An Act concerning law enforcement officers and supplementing chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
C.40A:14-118.3 Use of body worn camera by law enforcement officers.
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary and subject to the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for this purpose, every uniformed State, county, and municipal patrol law enforcement officer shall wear a body worn camera that electronically records audio and video while acting in the performance of the officer’s official duties, except:
(1) while engaging in an undercover assignment;
(2) when assigned to non-uniformed duties;
(3) while serving in an administrative position within the department;
(4) while meeting with a confidential informant;
(5) while engaging in union representation of a member of the collective bargaining group;
(6) when directed by the Chief or a superior officer for a lawful purpose;
(7) a detective or investigator of a county prosecutor’s office or Division of Criminal Justice when authorized by the County Prosecutor or Attorney General; or
(8) as may be otherwise provided in accordance with guidelines or directives promulgated by the Attorney General.
b. In addition to funding provided through the annual appropriations act, the body worn cameras required by subsection a. of this section may be funded by forfeiture funds collected pursuant to N.J.S.2C:64-6, in an amount to be determined by the Attorney General , or any other source of funding made available for this purpose, including but not limited to federal grants.
c. For the purposes of this section, “body worn camera” means a mobile video recording system worn by a law enforcement officer.
C.40A:14-118.4 Promulgation, revision of guidelines, directives.
2. The Attorney General is authorized to promulgate or revise guidelines or directives, as appropriate, to implement and enforce the provisions of P.L.2020, c.128 (C.40A:14-118.3 et seq.).
3. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the effective date of P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5), but the Attorney General may take such administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.
Approved November 24, 2020.