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Trenton Police To Start Using Body Cameras To Record Encounters

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police officials in New Jersey's capital city will use body cameras at the first of five public events.

Trenton police officials unveiled the plans Wednesday evening in the City Council Chambers, NJ.com reported.

Under the plan, police officers beginning in June would turn on their cameras when responding to a call.

The entire encounter would be recorded, unless it has to be turned off. That footage would be kept in a cloud-based server run by the company that sold the cameras.

Footage could be kept indefinitely. Minor encounters could be purged after 90 days.

Under the plan, supervisors would regularly review the footage. Those reviews would then be audited by commanders.

The cameras would be used to train police for future situations.

In 2015, police officers in Howell, Wall and Middletown Townships, of Monmouth County, began wearing body cameras. Forty police officers in Essex County were also equipped with the cameras in August.

In September 2015, Elizabeth County also announced they would be using forfeiture funds to equip 550 of their officers with the cameras.

According to officials, 176 police departments will share $2.5 million to purchase new body cameras across the state. The money was obtained through forfeiture funds.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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