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More New Jersey police officers will be strapping a body camera to their chest after the state attorney general announced Tuesday that he will require SWAT teams, proactive enforcement groups, canine units and others to wear the equipment.
Previously, state law mandated that only uniformed patrol officers must use bodycams, as they’re known, to record their interactions with the public. The new directive, sent to local chiefs and county prosecutors throughout the state, will boost transparency and the public’s trust in law enforcement, according to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
“There is consistent public demand for the release of [bodycam] footage in the wake of critical incidents involving police use of force,” Grewal wrote in the directive. “This footage provides objective evidence of what occurred and plays a crucial role in the public discourse around police accountability.”