Request for Existing BWC &/ MVC Footage & Requests
Dear Berkeley Township Police Depatment,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor containing all required information shall suffice as a valid records request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with any legal proceeding.
I request copies of all OPRA requests received by your agency from January 1, 2025, to the present that sought Body-Worn Camera (BWC) or Motor Vehicle Camera (MVC) footage. I also request copies of the BWC or MVC videos that were already located, reviewed, and released in response to those prior OPRA requests.
To minimize agency workload, I clarify that I am not requesting the identification or search of any new incidents or any new footage. I am requesting only materials that already exist, that have already been gathered and reviewed, and that have already been released to previous requestors. I will accept all records in whatever digital format they currently exist.
These records are disclosable government records under OPRA. Prior OPRA requests and any responsive footage that has already been released are public records, and previously disclosed BWC or MVC footage cannot later be withheld under investigatory exemptions. Because these items have already undergone legal review, producing them again does not require new exemption analysis, redaction, or investigation.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours faithfully,
Joe P
DEAR JOE,
IN REGARDS TO THE BELOW OPRA REQUEST, WE ARE REQUIRING AN EXTENSION WITH A DATE OF JANUARY 6,2026.
Joyce Settembrino
Records Support Tech 3
Berkeley Twp Police Department
Records Bureau
Phone: 732-341-1132 x2143
Fax: 732-349-9109
Dear requestor,
Berkeley Township is in receipt of your request for "all OPRA requests received by your agency from January 1, 2025, to the present that sought Body-Worn Camera (BWC) or Motor Vehicle Camera (MVC) footage. I also request copies of the BWC or MVC videos that were already located, reviewed, and released in response to those prior OPRA requests." Please be advised that fulfillment of your request for will require an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort. Production of the requested documents and footage will require an estimated 30 hours to complete. The Records Bureau will review the requested items at a rate of pay of $24.64 per hour, which is the salary of the lowest paid employee qualified to perform the work for a charge of $739.20.
OPRA allows public agencies to impose special service charges whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size or when fulfilling a request requires an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c. Special service charges must be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies.
OPRA mandates that the requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c.
Kindly respond in writing with your acceptance or rejection of this estimated charge within five business days. If the Records Bureau does not hear from you or receive payment in five business days, we will consider this request competed and closed. We will not begin to process this request until we receive your written acceptance and a deposit of 50% of the total charge, or the amount of $369.60.
Respectfully,
Marcy Novellino
Berkeley Township Police Department
Supervisor Criminal Information of Records
P.O. Box B
Bayville, NJ 08721
Phone: (732)341-1132 ext. 2119
Fax: (732)349-9109
Dear Marcy Novellino,
I'm requesting an itemized breakdown of this special service charge number; such as hours of video; quantity of video. I do believe a pdf of all the requests will not result in this charge - unless there are a mountain of requests. Thanks for your help in advance.
Yours sincerely,
Joe P
Dear requestor,
The special service charge is an estimate. The police department receives OPRA requests in person, via mail, email and fax. The requests seeking body cameras are not kept separately. Fulfillment of the request will require the police department to go through every OPRA request received for an entire year, retrieve documents, retrieve body cameras from archive storage. The police department will track the time actually spent fulfilling the request but cannot provide an itemized breakdown at this time.
Respectfully,
Marcy Novellino
Berkeley Township Police Department
Supervisor Criminal Information of Records
P.O. Box B
Bayville, NJ 08721
Phone: (732)341-1132 ext. 2119
Fax: (732)349-9109