Surveillance camera agreement expected

Monday, September 24, 2007
By N. CLARK JUDD
JERSEY JOURNAL

A deal is in the works to get access to NJ Transit Police surveillance cameras for the Jersey City Police Department, Mayor Jerramiah Healy confirmed last week.

The agreement would be especially helpful in improving public safety around the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stations, Healy said in a statement.

Healy, NJ Transit Executive Director Rich Sarles, and "tech people" from both NJ Transit and the city plan to meet soon to discuss the feasibility of linking NJ Transit's closed-circuit television cameras at Light Rail stations to the city's existing system, Healy said.

"With the changing of bus routes and elimination of bus routes we would like to be prepared for the potential increase in ridership on the Light Rail," added Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey.

Negotiations between NJ Transit and the city had stalled for a couple months because NJ Transit Police Chief Joseph Bober refused to allow the city access to the cameras, Healy said. But Healy intervened with NJ Transit higher-ups, and the process started moving forward again, said Healy spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.

Healy said about Bober last week, he "should get another job."

A spokeswoman for NJ Transit, said Friday there were no personal issues between Bober and Healy. "We are working very closely with the city to meet their needs through shared technology and we're also cooperatively working together with our respective police departments," said the spokeswoman, Penny Bassett Hackett.