NJ Transit officials have broken their silence over what happens to surveillance recordings it makes of passenger conversations on light rail trains.



In April, the state American Civil Liberties Union and commuter groups demanded that NJ Transit disclose information about the surveillance after an NJ Advance Media article revealed that the conversations of passengers on light rail trains were being recorded.



"Audio and video remain in the surveillance device for approximately 30 days, with new video and audio overwriting (recording over) previous files," said Nancy Snyder, an NJ Transit spokeswoman. "It is our practice and procedure."

NJ Transit had denied a public records request for the written policy that covers their surveillance program on June 10 under the grounds that no such policy existed.

"Your request is denied because no such records exist, therefore, there are no public records subject to disclosure," wrote Peter Spall, NJ Transit senior public records specialist.

Civil rights advocates say that NJ Transit still needs to build formal policies around those "practices and procedures."

"Without a written policy, there is no accountability to the public and the public needs to know that NJ Transit takes our rights seriously," said Jeanne LoCicero, state ACLU deputy legal director. "It's irresponsible to spend millions of dollars on equipment without creating a policy to guide employees and to safeguard the public."

Surveillance equipment cost NJ Transit $750,000 to install on River Line trains, and the $1.9 million expense to install it on Hudson-Bergen and Newark light rail trains was funded by a federal Homeland Security grant.



Policies should say how long the information is stored, what it is used for, who has access to it, how long it is kept and how it is disposed of, LoCicero said.



"I'm shocked they haven't done anything. The legislature should move quickly to address this gaping hole in how NJ Transit operates," she said. "When government acts on our behalf, they are supposed to have policies. Police have policies on body cameras and dash cams, we'd expect a transit agency to have them."

It took three days of criticism by civil rights and commuter advocates in April before NJ Transit officials revealed that the agency's police department manages access to the recordings for "limited investigative purposes."



"I'm concerned it took this much effort to say at least this much," said David Peter Alan, Lackawanna Commuter Coalition president. "I'm still concerned for our riders and their privacy."

NJ Transit has signs posted in light rail cars, telling riders that surveillance equipment is in use. Buses also have similar signs posted, however those surveillance systems only activate during an emergency.

"When you know a government or a quasi-government agency is listening, it has a chilling effect," Alan said. "It means you're careful about what you say."

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

