Princeton Police Department Receives $15,000 Grant for Body Cameras

body cameraThe Princeton Police Department has been awarded $15,000 from the state for body cameras, Police Chief Nick Sutter said Monday night.

The funding is part of $2.5 million the New Jersey Attorney General’s office allocated for a body camera program for police departments across the state. Police departments applied for the funding through county prosecutors. More than 175 police departments applied for funding for more than 5,000 body worn cameras.

Princeton will receive about 30 cameras, Sutter said. Neighboring Lawrence also applied for and will receive 30 cameras.

“There are a lot of moving parts here we still have to take a look at before we use the cameras,” Sutter said. “The two biggest ones are policy and technology. I’m still of the opinion that we must move  deliberately. ”

The New Jersey State Police Department is being fully equipped with body cameras as well. The State Police received the first 100 body cameras, which are being used for testing and the development of protocols for camera use.

“That New Jersey State Police program will give us a good sample of how it will work,” Sutter said. “There will be policy and technology developments that come out of that.”