The New Jersey State Police will spend $1.5 million to purchase body cameras for 1,000 troopers, Gov. Christie's office said Tuesday.
The cameras will be the first purchased by the state police and all troopers on the road will be equipped with them, Christie's office said. The money will come from the state police budget.
The state Attorney General's Office also will have a fund of $2.5 million for local police departments to purchase cameras and related equipment for their officers. Each equipment package is expected to cost $500.
Departments would apply for the money through their county prosecutor's office, though with a cap on each county on how much police departments can purchase.
Christie on Tuesday also outlined initiatives that he said would make use-of-force investigations more transparent.
Under the new guidelines, a county prosecutor's office must disclose the findings of a use-of-force investigation even if the case is not presented to a grand jury for an indictment.
The findings, according to the state Attorney General's Office, "shall include sufficient detail about the circumstances of the use of force to explain why the matter is not being prosecuted as a criminal offense."
The county prosecutor's office and Division of Criminal Justice is then expected to publish the findings online.
(c)2015 The Philadelphia Inquirer
