By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
“Double tap, it makes the noise and you see the red. It’s recording,” said Evesham Police Department Chief Christopher Chew.
That’s the procedure police in Evesham Township are quickly getting familiar with before they head out to patrol. Today the department unveiled the largest deployment in the state of body cameras, to be worn by officers — 48 total.
“In the past we’ve had frivolous lawsuits — people calling and making demeanor complaints or use of force complaints and if it wasn’t on a motor vehicle stop we never had the ability to see the whole picture unfold from beginning to end,” said Chew.
The wireless camera sends information to a cloud-based server with unlimited space. Unless it’s flagged, video is purged after 90 days. The device is always active, but not always recording.
“When they’re ready to go to a call, or have a contact or motor vehicle stop or any citizen contact, they double tap it again to record the entire conversation. What it does, a good benefit does is recording a video 30 seconds prior to the activation,” Chew said.
That way those all important moments leading up to an interaction may be caught on tape.
“It gives us a level of transparency, that’s what we look for as an organization,” said Chew.
They cost about $300 each. In total, the department spent $63,000 for the hardware and licensing fees, money that will come from capital bonding approved by the township.
The camera is extremely light weight but durable. The department says it can withstand rain, being submerged in water and even heavy impact.
“If you ask me, this is a game changer, this is the future. Every police department will be wearing these in the future, I believe just like with the video in the cars,” Chew said.
People we spoke to in the neighborhood seemed to be in favor.
“I know it sounds like big brother, we live in such an insane world. I don’t have no problem with it. I really don’t. It’s security,” said Marlton resident Marilyn Masceri.
“I think any added coverage is probably a good thing because it’s going to protect us and them,” Tina Irving said.
Assemblyman Paul Moriarty supports extra layers of legal protection for both the citizen and officer. The South Jersey legislator sponsored a bill calling for uniform camera use in all municipalities after video from a dashboard cam helped dismiss a DWI charge against him two years ago.
Evesham police expect conviction rates to skyrocket thanks to the extra evidence and a big return in cost savings.