Roselle Council President Reginald Atkins releases progress report and Next Steps towards Implementation of Body Cameras

ROSELLE, NEW JERSEY – Building on his commitment to prioritizing public safety and continuing to build strong police-community relations, Councilman Reginald Atkins, together with the Public Safety Committee consisting of Councilwomen Carla Walker and Councilwomen Kim Shaw and the Roselle Police Department, has released a progress report on Roselle’s body-worn cameras program.

“Roselle is a model Borough in our County for having strong police-community relations, and our goal is to continue building trust and positive relationships between law enforcement officers and community members,” said Councilman Atkins. “This initiative shows the potential value that body cameras can have as part of our overall strategy for strengthening ties between law enforcement and the residents they serve. I am proud that we will be moving forward on this, and look forward to seeing how this program will further support the transformative progress we have made in community policing.”

“I’m proud of our Police Department and our newly appointed Police Chief, Bryan Barnes for taking this initiative seriously and for continuing the hard work they do every day,” said Councilwoman Kim Shaw. “The results from this program will show there is positive impact in the use of the body cameras.”

Roselle Received the Attorney General Grant (The 1st in Union County for 2017) for Body Cameras from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General! This will provide our town with a critical law enforcement tool that provides both audio and video recordings of interactions between police officers and members of the public.

“We live in a time when our residents demand community policing as a quality of life issue and they also demand accountability… the addition of these body cameras as part of our law enforcement officers’ day-to-day operations will provide both said Councilwoman Walker.” The grant funds (15k) was used by the Roselle Police Department to purchase the units, which would include the camera, power supply, chargers, docking stations and harnesses. Special “Thank You” to those who took important steps to increase the visibility and accessibility of our public safety officials as this initiative began under the leadership of then-Mayor and now Assemblyman Jamel C. Holley, the Roselle Borough Council and the Roselle Police Department. As chairman of Public Safety our goal is accountability!