Despite the increasing popularity of dashboard and body cameras among police departments, Deptford Township Mayor Paul Medany does not feel the benefits are worth the cost.
A close-up of a police body camera. DEPTFORD TWP. — Despite the increasing popularity of dashboard and body cameras among police departments, Deptford Township Mayor Paul Medany does not feel the benefits are worth the cost.
Deptford Township has won an injunction on a state mandate that it challenged earlier this year requiring that newly purchased police vehicles be equipped with a form of mobile camera system, either dashboard or body cameras.
The ruling could have a vast impact and potentially leave the door open for municipalities throughout the state to abandon plans to purchase mobil camera systems.
Earlier this year, the township brought a complaint before the New Jersey Council on Local Mandates, which is tasked with making sure state mandates are adequately funded.
Deptford argued that it was an unfunded mandate and therefore "would violate the New Jersey Constitution and the Local Mandates Act."
In light of numerous police-involved shootings and other incidents in recent years, there has been a major push for police departments to outfit officers and vehicles with cameras.
The mandate was supposed to be funded through a $25 surcharge on DWI fines to help municipalities pay for the cameras. Gov. Christie signed the measure in September 2014.
On March 1, any municipalities that purchased a police vehicle for traffic stops had to either have a dashboard camera or the officer had to wear a body camera.
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"Now, that decision will be up to municipalities to determine what they want to do," said Edward Purcell, associate legal counsel at New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
"What the state mandates on local government, the state must pay for, and here the state mandated that municipalities expand resources for this technology, but did not provide an adequate funding source," Purcell said.
Medany said Deptford brought the complaint because the numbers didn't add up.
"We did the math. I would have taken us approximately 17 years to pay it back," Medany said.
The increasing popularity of body and dashboard cameras in recent years has not caused Medany to waver.
"Our complaint is not with body cameras and dashboard cameras, it's the dollars it takes," Medany said. "We can't afford them ... We are here to protect the taxpayers. We have to watch our residents' tax dollars."
But it's not just the financial aspect, Medany added. He questions the use of body and dashboard cameras altogether.
"For years, we didn't have this technology. We've had police officers for years — what happened to the day where we trained and trusted police officers and their judgment? I trust my cops; do they make mistakes? Sure. But are (cameras) the be-all and end-all?"
Medany says no.
"I'm not 100 percent comfortable with it," Medany said. "I'm not the type of guy that does something just because everyone else is doing it. Let's watch every single moment of (someone's) life?"
But Medany said cameras might be something the township will consider in the future.
"Would we close the door? No, we don't close the door on anything. Is it worth the cost factor? I always want to examine the cost-benefit factor to figure out those unforeseen problems," he said.
John Sweeney, chairman of the Council on Local Mandates, said in a news release that "The council is unanimously satisfied that the mandate ... will lead to irreparable harm," not only for Deptford, "but to all municipalities in similar circumstances."
The council heard arguments Tuesday on the state's motion to dismiss the complaint and Deptford's motion for an injunction on the mandate.
The council said the injunction will not go into effect until it formally orders the injunction, which it noted should be within the next two to three weeks.
The council said it will still need to make a final determination as to the mandate's constitutionality.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
