Local residents may find an unfamiliar pair of eyes watching over them this summer.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office recently acquired a SkyWatch surveillance platform and has entered into agreements with a number of local municipalities for the loaned use of the equipment.
Towns joining as participants include Edison, East Brunswick Helmetta, Jamesburg, Middlesex Borough, Old Bridge, Piscataway, Sayreville, South River, Spotswood, Woodbridge and the Rutgers University Police Department, according to Jim O’Neill, spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office. North Brunswick is discussing its inclusion in the program. O’Neill described the SkyWatch platform as an enclosure set atop a hydraulic scissor jack that can be raised 20 to 30 feet in the air to give police a better view over large crowds and gatherings. The tower is outfitted with tinted windows and numerous cameras, as well as air conditioning and heating systems for the police officer stationed inside.
It is manufactured by FLIR, a longtime purveyor of infrared cameras and imaging devices for commercial and government entities.
When not on loan around the county, the SkyWatch platform will be stored in Sayreville at the Middlesex County Fire Academy.