Sheriff’s Officers Equipped with Body Worn Cameras
photo via Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office
The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Officers deployed in the criminal fugitive warrants section of the Law Enforcement Division were equipped with body worn cameras, effective today, Sheriff Shaun Golden announced. The Sheriff’s Office joins 17 other law enforcement agencies throughout Monmouth County that are equipped with the cameras purchased through a grant from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Department of Law and Public Safety and administered by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
“These body worn cameras will build upon the public trust that sheriff’s officers and our partners in law enforcement have in communities, and, enhance the safety of the residents we serve throughout Monmouth County,” said Sheriff Golden. “In addition to the BWC’s being able to hold all accountable at a scene, they can also help capture quality evidence, recognize officer behavior and decrease complaints filed against members of law enforcement.”
The cameras are clipped onto the front of an officer’s uniform. They are called Body Vision XV and are manufactured by L3 Mobile Vision. The officers utilizing the equipment have been trained on the electronic recording technology which includes video and audio of an incident. The Sheriff’s Office meets the directives and standards established by the New Jersey Attorney General guidelines for police BWCs and retention.
“The Sheriff’s Office has been utilizing the L-3 Mobile Vision in car camera system for police vehicles and prisoner transport for many years, with great success,” Sheriff Golden said. “The BWCs are another step and innovative approach toward building ties and strengthening the trust among law enforcement and communities.”
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Hey cool, great…. but I think that the Sheriff’s department, along with all of the other departments, need to better train their own officers with how to act and respond when it’s the accused, victim, bystander, or other non-department individual who is taking the video, recording the officer, victims, suspects, scene, etc.
Too many officers immediately and wrongly start demanding that cameras be turned off, phones and cameras be turned over, videos deleted — none of which is legal, but then disobeying the officer’s illegal demand often leads to the legal arrest or citation for failing to comply with the officer. Catch 22.
Note to fellow MMM readers — get yourself a $40/$50 dashboard cam — something like this — https://www.amazon.com/Black-Box-G1W-C-Capacitor-Model/dp/B00MIO2KRC — hopefully it never records more than the traffic you sit in everyday here in New Jersey — but otherwise maybe it helps you or a fellow citizen someday.
Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys should also be trained and more aware of and accepting of such videos from people showing up in court or filing complaints against other citizens or government employees. Ie, no department seems to care when I send in a video of a marked patrol car, without emergency lights on, and a uniformed officer driving and speeding past while on what appears to be their personal cell phone.
@ Cameras Cameras
You are exactly right. In addition what they don’t tell you is that the BWC can be TURNED OFF by the officer at any time. How many videos have we seen that appear to have gaps at critical times.
BTW the officers know that it is perfectly legal for citizens to record as long as they do not physically interfere with a situation.