New Hampshire state police to wear body cameras

(The Center Square) – New Hampshire’s state police will be equipped with body cameras this year after the state approved funding for the new program.

Gov. Chris Sununu said the body cameras are “another step forward” toward implementing “the most transformative changes ever made to New Hampshire’s law enforcement system.”

“This effort provides yet another layer of transparency and accountability in our continued efforts to further bolster public trust in the incredible work done by New Hampshire’s law enforcement officers, who set the gold standard for the rest of the country,” Sununu said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the Governor’s Council approved a five-year, $3.4 million contract with Georgia-based Utility Associates, Inc. to provide at least 320 body-worn cameras and 522 cameras on police cruisers, as well as a wireless network to support the systems.

“This is long overdue for our agency,” Maine State Police Col. Nathan Noyes told counselors ahead of Wednesday’s vote. “It is certainly going to create greater transparency, better evidence collection … it’s going to show and document exactly what’s going on at any given event or incident throughout the state that our troopers are facing.”

Several of New Hampshire’s largest cities, including Manchester, already require body cameras for police officers.

Police body cameras were among dozens of recommendations by the state Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community, and Transparency, or LEACT, which released a report last year calling for police reforms to curb police misconduct.

The panel’s recommendations came in response to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police officers during a routine stop last year.

Last year, Sununu signed an order calling for implementation of number of the recommendations including the cameras and training for police officers on bias, racial profiling and de-escalation tactics.

The order also calls for improving records on police misconduct and creates a new unit within the state Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute allegations of criminal conduct by government officials.

One of the more controversial recommendations of the LEACT report was the release of a list containing names of about 280 officers across New Hampshire who have committed wrongdoing.

That issue has been playing out in the courts, where police unions and other opponents of releasing the so-called “Laurie List” argue that it constitutes an invasion of privacy.

Lawmakers approved a bill earlier this year that would require the state to release the names on the list but gives officers due process protections from disclosure.

Advocates say the policing reforms are desperately needed to eliminate bias among law enforcement officers in New Hampshire, one of the whitest states in the nation.

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