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Body Worn Camera Policy for Police Officers

• The policy requires immediate notification to the Chief of Police for critical incidents that may expose the department to serious liability or heightened community interest.

• Digital evidence refers to information of probative value stored or transmitted in digital form.

• The digital media storage system used for secure storage and authorized access of digitally-recorded body camera media is called the AXON Evidence.com.

• Evidentiary recordings generated by body-worn camera equipment contain evidence of a crime or infraction for use in court, civil litigation, or resolution of a citizen complaint.

• Non-evidentiary recordings generated by body-worn camera equipment do not contain any evidence of a crime or infraction.

• Personal representatives include a parent, court-appointed guardian, attorney, or agent of a person recorded by a body camera.

• The public records specialist is responsible for retrieving and maintaining records of City documents in accordance with Florida State Public Records laws.

• The system administrator assigns and tracks equipment, controls passwords, and acts as a liaison with the BWC manufacturer representatives.

• The policy requires mandatory use of body-worn cameras for officers working in uniformed assignments, regional commanders, and personnel assigned to Criminal Investigations Division and Special Investigations Division.

• Officers are required to ensure the recording system is receiving power and functioning properly before each shift or assignment and periodically check the lens and microphone for obstructions.

• The BWC system should be activated prior to arriving at all 911-dispatched or self-dispatched calls for service as a primary or back-up unit.

• The BWC may only be deactivated once the interaction or incident is completed or when the officer can articulate a valid reason to stop recording.Body Worn Camera Policy for Port St. Lucie Police Department

• Officers must notify their supervisor if they capture restricted/prohibited footage.

• The supervisor will notify the BWC Coordinator to restrict the video footage.

• Officers can view recordings when preparing and categorizing incident reports.

• Recordings can be accessed via department issued laptop, Axon app, or storage server.

• Officers must accurately categorize recordings by the end of their shift.

• Detectives may view recordings to assist with investigations and add comments to the notes section.

• Supervisors may review video footage to document exemplary performance or praiseworthy service.

• BWC footage can be used for training purposes with approval from the Professional Standards Division commander.

• The Chief of Police or designee can authorize the release of BWC footage in specific instances.

• The Port St. Lucie Police Department provides one body worn camera to all sworn and necessary civilian personnel.

• Officers must charge and dock their cameras at the end of each shift.

• Data from the cameras will be transferred to the Evidence.com system for storage and management.