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HomeMy WebLinkAbout424 Body Worn CamerasIowa City Police Department Policy Manual Body Worn Cameras Effective Date: 11 /06/2024 Revised Date: Issuing Authority: Chief Dustin Liston 424.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE This policy provides guidelines for the use of portable audio/video recording devices by members of this department while in the performance of their duties. Portable audio/video recording devices include all recording systems whether body -worn, hand-held or integrated into portable equipment. This policy does not apply to In -Car Video recordings, interview room recordings, authorized undercover operations, wiretaps or eavesdropping (concealed listening devices). 424.2 POLICY It is the policy of the Iowa City Police Department that all members serving a patrol or investigative function, to include road CSOs and Animal Control Officers, be required to use recording devices to collect evidence and document interactions between officers and the public. Only approved equipment will be used by department members and usage shall comply with the manufacturer's instructions. All videos are the property of the Iowa City Police Department. Any distribution of a video or portion of a video shall only be done with the authorization of the Chief of Police or his/ her designee. The unauthorized playing or copying of any video is prohibited. 424.3 MEMBER PRIVACY EXPECTATION All recordings made by members on any department -issued device at any time, and any recording made while acting in an official capacity of this department, regardless of ownership of the device it was made on, shall remain the property of the Department. Members shall have no expectation of privacy or ownership interest in the content of these recordings. 424.4 MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES Prior to going into service, each member will be responsible for making sure that he/she is equipped with a portable recorder, issued by the Department, and that the recorder is in good working order. If the recorder is not in working order or the member becomes aware of a malfunction at any time, the member shall promptly report the failure to his/her supervisor and obtain a functioning device as soon as reasonably practicable. Uniformed members should wear the recorder in a conspicuous manner with a clear field of vision, whenever reasonably practicable. Any member assigned to a non -uniformed position shall carry an approved portable recorder at any time the member believes that such a device may be useful. Unless conducting a Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. Body Worn Cameras - 1 Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department Iowa City Police Department Policy Manual Body Worn Cameras lawful recording in an authorized undercover capacity, non -uniformed members should wear the recorder in a conspicuous manner when in use, whenever reasonably practicable. When using a recorder, the assigned member shall record his/her name, ICPD identification number and the current date and time at the beginning and the end of the shift or other period of use, regardless of whether any activity was recorded. This procedure is not required when the recording device and related software captures the user's unique identification and the date and time of each recording. Members should document the existence of a recording in any report or other official record of the contact, including any instance where the recorder malfunctioned or the member deactivated the recording. Members shall include the reason for deactivation. 424.5 ACTIVATION OF THE AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDER This policy is not intended to describe every possible situation in which the recorder should be used, although there are many situations where its use is appropriate. Officers shall inspect and test the BWC prior to each shift to verify proper functioning and shall notify their supervisor of any problems. The recorder shall be activated in any of the following situations. (a) All enforcement and investigative contacts including stops, field interview situations, and parking violations even if there is no interaction with the public. (b) Traffic stops including, but not limited to, traffic violations, stranded motorist assistance and all crime interdiction stops. (c) Self -initiated activity in which an officer would normally notify the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC). (d) Any other contact that becomes adversarial after the initial contact in a situation that would not otherwise require recording. (e) Any activity that the officer is dispatched to by the JECC. (f) Any activity that would initiate an in -car recording such as an elevated response with lights/sirens. (g) Any other circumstance where the officer is conducting official business or believes that a recording of an incident would be appropriate. If recording devices are synched to start with initiation of a in -car recorder, members should verify the recording device initiates the recording after the primary device starts. Members should remain sensitive to the dignity of all individuals being recorded and exercise sound discretion to respect privacy by discontinuing recording whenever it reasonably appears to the member that such privacy may outweigh any legitimate law enforcement interest in recording. Requests by members of the public to stop recording should be considered using this same criterion. Recording shall resume when privacy is no longer at issue unless the circumstances no longer fit the criteria for recording. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. Body Worn Cameras - 2 Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department Iowa City Police Department Policy Manual Body Worn Cameras At no time is a member expected to jeopardize his/her safety in order to activate a portable recorder or change the recording media. However, the recorder shall be activated in situations described above as soon as reasonably practicable. Equipment failure or malfunction shall be brought to the attention of the employee's supervisor as soon as possible so that a replacement unit my be procured. A radio log shall be made indicating that the camera is not functioning when it is first known.Employees must report back to the station for a replacement unless unable to because of an emergent call for service. If an employee is unable to come back to the station for a replacement due to an emergent situation then every attempt should be made to have a backup officer on scene with a working camera. 424.5.1 CESSATION OF RECORDING Once activated, the portable recorder shall remain on until the incident has concluded and the officer has cleared the scene. 424.5.2 SURREPTITIOUS USE OF THE AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDER Iowa law permits an individual to surreptitiously record any conversation in which one party to the conversation has given his/her permission. Members may surreptitiously record any conversation during the course of a criminal investigation in which the member reasonably believes that such a recording will be lawful and beneficial to the investigation. Members shall not surreptitiously record another department member without a court order unless lawfully authorized by the Chief of Police or the authorized designee. 424.5.3 EXPLOSIVE DEVICE Many portable recorders, including body -worn cameras and audio/video transmitters, emit radio waves that could trigger an explosive device. Therefore, these devices should not be used where an explosive device may be present. 424.6 PROHIBITED USE OF PORTABLE RECORDERS Members are prohibited from using department -issued portable recorders and recording media for personal use and are prohibited from making personal copies of recordings created while on - duty or while acting in an official capacity. Members are also prohibited from retaining recordings of activities or information obtained while on -duty, whether the recording was created with department -issued or personally owned recorders. Members shall not duplicate or distribute such recordings, except for authorized legitimate department business purposes. All such recordings shall be retained at the Department. Members are prohibited from using personally owned recording devices while on -duty without the express consent of the Watch Commander. Any member who uses a personally owned recorder for department -related activities shall comply with the provisions of this policy, including retention and release requirements, and should notify the on -duty supervisor of such use as soon as reasonably practicable. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. Body Worn Cameras - 3 Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department Iowa City Police Department Policy Manual Body Worn Cameras Recordings shall not be used by any member for the purpose of embarrassment, harassment or ridicule. 424.7 IDENTIFICATION AND PRESERVATION OF RECORDINGS To assist with identifying and preserving data and recordings, members should download, tag or mark these in accordance with procedure and document the existence of the recording in any related case report. Any time a member reasonably believes a recorded contact may be beneficial in a non -criminal matter (e.g., a hostile contact), the member should promptly notify a supervisor of the existence of the recording. 424.8 REVIEW OF RECORDED MEDIA FILES All recording media, recorded images and audio recordings are the property of the Department and shall not be captured by or recorded on a cell phone or personal device to provide to the public. Dissemination outside of the Department is strictly prohibited, except to the extent permitted or required by law or with authorization from the Chief of Police or his/her designee. To prevent damage to, or alteration of, the original recorded media, it shall not be copied, viewed or otherwise inserted into any device not approved by the Systems Analyst or forensic media staff. When reasonably possible, a copy of the original media shall be used for viewing (unless otherwise directed by the courts) to preserve the original media. Recordings may be reviewed in any of the following situations: (a) By officers for use when preparing reports or statements (b) By a supervisor investigating a specific act of officer conduct (c) By a supervisor to assess officer performance (d) To assess proper functioning of In -Car Video systems (e) By department investigators who are participating in an official investigation, such as a personnel complaint, administrative inquiry or a criminal investigation (f) By department personnel who request to review recordings (g) By the City Attorney's Office and City Manager's Office for review of ongoing or past incidents (h) By an officer who is captured on or referenced in the video or audio data, and reviews and uses such data for any purpose relating to his/her employment (i) By court personnel through proper process or with the permission of the Chief of Police or the authorized designee (j) By the media through proper process (k) To assess possible training value Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. Body Worn Cameras - 4 Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department Iowa City Police Department Policy Manual Body Worn Cameras (1) For training purposes. If an involved officer objects to showing a recording, his/her objection will be submitted to the command staff to determine if the training value outweighs the officer's objection. (m) As may be directed by the Chief of Police or the authorized designee In no event shall any recording be used or shown for the purpose of ridiculing or embarrassing any individual. 424.9 RETENTION OF RECORDINGS All recordings shall be retained for a period consistent with the requirements of the established records retention schedule but in no event for a period less than 365days. 424.9.1 RELEASE OF AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS Requests for the release of audio/video recordings shall be processed in accordance with the Records Maintenance and Release Policy. 424.9 COORDINATOR The Chief of Police or the authorized designee should designate a coordinator responsible for: (a) Establishing procedures for the security, storage and maintenance of data and recordings. (b) Establishing procedures for accessing data and recordings. (c) Establishing procedures for logging or auditing access. (d) Establishing procedures for transferring, downloading, tagging or marking events. 424.11 SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES If a BWC recording was not activated where there was sufficient time to do so or improperly shut off, a report of inquiry shall be completed and forwarded to command staff for review. On a monthly basis, supervisors will review at least one BWC recording of each employee under their supervision to ensure that the equipment is operating properly, that officers are using the devices appropriately and in accordance with policy, and to identify any areas in which additional training or guidance is required. Supervisors should select BWC videos that are not being reviewed for another purpose such as use of force incidents. Where possible, in -car video review should be of the same incident to ensure the system is synching as it is designed. By the 15th of each month, each Watch Commander, Lieutenant of Investigations and Animal Control Supervisor shall forward to the Commander of Field Operations the information on the prescribed electronic form from the previous month. 424.12 COMMAND STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES The Captain of Field Operations shall maintain a record of incidents where employees did not activate a BWC recording device or improperly shut off a recording device in violation of this policy and monitor for repeats from the same employee. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. Body Worn Cameras - 5 Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department Iowa ='tx Police Department f Policy Manual Body Wom Cameras B«March 1etofeach year the Captain ofField Operations will submit anannual report tothe City Manager's Office and Community Police Review Board from the previous year 0ncompliance with this policy. This report GhOU|d COOt@iO SU0ODlGry of the [8SU|tS of the FOOOth|y supervisory checks, use of force checks, and all checks generated from internal affairs investigations. 424.13 DISCIPLINE Any employee who violates this policy will be subject to discipline as a|k}vved by General Orders 88-02 and 99-06. Iowa Coda Chapter4OU titled Civil Ganviva, and the Contract between the City of Iowa City and the Police Labor Relations Organization of Iowa City. Any employee found to intentionally turn off or disable a body worn camera when its use is required will besubject b}suspension Ortermination 39allowed bvGeneral Orders 89-02and 98-00.Iowa Code Chaoter4OO UUad Civil Sarvice, and the Contract between the City of Iowa City and the Police Labor Relations Organization of Iowa City. Copyright Lexipol, uo2024/12/14, All Rights Reserved. BodyWomComomn-S Published with permission by Iowa City Police Department