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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.

Continue reading "Police In Ocean and Monmouth County Can Scan Your License Plate in a Second With New Technology" »

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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.

Continue reading ""Big Brother" Police in New Jersey Are Watching You!" »

Ocean Township is located in Monmouth County and bordered by Eatontown, West Long Branch, Tinton Falls, Neptune, and Deal. It has a population of about 28,000 and is directly accessible through Route 35. Among other things, Ocean Township is well known for having an abundance of public parks including Joe Palaia Park, which is home to a large Fourth of July celebration, and Weltz Park. In addition, Ocean Township offers a vast array of outdoor recreational activities including a skateboarding park, public tennis courts, and swimming pools. As summer approaches, locals and vacationers begin utilizing these outdoor facilities in Ocean Township and before long, Ocean and its surrounding neighborhoods are faced with a new found population spike.

Wishing to maintain peace and quiet, local law enforcement normally steps up to the challenge of controlling these summer crowds by issuing more summons for disorderly persons offenses, motor vehicle violations, and DWI charges. Last year, there were 361 disorderly persons offenses handed out in Ocean with some of the most common being disorderly conduct (N.J.S. 2C; 33-2), underage drinking (N.J.S.2C: 33-15), possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia (N.J.S. 2C: 35-10 and N.J.S. 2C: 36-2), criminal mischief (N.J.S. 2C:17-3), and possession of a fake ID (N.J.S. 2C; 21-2.1). If convicted, penalties may include significant monetary fines, jail time, probation, and payment of restitution.

Motor vehicle moving violations and DWI, DUI, or Refusal, are also very common in Ocean Township and can all have serious and far reaching consequences. For an individual charged with a first time DWI offense, the penalties may include loss of driver's license for up to a year, monetary fines up to $500, other fines and penalties, the installation of an interlock device system into their vehicle, completion of a program at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, and jail time. Subsequent offenses lead to even harsher penalties. Less serious moving violations, including speeding and failure to yield at a crosswalk, can also carry with them surprisingly substantial penalties including the assessment of motor vehicle points leading to higher insurance premiums, fines, community service and even jail time. Last year, 2,580 moving violations were handed out in Ocean Township and 99 DWIs.