize how these powerful devices serve the interest of both police and the community.”

Hoffman also issued a statewide policy designed to promote best practices and uniformity in using the devices. The new policy establishes the foundation for guidelines and allows local police departments to tailor policies to their needs.

In drafting the policy, the Attorney General’s Office analyzed policies in use in municipalities in New Jersey and other states, studied materials from the Police Executive Research Forum, and hosted a conference in April for police departments already using body cameras or making plans to deploy them.

The Attorney General’s Directive on Body Cameras is posted at this link: http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/2015-1_BWC.pdf.