Lower Township Police Department Deploys Body Worn Cameras

LOWER TOWNSHIP – Beginning June 28, 2017, Lower Township Police officers will be wearing body worn cameras on patrol. In addition to having in-car video cameras in their patrol vehicles, officers will be equipped with the WatchGuard Vista Wearable Body Camera. It functions as a camera and DVR combination to collect video and audio evidence.  Police Officers will wear the camera near or at the center of their chest, on the outer most layer of clothing. 
The Lower Township Police Department’s use of body worn video camera technology will be a valuable tool in accurately documenting events, actions, conditions and statements, made during investigative stops, field interviews, arrests and critical incidents. Body cameras are a valuable asset intended to assist department officers in the prosecution of certain offenders by augmenting an officer’s testimony with a video/audio record of the incident. Although it doesn’t capture everything the officer sees, it will be beneficial for court and will document a clearer picture of what happened during an incident. The use of the cameras increases transparency and also provides an opportunity to capture the good work that the police officers do on a daily basis.  Additionally, this equipment will enable department administrators to conduct periodic reviews of officer-citizen contacts, for quality control purposes and will aid in the investigation of citizen com plaints.
The use of the body worn cameras will follow the guidelines issued by the New Jersey Attorney General and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the policies set by the Lower Township Police Department.