Body Cameras

As reported by NJ.com, State officials will announce awards to 176 police departments to buy more than 5,000 body cameras, a move they claim puts New Jersey at the “forefront” of states embracing the relatively new technology.  Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said that when his office kicked off the $2.5 million program this summer, interest from local and county agencies was “overwhelming.”

The funding comes at a time of increased scrutiny of interactions between police and private citizens, spurred in part by high-profile police shootings across the U.S. and New Jersey.  Earlier this year, Hoffman issued a directive for the use of cameras that was met with criticism both from the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and two unions representing New Jersey police officers, who claimed they were not given a seat at the table in drafting the new rules and had to go to court to get more information about the State’s plans.

Udi Ofer, head of the ACLU-NJ, said his group has “significant concerns” about the State’s body camera policy, particularly whether citizens will have access to the footage and how the cameras might be used for surveillance.  Last month, a coalition of New Jersey clergy called on lawmakers to go beyond the reforms implemented by Hoffman, advocating for legislation requiring body cameras for all police and the appointment of independent prosecutors to review police shootings.  But Hoffman said the high demand for cameras “demonstrates that police officers are embracing this technology to protect themselves, assist them in their work, and foster stronger police-community relations.”

Elie Honig, director of the State Division of Criminal Justice, said the State was “fully meeting nearly every request” for the technology from police departments in 20 counties, as well as the Rutgers Police Department.  “There is a sea of change happening right now across New Jersey as law enforcement leaders recognize how these powerful devices serve the interest of both police and the community,” Honig said.

The State program, paid for with forfeiture funds, is one of several aimed at helping departments that may be interested in implementing the technology but unable to bear the up-front costs.  In September, the federal Justice Department awarded $23 million competitive grants to help local police buy cameras.  The Attorney General’s Office said the State Police has also started implementing its own $1.5 million body camera program, outfitting 100 of an expected 1,000 troopers with the technology.  The announcement will include a demonstration of State Troopers using body cameras and the release of video from a recorded motor vehicle stop.

Tags: Attorney General Hoffman, body cameras, DCJ, NJ Attorney General, NJ Police, NJ Public Safety Officers, NJ State Police, NJSP, Rutgers Police Department
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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