First respondersNew Jersey first responders to get universal IDs
Starting next year, 12,000 first responders in New Jersey will receive special IDs to help enhance security and cut down on identity fraud during emergencies and natural disasters
Starting next year, 12,000 first responders in New Jersey will receive special IDs to help enhance security and cut down on identity fraud during emergencies and natural disasters.
As part of a new standardized statewide identification program, Burlington County police, fire, and emergency medical personnel will be given smart card IDs.
Each smartcard will contain an emergency responder’s photo, their name, the agency they represent, and their qualifications. When a responder arrives at a scene, the command post can scan their card and immediately know who is present, what skills they can provide, and where they will be working.
Kevin Tuno, the emergency management coordinator for Burlington County, said the cards can assist the state in more efficiently managing resources during emergencies and to verify personnel when crews travel to other parts of the state to assist.
“If they need someone who is an EMT and can work on hazmat, they can see where that person is posted and be able to move them where they need to be,” Tuno said.
According to Tuno, the county first began work on a universal ID for first responders in 2004 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched its efforts to create a credential system for emergency workers.
“It started with federal government workers and continued to migrate down to the states,” Tuno said.
The standard ID card will be issued to emergency personnel in twenty one counties.
The program was made possible with the help of New Jersey Urban Area Security Initiative grants. Using the grant money awarded to the seven New Jersey counties in the urban grant program, the other fourteen non-initiative counties will be able to purchase the cards.
Each of the fourteen counties will receive as much as $65,000 to be used towards the purchase of blank cards, electronic card readers, printers, and other supplies.
In addition to the cards, an Internet database will be created to track each first responder issued an ID.
