PATERSON – Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09) announced two federal Department of Justice grants to support law enforcement and public safety in the Ninth Congressional District. The Borough of Haledon was awarded $17,920 and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) were granted $575,361 to purchase body-worn cameras (BWC) and develop BWC policies.  In June 2015 Pascrell wrote to the Department of Justice advocating for Haledon to receive a grant award (letter attached).

“Implemented properly, body worn camera programs can be an important tool for building positive relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve,” stated Rep. Pascrell, co-chairman of the House Law Enforcement Caucus.

“One holdup in body worn camera program implementation nationwide has been lack of funding. I am pleased the federal government is stepping in to assist with these funding gaps for communities with limited resources like Haledon. I commend Haledon for putting together a successful grant application.”

The Haledon grant came through the Body Worn Camera Small Agency Policy and Implementation program (BWC PIP) funded under the 2016 Department of Justice Appropriations Act (P.L. 114-113). The grant program supports the implementation of body-worn camera programs for law enforcement agencies across the country. The intent of the program is help agencies develop, implement, and evaluate a BWC program as one tool in a law enforcement agency’s comprehensive problem solving approach to enhance officer interactions with the public and build community trust.

The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) will use the grant funds to procure BWCs on 1,575 uniformed field operational personnel. The first Law Enforcement Caucus briefing in the 114th Congress focused on BWCs policy making and the robust data management tools that have emerged as an integral part of state and local law enforcement.

The Caucus heard from former law enforcement officers on how BWC have been shown to reduce complaints, decrease litigation costs, expedite pleas, enhance evidence collection, improve community relationships, and reduce the use of force. The briefing explored issues surrounding the use of BWCs including: liability protections, public disclosure laws, officer safety, impacts on police and community relations, privacy protections and data management and secure storage.