New Jersey Police Body Camera Laws: Mandate & Access

New Jersey requires nearly every uniformed patrol officer to wear a body camera under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.3, retain footage at least 180 days, and process public requests through the Open Public Records Act, which the state Supreme Court applied to body camera video in a January 2025 ruling.

This guide is part of our Police Bodycam Laws by State series.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses New Jersey state law on police body-worn cameras: the statewide mandate under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.3, retention duties under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5, Attorney General Directive 2022-1, and public access through the Open Public Records Act. It does not address a civilian's right to record law enforcement, a separate and already-settled question covered in our recording-law guide below.

Does New Jersey require police to wear body cameras?

Yes. Since June 1, 2021, N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.3 has required every uniformed State, county, and municipal patrol law enforcement officer in New Jersey to wear a body worn camera that electronically records audio and video while performing official duties. The requirement traces to P.L. 2020, c. 128, which Governor Phil Murphy signed on November 24, 2020, according to the New Jersey Legislature's official bill text, making New Jersey one of the earlier states to mandate cameras statewide rather than leave the decision to individual departments. The statute's definition of "body worn camera" carves out two narrow exceptions: a recording device worn by an officer on an undercover assignment, and a device used during a custodial interrogation at a place of detention. In 2021 and 2022, Attorney General Directive 2021-5 and its successor, Directive 2022-1, broadened the practical reach of the mandate by requiring a wider range of officers, including those on tactical teams, canine units, and proactive enforcement assignments, to wear cameras even when they are not in a traditional patrol role, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Body Worn Camera Policy.

When must an officer's camera be recording?

New Jersey law sets specific activation triggers rather than leaving the decision to an officer's discretion. Under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.3, the video and audio recording functions must be activated whenever the officer is responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between an officer and a member of the public. If an immediate threat to the officer's life or safety makes activation impossible or dangerous, the statute requires the officer to activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity to do so. The Attorney General's Body Worn Camera Policy applies that rule to specific situations, including traffic stops, frisks, searches, arrests, and witness interviews, and requires the camera to stay on until the encounter has fully concluded and the officer leaves the scene. For incidents involving deadly force, the camera must remain on, and if it is deactivated for a safety reason mid-encounter, the officer must reactivate it as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.

How long must New Jersey agencies keep bodycam footage?

New Jersey sets a retention floor, not a ceiling. N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5 requires a body worn camera recording to be retained for not less than 180 days from the date it was recorded. That period extends automatically to not less than three years if the recording captures an encounter that becomes the subject of a complaint filed by a person depicted in it. Every New Jersey law enforcement agency must adopt and follow a written policy specifying its retention schedule, and agencies are free to keep footage longer than the statutory minimum.

Can the public get a copy of New Jersey bodycam footage?

New Jersey has no bodycam-specific public access statute. A request for footage goes through the state's Open Public Records Act (OPRA), the same law that governs requests for other government records, and an agency's response depends on which OPRA exemption, if any, applies to the specific recording, according to the Government Records Council's official text of OPRA. Two exemptions come up most often for police video. The "ongoing investigation" exemption under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3(a) is temporary: the agency must show that releasing the record while the investigation continues would be inimical to the public interest, and the record becomes accessible once the investigation ends. The broader "criminal investigatory records" exemption is more durable; once a record is properly classified in that category, it generally keeps that exempt status regardless of how the case is resolved. Outside those two categories, OPRA's general presumption of access applies, and an agency that denies a request must identify a specific legal basis for withholding the footage.

Fuster v. Township of Chatham: the state Supreme Court expands access

New Jersey's OPRA framework for bodycam footage was tested directly in Fuster v. Township of Chatham. In May 2022, Antonio Fuster went to the Chatham Township Police Department to report that his special-needs child had accused an adult relative of sexual misconduct; an officer's body camera recorded the interview. When Fuster later sought a copy through OPRA to support a possible internal affairs complaint, the department denied the request, and the trial court and Appellate Division agreed that the footage was exempt because it concerned an individual who was not arrested or charged. On January 21, 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed, holding that OPRA contains no explicit exemption protecting law enforcement records about an uncharged individual, and that no New Jersey case law had established an automatic right to that kind of confidentiality. The Court ordered the footage released. The decision narrows the grounds agencies can use to deny bodycam requests involving people who were not charged with a crime.

What happens if an officer fails to activate the camera, or tampers with it?

New Jersey backs its activation and retention rules with real consequences, not just a policy preference. An officer, employee, or agent who fails to follow the recording or retention requirements, or who intentionally interferes with a camera's ability to accurately capture audio or video, is subject to discipline. Beyond discipline, the law creates two rebuttable presumptions tied to lost or missing footage: in a criminal case, a defendant who reasonably asserts that exculpatory evidence was destroyed or not captured benefits from a presumption that it was; in a civil case against a government entity or officer for police misconduct, a plaintiff gets the same presumption in their favor. Any recording made in violation of the law must be destroyed immediately and is inadmissible in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding.

Is a civilian allowed to record the police in New Jersey?

That is a separate legal question from the one this page addresses. New Jersey generally allows a person to record an on-duty officer performing public duties in a public place, under the state's one-party consent wiretap law and well-established First Amendment principles. For the full explanation of that right and how it differs from the rules on police-generated bodycam footage described above, see Is It Illegal to Record Someone?