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Teaneck police will receive the largest grant, $35,000, followed by the sheriff's office at $25,000, Hoffman said during a news conference on the Busch campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway.
The funding will come from money seized in criminal cases, he said.
Also receiving grants:
East Rutherford PD: $11,000
Englewood Cliffs PD: $3,500
Garfield PD: $4,000
Harrington Park PD: $5,500
Lyndhurst PD: $7,500
Midland Park PD: $6,500
Rutherford PD: $10,000
Saddle Brook PD: $7,500
"We clearly are leading the nation when it comes to our efforts in New Jersey to deploy body-worn cameras to promote transparency and mutal accountability of police and citizens," Hoffman said.
"The overwhelming response we received from law enforcement to our offer of funding demonstrates that police officers are embracing this technology to protect themselves, assist them in their work, and foster stronger police-community relations."
The attorney general was joined at his morning news conference by members of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, New Jersey Asian-American Law Enforcement Officers Association and Policemen’s Benevolent Association.
Hoffman promised the funding to local police after State Police troopers began getting the cameras in late summer.
While the aid will encourage statewide use of body cameras, the attorney general said, the decision to buy them is left to each department.
He expects many will do so, however, because of a state law requiring newly-puchased police cruisers to have mobile recording systems. Body cams satisfy that requirement, Hoffman said. They cost about $500 each.
Daily Voice broke the news yesterday: It's Official: New Jersey Local Police Departments Getting Body Cameras
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