New Brunswick PD Gets Body Cameras; Already In Place At Rutgers

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Police for the city of New Brunswick will be getting body cameras this summer, as per a new requirement by Gov. Phil Murphy that every police department in the state have the cameras by June 1.

Rutgers campus police have already had body cameras in use since 2016, said a Rutgers University spokeswoman. But the state of New Jersey gave out a series of grants this spring to fulfill Gov. Murphy's mandate, and the grant money will pay for future replacement of body camera hardware, she said.

Rutgers University police received a $374,992 grant to expand their body camera program.

New Brunswick city police did not have body cameras until the governor mandated it.

New Brunswick PD received a $350,530 grant, which will be used to purchase 172 cameras. All uniformed patrol officers must wear one.

"We have met with different vendors and are in the process of field testing cameras and equipment," said Deputy Director J.T. Miller of New Brunswick Police. "We are moving forward with the process and will be equipping officers once funds are approved and the equipment is delivered.

In November, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that required every uniformed patrol officer in New Jersey to be outfitted with a body camera while on duty by June 1, 2021.

New Jersey State Troopers have had car-mounted cameras for more than two decades and have been wearing body cameras for the past several months "with great success," Colonel Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said this week.

Statewide, 28,214 cameras will be purchased at a total cost of $57.5 million. The Attorney General's Office is administering the grant program on a reimbursement basis, with agencies receiving funding at $2,038 per camera, which may be used for the purchase of cameras and equipment needed to operate them, and towards the costs of storing footage from the cameras.

• Edison Division of Police: Getting 182 cameras with a $370,910 grant
• Middlesex Borough: Getting 34 cameras with a $69,292 grant
• Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office: Getting 75 cameras with a $152,850 grant
• Middlesex County Sheriff's Office: Getting 100 cameras with a $203,800 grant
• Woodbridge: Getting 300 cameras with a $611,400 grant

Some studies show that use of force and complaints against officers go down when police are wearing body cameras: This study conducted by the University of Cambridge in 2012 showed that the use of force by police officers wearing cameras fell by 59 percent from the previous year. Complaints against officers using body cameras fell by 87 percent.

"We are witnessing a new chapter in policing in New Jersey with the reforms we are implementing in partnership with law enforcement and community leaders. And, with the body cameras we are funding, we will literally have an objective witness to how police carry out their duties," said Gov. Murphy on Tuesday of this week.

With reporting by Anthony Bellano

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