SECTION: 621 BODY WORN CAMERA DEVICES

SECTION: 621

TITLE: BODY WORN CAMERA RECORDING DEVICES

RESCIND:  January 25, 2018

EFFECTIVE: JUNE 30, 2025

SECTION_621_BODY_WORN_CAMERA_RECORDING_DEVICES.docx

PURPOSE: To establish guidelines for officers' utilization of body worn cameras and the procedures for preserving the recorded digital media as evidence.  The use of video and audio recording by law enforcement has been beneficial to the criminal justice system. Law enforcement's use of in-car cameras and body worn cameras has proven effective in documenting traffic stops, reducing violent confrontations and complaints against officers. Body Worn Cameras provide additional documentation of police/public encounters and may be an important tool for collecting evidence and maintaining public trust.

 

However, it is important to recognize that the images captured are not likely to represent the actual images as observed by the officers and that officer discretion has always and will continue to be a valuable resource in the pursuit of public safety and crime control. The use of body cameras does not replace the accurate and truthful observations of an officer nor reduce the requirement to provide thorough required written reporting and documentation. 

 

Definitions:

Body Worn Camera (BWC) - A camera worn on a individual officer's person that records and stores audio and video of a law enforcement encounter or incident.
Buffering Mode - The BWC continuously loops recorded video for one (1) minute when not in the event recording mode. Audio is also recorded during the buffering cycle(s).
BWC Systems Administrator - Sheriff's Office administrator for the Evidence Library and Camera Systems with full access to user rights, settings user access and utilization parameters.
Digital Evidence - BWC files including photographs, audio recordings, and video footage captured by a BWC and stored in an accessible digital format.
Event Mode - When placed in the event mode the BWC records audio and video digital data until the event mode is turned off. The recording will include the minimum thirty one (1) minute of buffered recorded data.
Law Enforcement Encounter - any citizen-police contact as a result of a call for service or self-initiated police contact that could result in a field interview, citation, arrest, crime report, crash report, or criminal investigation.
 Ethernet Transfer Station (ETS) - a multiport docking station installed at a respective location for simultaneous charging and uploading of data from a BWC to the Evidence Library.
Evidence Library - a digital evidence management solution used in conjunction with a camera system that is hosted on-site at the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office. This system stores digital data in a highly secure environment accessible to personnel based on individual security needs and clearance.
 

Procedures (Body Worn Camera Objectives):

 

I.             Body Worn Camera Recording Devices:

 

The Evangeline Parish Sheriff's maintains a multitude of body worn camera recording devices for patrol division officers and other uniformed positions. These officers possessing Body Worn Camera equipment shall adhere to the procedures set forth in this order to ensure the following objectives.

 

§  To provide the Department the ability to balance privacy considerations of its citizens with the need for transparency in law enforcement operations, with accurate documentation of events as they occur, and the collection and preservation of evidence.

§  The accurate documentation of events, actions, conditions and statements made during arrest, law enforcement encounters, and critical incidents, in order to enhance the officers collection of evidence, accuracy of reporting, and testimony in court.

§  To enhance the Department's ability to review probable cause for arrest, the arrest procedure, interaction between officers and individuals, general investigative purposes, resolution of citizen initiated complaints against officer's and potential training issues.

§  To provide for integration of body-worn camera generated data into the existing video and audio data collection, preservation, and dissemination systems of the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office.

 

 

II.           Officer Safety and Recording Guidelines

 

A.  Officer Safety Concerns

 

1.  Officers shall follow existing officer safety policies when conducting enforcement stops as outlined in Departmental policies and procedures.

2.  Officer safety shall be the primary consideration when contacting citizens or conducting vehicle stops, not the ability to record the event where it would be impossible, impractical, or jeopardize the safety of the officer.

 

B.  General Recording Guidelines

 

1.  Only authorized and trained personnel shall use or be in possession of a Body Worn Camera device.

2.  Body Worn Camera equipment is for official use only and shall not be utilized for personal use.

3.  Officers shall not tamper with or dismantle any hardware or software component of any Body Worn Camera device.

4.  All digital evidence collected using the Body Worn Camera is considered an official record of the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office and is for official use only. Recorded data will be downloaded within 48-72 hours and stored in-house on proprietary data storage servers accessible only by authorized Department personnel. No data shall be intentionally erased, altered, deleted, or modified in any way, except in accordance with the applicable laws, rules, regulations, and provisions pertaining to public records and records retention.

5.  Accessing, copying, forwarding or releasing any digital evidence for other than official law enforcement use contrary to the procedures set forth herein, is strictly prohibited.

6.  Personal computer equipment and software programs shall not be utilized when making copies of digital evidence. Using a secondary recording device such as video camera, cell phone or other device(s) to record or capture digital evidence from the original video is strictly prohibited.

 

III.         Field Deployment

 

A.     Pre-Shift Inspection

 

·       The Body Worn Camera unit assigned to an individual officer is the responsibility of the individual office and should be maintained according to the manufacturer's specifications.

 

·       Officers shall inspect their assigned BWC device daily to ensure there is a no visual damage and the device is in proper working order.

 

·       Any visual damage shall be brought to the attention of their supervisor and be reported to the Systems Administrator by email or written documentation utilizing the Technology Problem Report. (TPR).

 

·       Any inoperable equipment shall be brought to the attention of their supervisor and reported to the Systems Administrator before their tour of duty ends.  The equipment will be returned to the vendor as soon as possible.

 

·       Officers should ensure that the BWC equipment is functioning properly in order to record law enforcement encounters and activities to include: 

o   The recorder is positioned correctly and adjusted to adequately record enforcement activities;

o   The BWC SHALL BE ACTIVATED IMMEDIATELY DURING ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY

o   The BWC is not deactivated until the completion of the enforcement activity; and 

o   The audio recording equipment is working properly and is activated to record the narration between officer and individual(s).

B.     Camera Positioning

       

·       Officers shall wear the Body Worn Camera above the midline (middle) of their torso and in a position that provides for effective point of reference recording. Cameras shall be affixed to the officer's uniform utilizing the lockable mounting hardware provided by the vendor.

 

·       Officers should become familiar with the positioning of the camera and the field of view afforded by the positioning. Officers should be cognizant of their arm positioning and adjust movements accordingly, as to not obstruct the view of the camera whenever possible.

 

 

C.      Operating Procedures

       

·        Officers who are assigned Body Worn Cameras or utilize a BWC device shall adhere to the following procedures for operation of the Body Worn Camera recording systems.

 

·         The BWC will require an individual officer to manually activate the BWC device by pushing the Event record button to initiate an incident recording. Likewise, an individual officer will manually press the Event Record button again to deactivate the BWC recording. Individual officers cannot erase or alter the events recorded on the BWC.

 

·        Officers shall note in all related and subsequent reports the use and content of BWC recorded material as related to a documented incident. All media which contains recordings of incidents that are to be used as evidence shall be properly tagged and labeled prior to submission as evidence to include the following information.

§  Crime Incident Report number/related arrest number;

§  Submitting Officer's name;

§  Date of Offense;

§  Location of offense, and

§  Time of Offense

 

 

 

D.     Body Worn Camera Operation Modes

       

·       The BWC device operates on rechargeable battery power for up to nine (9) hours of continuous video and audio media on a full charge. The device is equipped with a battery life indicator which is viewable on the home screen at all times.

 

·       The Vista BWC device has a storage capacity of thirty-two (32) gigabytes of data storage available. The device has a recording file indicator displayed by both percentage of capacity used and gigabytes used on the appropriate screen.

 

·       The Buffering Mode also called the Pre-Event Recording mode, where a BWC is on but has not been activated to record both video and audio. While in the buffering mode, the camera will continuously record video and audio in a one (1) minute loops until activated to record a desired event in the event mode.

 

·       The Event Mode begins when the Event button is activated. The BWC saves the buffered video a minimum of one (1) minute prior to activation and continues recording video and now audio for up to nine (9) hours on a full battery charge. The repeated pressing of the Event button turns the recording device on and off creating separate media event files or video segments.

 

·       When assigned a call for service with a citizen the Body Camera shall be turned on to record the event no later than exiting the police unit upon arrival. When conducting a Law Enforcement encounter with a citizen, the Body Camera shall be activated as soon as possible prior to the initiation of the law enforcement encounter.

 

E.     Entering Event Tag

       

·       Each recorded segment requires an event tag to be entered even if the segment is of the same event. Event tags should be added at conclusion of the event. In the case of an unforeseen delay, event tags should be added as soon as possible thereafter.

 

·        Adding event tags will not alter the recording as it assigns the specified recording to a predefined category event tag that is searchable within the incident categories on the device. The user shall assign an event tag (arrest, traffic stop, citation, etc.) to a recording upon completion of the event via the selection button on the BWC device.

 

·        The proper method of entering event tags for recorded events shall be thoroughly covered in initial Body Camera operation training and subsequent in-service refresher training by the IT Division and supervisory training staff.

 

F.     Equipment Repair, Replacement, and Maintenance

       

·       When a Body Worn Camera malfunctions the officer will notify their supervisor by written documentation which will be used to notify the Captain of Patrol who will report it to the Systems Administrator or other IT Division personnel. (The reporting Supervisor shall also place a courtesy call to the Captain of Patrol reference the reported malfunction during normal business hours.)

 

·       The officer will note the day, time, and nature of the malfunction on his documentation.

 

·       The inoperable equipment will be taken to the Computer Systems administrator or other IT Division personnel as soon as possible for repair.

 

·       If the IT Division cannot repair the unit, the manufacturer will be contacted to facilitate the repair. Repair and replacement of damaged or nonfunctional BWC equipment is coordinated through the IT Division and performed through an authorized service provider.

 

·       When not in use, the BWC device shall be stored in the officer's assigned charging cradle, ETS, or in a secure storage location.

 

IV.    Law Enforcement Event Recording

       

        A.     Advisement of Recording

       

·       The State of Louisiana is a one-party recording state meaning, as long as one party is aware a recording is taking place the entirely of the recording is legal. As such, a private citizen does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when speaking with police officers within the scope of their official duties even when the contact may occur in a private residence.

 

·       Officers are not required by law to give any notice they are recording, however if asked by a citizen if the event is being recorded the officer should advise the citizen of the recording.

 

·       Officers are not required to initiate or cease recording an event, situation or circumstance solely on the insistence of a citizen during any law enforcement encounter.

 

B.     Mandatory Body Worn Camera Recordings

 

·       Law Enforcement Encounters

                

G.    REVIEW OF BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE:

 

A.  Each month the Command Staff will review a minimum of 5 random videos selected from different Deputies each month. The Command Staff will keep a monthly record (Deputies Name, Date and Time) of those videos that have been reviewed. These records will be turned in and maintained in each of the commanders office. 

 

*If there are any findings that may require disciplinary action taken, the Captain of that division will put a case file together for possible future action if necessary.  This information would then be turned into the Major and the Sheriff for final review.

 

B. *Any complaints that may come in will be viewed by the respective Captain, Major and if deemed necessary the Sheriff.  If there are findings of possible wrong doing (violation of policy, violation of law or any misconduct) this will be documented and handled through the command, with the Sheriff making the final decision on any further actions.