BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
EDISON — A vital crime fighting tool is coming to the Edison Police Department in the form of body-worn cameras, according to Mayor Thomas Lankey and Police Chief Thomas Bryan.
During the first week of March, the department will roll out the 125 body-worn cameras that the department has received from Taser International Inc. The township has negotiated a two-year contract with the Arizona-based company.
“Body-worn and dashboard cameras have become a vital crime fighting tool,” said Bryan. “They enhance our evidence-gathering ability in criminal and accident investigations and prosecutions. The benefits to our police department and to the people we serve are enormous.”
Every uniformed officer in the Edison Police Department will be equipped with the body-worn cameras. The department will become the largest municipal department in the area to have body-worn cameras.
Bryan said that visual and audio recordings from body-worn and dashboard cameras will help Edison provide a dependable evidentiary record, enhance the accuracy of police reports and court testimony, protect officers from false accusations, and help assist in supervision and training.
The package deal also includes 60 state-of-the-art dashboard cameras for Edison patrol cars and 125 conductive-electrical devices, commonly called Tasers.
Each of Edison’s patrol cars have been equipped with other brands of dashboard cameras for the past eight-to-ten years. However, the new Taser-brand dashboard cameras will be compatible with the same digital data storage capabilities as officers’ body-worn cameras, Bryan said.
To pay for its new equipment, Edison secured a $62,500 federal grant awarded by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Plus, the township is investing $365,000 in capital improvement funds to cover the first two years of its agreement with Taser.
When it comes to the use of body-worn cameras, New Jersey is at the national forefront.
Just a few years ago, only 50 Garden State law enforcement agencies issued body-worn cameras to their police officers.
Today, after two rounds of federal grants funneled through the state Attorney General, more than 250 law enforcement agencies are now equipped with the devices. The Highland Park Police Department and Rutgers University Police already equip their officers with the body-worn cameras. The North Brunswick Police Department is expected to roll out body-worn cameras to their officers this summer.
Lankey said he is very proud that the Police Department is taking a progressive approach in utilizing body-worn cameras and digital recording equipment for each officer and patrol car.
“These devices are now essential to modern law enforcement,” he said. “Acquiring these technologies helps fulfill my Administration’s commitment to fortify public safety, to increase our Police Department’s professionalism and accountability, and to strengthen public confidence in our dedicated police officers.”
Police Benevolent Association (PBA) Local No. 75 President Michael Schwarz said the Edison PBA has been closely involved with the process of implementing body cameras and a fair policy for its members.
“Chief Bryan and his administration have been more than fair and reasonable during this process and all parties agree that officer safety is the number one priority,” he said.