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.
Which section issues body worn cameras (BWC) and which section manages the program?
- The System Administration Unit (SAU) issues the BWC and the program is managed by then Digital Technology Section (DTS).
Which department members and sections are issued body worn cameras?
- Uniformed officers and sergeants regularly assigned to :
a. The Community Policing Division
b. The Tourist Safety Division
c. SWAT
d. The Gang Enforcement Team
e. K9
f. Headquarters Security Detail - Plainclothes officers and sergeants assigned to the Major Violators and Narcotics Bureau.
- Any employee who transfers or is promoted to another assignment based on a TPAN which
requires the employee to wear a BWC.
Which sections are responsible for developing and conducting training for the use of the body-worn camera?
“All training related to BWCs will be developed and conducted jointly by the Systems Administration Unit and the Organizational Development Bureau.”
How long is the window of footage that is captured by the BWC before it is activated?
30 seconds
If an officer’s BWC malfunctions or becomes damaged, what are the responsibilities of the officer?
- Notify a supervisor.
2. Send an email to SAU, documenting the malfunction or damage to the BWC.
What is the policy of wearing and/or using the BWC inside the jail?
“Police officers wearing a BWC may be assigned to work overtime in a jail facility. Due to the differing privacy requirements, officers will not wear or operate their camera while working inside the jail.”
What are the unauthorized uses of the BWC?
BWCs will only be used during law enforcement operational duties. The BWC shall not be used to record:
- Follow-up investigative briefings.
- Large scale events (i.e. New Year’s Eve)
- Any telephone call or personal conversation between other department employees without the
recorded employee’s knowledge. - Non-work-related activity where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists (i.e bathroom, locker
room) - Inside a detention facility
- Administrative matters, training, shift briefings, management meetings, professional
development conversations, work performance counseling, disciplinary processes, or bargaining
and contractual matters. - Encounters with undercover officers or confidential informants.
Under what circumstances are officers mandated to activate their BWC?
Officers will record in the following circumstances and inform individuals that they are being recorded as soon as it is safe to do so:
- All calls for service involving contact with citizens or suspects
- Officer-initiated activities (i.e. pedestrian and vehicle stops)
- Any citizen contact that becomes adversarial
- Witness, victim and suspect interviews
- Detentions or investigations pursuant to an arrest
- Searches of persons, vehicles or structures
- While transporting prisoners
- After the occurrence of an officer-involved traffic accident
- When third party-sourced video is shown to officers (consent must be granted)
- When driving Code 3
- Any involvement in a foot or vehicle pursuit
- When field testing narcotics, counting money, documenting high value property or returning
property back to the owner - K9, Traffic and resident officers responding to a call will activate within two miles of arrival
When are officers allowed to deactivate their BWC?
- When the officer has cleared from the scene and is no longer assigned to the event; AND
- The officer has discontinued contact with (and is no longer in proximity to) the subject.
- Officers will also deactivate their BWC on static crime scenes when directed by a supervisor or investigative personnel. Officers will not record briefings with investigative units, any discussion about charges against a subject or activities at a command post.
When advised of a BWC malfunction, what are the supervisor responsibilities? (4)
- Direct the officer to remove the camera from service and place it on the dock for upload.
- Issue a new BWC kit (camera, wire and battery) from the station spares.
- Assign the new BWC to the officer in Evidence.com.
- Notify the Systems Administration Unit regarding malfunctions to discuss the remedy.
What are the two reasons that allow supervisors to access their officers’ BWC recordings?
- Investigative purposes
- Allegations of misconduct
- When accessing the video, the viewer must document in the notes section of the specific video the reason why it was viewed.
Per the BWC policy, what are the supervisor’s responsibilities when on scene, investigating a citizen complaint or an application of reportable force?
- Interview complainant (recorded)
- Interview subject officer (not recorded)
- Review the subject officer’s BWC (not in the presence of the complainant)
- Review BWC video of each involved officer.
- If the citizen complaint appears to be valid, document that BWC was reviewed in the narrative of the SOC. If the citizen complaint is not in violation of policy or law, document that BWC was reviewed in the narrative of the Citizen Contact Report in Blue Team.
According to the BWC policy, after an officer involved shootings or the use of deadly force, how are the BWCs of the involved officers handled?
- Involved officers and/or any supervisor or representative will not view the BWC recording prior
to FIT or CIRT viewing the video, except when exigent circumstances exist. - FIT detectives will be responsible for collecting and securing all BWCs from involved officers
upon arriving on scene. FIT or CIRT will be responsible for uploading the video. - Involved officer will be allowed to view their own BWC recording prior to a scene walkthrough
and any subsequent questioning by FIT or CIRT.
Under what circumstances can Internal Affairs and/or Criminal Investigations review BWC recordings? And to whom can these recordings be shown?
When the recordings are part of an internal investigation. They can be shown to citizens, arrestees and violators who are part of the investigation.
