7.136 Body Worn Cameras Flashcards
What is the overall policy in regards to Body Worn Cameras?
Body Worn Cameras (BWC) are a valuable tool for promoting professionalism, public trust, and transparency in policing by recording citizen contacts with officers. BWCs are also effective in capturing video and audio evidence for use in criminal prosecutions and internal investigations. In its utilization of BWCs, the department respects the legitimate privacy interests of citizens.
The Digital Technology Section (DTS) is responsible for the management of LVMPDs BWC program. The Systems Adminstration Unit issues BWCs to:
- Uniformed officers and sergeants regularly assigned to:a.b.c. SWAT
d. The Gang Enforcement Team (GET)
e. K9
f. Headquarters Security Detail - Plainclothes officers and sergeants assigned to Major Violators and Narcotics Bureau (MVNB).
a. The Community Policing Division (CDP)
b. The Tourist Safety Division (TSD)
How will officers and supervisors assigned a BWC wear the device while in uniform?
Officers and supervisors assigned a BWC will wear the device while in uniform.
- The BWCs will be worn on the collar, epaulette, eyewear, or head mount as instructed during BWC training.
- Officers will wear their BWC on the non-weapon bearing shoulder to allow for firing a long gun (shotgun or rifle). This will ensure, under most circumstances, the BWC has an optimum or unobstructed forward view.
- If the BWC shifts and is no longer recording an unobstructed view, officers will reposition the BWC, once aware, and it is safe to do so to maintain an optimum field of vision.
Officers must notify a supervisor when they become aware there is a malfunction or damage to the BWC, what must a supervisor do?
They must document, replace if needed, re-issue from Armory, send email confirming the malfunction and submit to SAU.
What are the supervisor responsibilities for the BWC?
Supervisor Responsibilities:
- Ensure the officers utilize the BWC in accordance with this policy.
- Ensure officers wear their BWC in a manner to capture the optimum view of their surroundings.
- When advised of a BWC malfunction:
a. Direct the officer to remove the camera from service and place it on the dock for upload.
b. Issue a new BWC kit (camera, wire, and battery/controller) from the station spares in accordance with check-out procedures.
c. Assign the new BWC to the officer in Evidence.com.
d. Notify the Systems Adminstration Unit regarding malfunctions to discuss the remedy. - Retrieve an officer’s BWC and upload it by the end of the shift if the officer is unable to do so.
When will supervisors access an officers BWC?
Supervisors will only access the BWC video for investigative purposes outlined in policy (e.g., complaints, uses of force, vehicle pursuits, etc.) or an allegation of misconduct. In each case, the supervisor, or person accessing the video, will document in the notes section of the specific video reviewed and the reason of the inspection.
When a supervisor receives a complaint and the officer is equipped with a BWC what will he do?
When advised of a complaint where the incident may be recorded on BWC:
- Handle receipts of complaints in accordance with LVMPD 8.330, Maintenance of Values and Ethics.
- Interview the complaint before reviewing any available BWC video, when possible.
- Access the video on scene through a mobile device or any MDT. A supervisor will not review the recording in the presence of the complainant.
- Record the interview with the complainant on BWC. Supervisors not wearing a BWC should consider having another field supervisor record.
- Supervisors will not record the subject or witness officer during the investigation.
- If the allegation appears to be valid, document this in the narrative of the SOC the BWC video is available, was reviewed, and is justification for the SOC.
- If the allegation is not a violation of policy or law, document this in Blue Team by a Citizen Contact Report the BWC video is available and was reviewed.
- If a supervisor has probable cause, based on BWC video, to believe a reporting citizen is in violation of NRS 207.280, False Reporting of Crimes Unlawful, notify the Criminal Investigations Section, Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) on-call supervisor for further direction.
When investigating the application of reportable force, what will a supervisor do?
When investigating the application of reportable force (except use of deadly force; see LVMPD 3.110, Use of Force, “Post Use of Force Investigations”):
- Access the video on scene in the presence of the involved officer(s). Officers will only review their own video evidence.
- Record the interview of the subject citizen of BWC.
- Do not record the subject officer during the investigation.
- Review the video with each involved officer as soon as practical prior to the Use of Force report being completed.
- Ensure the review of the BWC video is documented in the narrative of the investigative comments and verify the video is labeled and categorized in accordance with this policy.
- In circumstances when force is used by a specialized unit not wearing BWC and the incident is captured by other department members equipped with BWC, the supervisor of the specialized unit is responsible for viewing relevant video and ensuring the recording is properly labeled and retained.
When investigating officer involved shootings or deadly force, what will a supervisor do?
When investigating officer involved shootings or deadly force:
- Involved personnel and/or any supervisor or representative will not view the BWC recording prior to Force Investigative Team (FIT) or Critical Incident Review Team (CIRT) viewing the footage, except when exigent circumstances exist.
- Involved officers or witness officers will be allowed to view their own BWC recording prior to a scene walkthrough and subsequent FIT/CIRT statement.
- The supervisor taking the involved officer’s Public Safety Statement will also ensure the BWCs are not used to record any part of the officer’s Public Safety Statement.
- FIT personnel will be responsible for collecting and securing the BWC from all involved and witness officers upon arrival at the scene. FIT or CIRT is responsible for upload of video into Evidence.com.
The BWC Activation Performance Rate (APR) Summary Report is a tool to verify compliance with policy. What will a supervisor do if an officer falls below compliance standards?
When an officer falls below the top 90% rates of users, a mandatory audit will be triggered. Supervisors will complete the compliance audit by reviewing compliance reports, videos, and CAD reports for the period where a matching video was not auto or manually labeled. The supervisor will document video discrepancies and whether the user complied with or violated policy. Supervisors will address performance issues in adhering to the established minimum compliance rate.
When an officer falls below a specified BWC compliance percentage, the sergeant will follow an pre-outlined procedure. What is the procedure?
For each event reviewed during the audit process, if justification is for the compliance issue, the audit will cease for that event:
- Review officer’s Detailed APR report for any unmatched videos.
- Review CAD for officer dispatched and officer cleared times which align with any identified unmatched videos.
- Review Evidence.com for video evidence without an ID# with in the specified CAD timeframes.
- Review upload times for any uploads which occurred 36 hours after recorded times.
- Correct any unmatched evidence in Evidence.com by updating ID# with corresponding CAD event.
- View all unmatched evidence which corresponds with the officer’s CAD times.
- If clear BWC compliance policy violations are discovered during the audit, document the issue in a Contact Report. If the problem continues after being documented in a Contact Report, consider opening a Statement of Complaint.
