A recent ruling that New Jersey cannot mandate its police departments to obtain incident cameras should not deter towns that wisely want to have the technology.
An adverse ruling from the New Jersey Council on Local Mandates should not halt the ongoing effort to equip police officers in the state with body and/or dashboard cameras in patrol cars.
The council ruled that a state law that requires the installation of the dash-cams in new cruisers violates the local mandate provision. The law's funding mechanism, a $25 surcharge on driving-while-intoxicated convictions, was deemed insufficient to cover the cameras' cost.
The Local Mandates Act and commission were established in 1996 with good reason: Trenton lawmakers were imposing expensive mandate after expensive mandate on municipalities, but left towns - with local property taxes as their only way to raise money - to pay for the salaries, equipment and training needed. The panel is independent. Based on complaints, it can reverse a requirement that it finds to be an "unfunded mandate." It did so with the cameras.
The cameras have wide public support, especially after multiple police shootings in New Jersey and elsewhere raised questions of whether officers' use of deadly force was justified. The videos are not the final judicial word on the behavior of those involved in a disputed situation, but they're a big help in establishing evidence.
Speaking of shootings, backers of the cameras need to view the council's ruling in a "Don't shoot the messenger" light. The council didn't rule that the installations are bad; just that the law's sponsors didn't craft a way for the state to fund them.
We're less sure what to make of Deptford Township Mayor Paul Medany, who brought the complaint to the mandate council. Medany said he has nothing against the cameras, just the lack of funding. But he also thinks things were just fine when this technology didn't exist, and people automatically "trusted police officers and their judgment."
Ironically, a jury just found Thursday that a Deptford officer committed murder when he shot and killed a friend while off duty in 2013. The officer maintained the shooting was accidental. Either way, the case proves that officer judgment is not infallible.
Medany's view also ignores the reality of today's heated "police-involved" situations. Spectators and relatives will shoot often sketchy video of these incidents. Once the accusations fly, it's best if authorities have their own footage.
We'd urge police departments that plan to obtain the cameras to go ahead with those plans. Even if the cameras are no longer a mandate, they're a smart tool to have. Meanwhile, the Legislature should modify the mandate and help towns pay for the equipment. Like most electronic gear that's been around a while, it's not that expensive and it's likely to get cheaper.
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