Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/Video Recorders Policy PDF

Policy Des Plaines Police Department 415 Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders 415.1 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/...

Policy Des Plaines Police Department 415 Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders 415.1 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 lawful surreptitious audio/video recording, interception of communications for authorized investigative purposes or to mobile audio/video recordings (see the Investigation and Prosecution and Mobile Audio Video policies). 415.2 POLICY DPPD may provide members with access to portable recorders, either audio or video or both, for use during the performance of their duties. The use of said recorders is intended to enhance the mission of the Department by accurately capturing contacts between members of the Department and the public. 415.3 MEMBER PRIVACY EXPECTATION All recordings made by members acting in their official capacity shall remain the property of the Department, regardless of whether these recordings were made with department-issued or personally owned recorders. Members shall have no expectation of privacy or ownership interest in the content of these recordings. 415.4 MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES Prior to going into service, each uniformed 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 condition. If the recorder is not in working order or malfunctions at any time, the member shall promptly report the failure to his/ her supervisor and obtain a functioning device as soon as practicable. Uniformed members should wear the recorder in a conspicuous manner or otherwise notify persons that they are being recorded, whenever possible. Any member assigned to a non-uniformed position may carry an approved portable recorder at any time the member believes that such a device may be useful. Unless conducting a lawful recording in an authorized undercover capacity, non-uniformed members should wear the recorder in a conspicuous manner when in use or otherwise notify persons that they are being recorded, whenever possible. When using a portable recorder, the assigned member shall record his/ her name, identification number and the current date and time at the beginning and the end of their 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. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 1 Des Plaines Police Department Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders 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 should include the reason for deactivation. 415.5 ACTIVATION OF THE PORTABLE RECORDER This policy is not intended to describe every possible situation in which the portable recorded should be used, although there are many situations where its use is appropriate. Members should activate the recorder any time the member believes it would be appropriate or valuable to record an incident. The recorder is equipped with pre-event recording for a period of thirty seconds prior to activation. (50 ILCS 706/10-20) 1.Cameras must be turned on at all times when the officer is in uniform and is responding to calls for service or engaged in any "law enforcement-related encounter" or activity that occurs while the officer is on-duty. ( Note that "law enforcement-related encounters" include, but are not limited to, traffic stops, pedestrian stops, arrests, searches, interrogations, investigations, pursuits, crowd control, traffic control, non-community caretaking interactions with an individual while on patrol, or any other instance in which an officer is enforcing the laws of the municipality, county or state. " Law enforcement-related encounter or activity" does not include when the officer is completing paperwork alone or only in the presence of another law enforcement officer.) (a) If exigent circumstances exist, the camera must be turned on as soon as practicable. (b) The camera must be turned off when the officer is inside of a patrol car which is equipped with a functioning in-car camera: however, the officer must turn on the camera upon exiting the patrol vehicle for law enforcement-related encounters. 2.Cameras must be turned off when: (a) A crime victim requests it, unless impractical or impossible; (b) A witness to a crime or a community member who wishes to report a crime requests it, unless impractical or impossible; (c) the officer is interacting with a confidential informant (CI). (d) when the officer is inside a correctional facility or courthouse which is equipped with a functioning camera system. However, the officer may continue to record or resume recording a victim or witness if exigent circumstances exist, or if the officer has a reasonable articulable suspicion that a victim or witness, or CI has committed or is in the process of committing a crime. However, the officer must indicate on the recording the reason for continuing to record despite the victim or witness request, unless impractical or impossible. 3.Cameras must be turned off when the officer is engaged in a community caretaking function, unless the officer has reason to believe the person has committed or is in the process of committing a crime. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 2 Des Plaines Police Department Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders 4.The officer must provide notice of recording to any person if the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and proof of notice must be evident in the recording. If exigent circumstances exist which prevent the officer from providing notice, then notice must be provided as soon as practicable. 5.For purposes of redaction, labeling or duplicating recordings, access to camera recordings shall be restricted to only those personnel responsible for those purposes. The recording officer and supervisor may access and review recordings prior to completing reports or other documentation, provided the fact the video was reviewed is disclosed in the report or documentation. 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 should resume when privacy is no longer an issue , unless the circumstances no longer fit the criteria for recording. 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 should be activated in situations described above as soon as practical. 415.5.1 SURREPTITIOUS USE OF THE PORTABLE RECORDER Illinois law prohibits any individual from surreptitiously recording any conversation in which any party to the conversation has a reasonable belief that the conversation is private or confidential (720 ILCS 5/14-2). Members shall not surreptitiously record another department member without a court order unless lawfully authorized by the Chief of Police or his authorized designee. 415.5.2 CESSATION OF RECORDING Once activated, the portable recorder should remain on continuously until the member's direct participation in the incident is complete or the situation no longer fits the criteria for activation. Recording may be stopped during significant periods of inactivity, such as report writing or other breaks from direct participation in the incident. 415.5.3 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. 415.6 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 onduty or while acting in their official capacity. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 3 Des Plaines Police Department Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders 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. Recordings shall not be used by any member for the purpose of embarrassment, intimidation or ridicule. 415.7 RETENTION OF RECORDINGS Any time a member records any portion of a contact that the member reasonably believes constitutes evidence in a criminal case, the member shall record the related case number and transfer the file in accordance with current procedure for storing digital files and document the existence of the recording in the related case report. Tranfers should occur at the end of the member's shift, or any time the storage capacity is nearing its limit. 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. 415.7.1 RETENTION REQUIREMENTS All recordings shall be retained for a period consistent with the requirements of the organization's records retention schedule, but in no event for a period less than 90 days, unless the recordings are made part of an arrest or the recordings are deemed evidence in any criminal, civil or administrative proceeding, and then the recordings must only be destroyed upon a final disposition and an order from the court. (720 ILCS 5/14-3-h-15). 415.8 REVIEW OF RECORDINGS When preparing written reports, members should review their recordings as a resource and shall create a video case, when necessary. However, members shall not retain personal copies of recordings, nor shall members label, redact, or duplicate recordings. Labeling, redacting, and duplicating of any recordings shall only be done by the Support Services Manager, Operations Deputy Chief, Support Services Deputy Chief, and Chief of Police. Members should not use the fact that a recording was made as a reason to write a less detailed report. Supervisors are authorized to review relevant recordings any time they are investigating alleged misconduct or reports of meritorious conduct, or whenever such recordings would be beneficial in reviewing the member's performance. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 4 Des Plaines Police Department Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders A law enforcement officer shall not have access to review his or her body-worn camera recordings or the body-worn camera recordings of another officer prior to completing incident reports or other documentation when the officer: a. has been involved in or is a witness to an officer-involved shooting, use of deadly force incident, or use of force incidents resulting in great bodily harm. b. is ordered to write a report in response to or during the investigation of a misconduct complaint against the officer. If the officer subject to the above section prepares a report, any report shall be prepared without viewing body-worn camera recordings, and subject to the supervisor's approval, officers may file amendatory reports after viewing body-worn camera recordings. Supplemental reports under this provision shall also contain documentation regarding access to the video footage. Recorded files may also be reviewed: (a) Upon approval by a supervisor, or by any member of the Department that is participating in an official investigation, such as a personnel complaint, administrative investigation or criminal investigation. (b) Pursuant to a lawful process, or by court personnel who are otherwise authorized to review evidence in a related case. (c) By media personnel with permission of the Chief of Police or his authorized designee. (d) In compliance with a public records request, if permitted, and in accordance with the Records Release and Security Policy. (e) by the recording officer's field training officer for training purposes. (f) by any detective or investigator, directly involved in the investigation of a matter, may access and review recordings which pertain to that investigation, but may not have access to alter or delete such recordings. All recordings should be reviewed by the Support Services Manager prior to public release (see the Records Release and Security Policy). Records that unreasonably violate a person's privacy or sense of dignity should not be publicly released unless disclosure is required by law or an order of the court. Recordings must be retained for a minimum of 90 days. (a) Recordings may not be altered, erased or destroyed prior to the expiration of the 90 day storage period. In the event any recording made with an officer-worn body camera is altered, erased, or destroyed prior to the 90-day storage period, the law enforcement agency shall maintain for a period of one year, a written record including the name of the individual who made such alteration, erasure, or destruction, and the reason for any such alteration, erasure, or destruction. (b) Following the 90 day storage period, recordings must be destroyed unless flagged. An encounter is flagged when: A formal or informal complaint has been filed. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 5 Des Plaines Police Department Des Plaines PD Policy Manual Portable Audio/ Video Recorders The officer discharged his firearm. Death or great bodily harm occurred. The encounter resulted in a detention or an arrest, excluding traffic stops which resulted in only a minor traffic offense or business offense. The officer is the subject of an internal investigation, or otherwise being investigated for possible misconduct. The officer's supervisor, a prosecutor, defendant or court determines that the encounter has evidentiary value in a criminal prosecution. The recording officer requests that the video be flagged for official purposes related to his/her official duties. Under no circumstance shall any recording made with an officer-worn body camera relating to a flagged encounter be altered or destroyed prior to 2 years after the recording was flagged. If the flagged recording was used in a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding, the recording shall not be destroyed, except upon a final disposition and order from the court. Following the 90 day storage period, recordings may be retained for training purposes. Recordings shall not be used to discipline law enforcement officers unless: (a) A formal or informal complaint of misconduct has been made. (b) A use of force incident has occurred (c) The encounter on the recording could result in a formal investigation under the Uniform Police Officers' Disciplinary Act. (d) As corroboration of other evidence of misconduct. The law enforcement agency shall ensure proper care and maintenance of cameras. No officer shall prohibit any person not a law enforcement officer from recording a law enforcement officer in the performance of his/her duties in a public place or when the officer has no resonable expectation of privacy. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/02/13, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Des Plaines Police Department Portable Audio/ Video Recorders - 6