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Police officers throughout Ocean and Monmouth County are now using a new device that can scan passersby vehicle license plate numbers in a second and instantly provide the status of your vehicle and information about its owner. With 6 cameras mounted on the roof of the "reader car", information is instantly sent to the dashboard computer screen. If a vehicle warrants stopping, such as a outstanding warrant for arrest, an alert beeps and the officer can initiate a motor vehicle stop. The legality of the instruments usage has already been approved in a recent case, State v. Donis, that held that a police officer may randomly check the status of a vehicle registration or driver's license and whether the vehicle or its plates are stolen. According to one source, there are approximately 1.5 million unregistered or unlicensed vehicles in the State of New Jersey.
The scanners have powerful uses for crimes other then motor vehicle violations enforcement. Each scanner saves the data of license plate numbers it has read. If for example, bank robbers are casing a place for several hours beforehand their plates may be picked up by a police camera. Police are able to fetch this data many days later if need be as evidence to help establish probable cause and other elements of the crime.

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The everyday traffic stop by a police officer has recently taken a drastic new turn. Implementation of tiny personal cameras pinned onto every police officer in Sea Girt Jersey is sure to create vibrations that will be felt for decades to come throughout New Jersey courtrooms. Created by Axon System the mini cameras are mounted on a headband, eyeglasses, or clipped to the collar of police and are able to record up to six hours of an officer at work. When video is recorded, it is wirelessly uploaded to a website, evidence.com, where it is available for retrieval by an officer with the proper authority. This groundbreaking implementation of technology, already used in Western States, is hoped to lead to better overall law enforcement procedure. In today's highly litigious society where even a simple traffic stop may end up in municipal court, this new upgrade will have untold effects.

The new technology will cost the Sea Girt Police Department about $2,000 per system and $1,200 in annual cost for data storage per unit. Sea Girt, with only 11 police officers, is the first of New Jersey's 566 municipalities to implement the mini cameras but already officials in Morristown and Cape May County have indicated their intent to have them soon. This new technology is possibly a response to the current trend of motor vehicle drivers recording snippets of their traffic stop with a cell phone. Rather than having only 10 seconds of recording, the longer videos will provide greater insight into the specifics of what happened.

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Loch Arbour is a small village of 200 residents in Monmouth County bordered by Asbury Park, Allenhurst, and Interlaken. It is directly accessible by Ocean Avenue and close to both Route 71 and the New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line train. Even though Loch Arbour is an extremely small village, it experiences a significant increase in activity during the summer months, as vacationers travel to and from the many popular beaches of Loch Arbour's neighboring boroughs. This leads to increased traffic congestion on Loch Arbour's roads. Local law enforcement, wary of big crowds and the trouble they can sometimes bring, usually crack down during the summer months in a proactive effort to preserve the quiet and peaceful nature of the small village. This results in an increase in the number of disorderly person charges, motor vehicle violations, and DWI charges issued during the summer.

Disorderly persons offenses refer to a broad category of offenses with some of the more commonly issued being disorderly conduct (N.J.S. 2C: 33-2), resisting arrest (N.J.S. 2C:29-2), simple assault (N.J.S. 2C: 12-1), possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia (N.J.S. 2C: 35-10 and N.J.S. 2C:36-2), underage drinking (N.J.S. 2C: 33-15), shoplifting (N.J.S. 2C: 20-11), possession of a fake ID (N.J.S. 2C: 21-2.1), and many others. Being convicted of any of these charges can have serious consequences including hefty monetary fines, jail time, community service, probation and restitution. Last year in Loch Arbour Village there were 7 disorderly persons charges.

Motor vehicle moving violations are common in Loch Arbour, due to its proximity to so many popular beachfront towns. Last year alone, Loch Arbour witnessed 81 motor vehicle moving violations. Alcohol related drunk driving offenses, including DWI, DUI, and Refusal, are extremely serious charges with far reaching consequences. For a first time drunk driving offense in New Jersey, penalties can include loss of license for up to one year, up to 30 days in jail, monetary fines up to $500.00, other monetary fines and penalties, the installation of an ignition interlock device into one's vehicle, and the completion of a program at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center. If convicted of subsequent offenses, the penalties become increasingly severe. If the New Jersey drunk driving offense takes place in a school zone, regardless of the time of day, the penalties will be doubled. It is also important to remember that restricted driver's licenses, which allow individuals who have had their licenses revoked or suspended to drive in limited capacities, are not issued in the State of New Jersey.

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