Harris County ESD No. 7 Digital Media Management Policy PDF

# Digital Media Management ## Fire Department / Harris County ESD No. 7 ### Standard Operating Line SFD.003 | Revision No. | Issue Date | Review Date | Effective Date | Approved by: | |---|---|---|---|---| | 0 | 24 July. 2024 | 1 July. 2025 | 24 July. 2024 | Scott C. Seifert | | 1 | | | | | -...

# Digital Media Management ## Fire Department / Harris County ESD No. 7 ### Standard Operating Line SFD.003 | Revision No. | Issue Date | Review Date | Effective Date | Approved by: | |---|---|---|---|---| | 0 | 24 July. 2024 | 1 July. 2025 | 24 July. 2024 | Scott C. Seifert | | 1 | | | | | - Reviewed by: Support Services - Digital Media Management ## 1. Executive Summary - **a**. All digital media related to fire department activity is governed by this policy, regardless of its intended use. - **b**. Digital media collected during operations of any kind is the property of the Spring Fire Department and must comply with department policies and Texas state law. - **c**. All generated photographs/videos are subject to open records requests and must be submitted through the approved digital upload link. - **d**. Custodianship and Release: The Fire Chief or designee is the custodian of all digital media files and has the sole authority to release any media files to the public. - **e**. Retention and Preservation: Videos of little training value will be deleted after 180 days unless they contain evidence of a crime, are part of an investigation, or have been requested to be kept. - **f**. Helmet Mounted Cameras: Usage guidelines for helmet-mounted cameras are provided, including conditions for use, data handling, and restrictions on personal use. ## 2. Purpose - **a**. The purpose of this policy is to provide procedures for establishing the collection of video and still images during training, incident responses, and routine operations for the specific purposes of enhancing firefighter training and safety and providing essential public information. ## 3. Policy Statement - **a**. Any and all digital media taken of fire department activity or by fire department members is subject to this policy, regardless of intended use. ## 4. Scope - **a**. This guideline applies to all members. ## 5. Definitions - **a**. See Glossary. ## 6. Procedures and Responsibilities - **a**. All digital media collected while conducting fire department operations is the sole and exclusive property of the Spring Fire Department. - **b**. Digital Media can be collected while conducting fire department operations in compliance with department policies and within the guidelines of Texas state law. - **c**. Video will only be produced from department owned devices to include but not limited to department issued phones, digital cameras, helmet cameras, video cameras, and drones. - **d**. All photographs/videos generated by members while conducting department business are subject to open records request. This includes any photographs taken on personal or department owned devices of incidents, training, or other fire department events. Any photographs or video generated with these parameters will be submitted through the approved digital upload link below. - **e**. The Fire Chief or designee is the custodian of all digital media files and is the only individual authorized to release any media files to the public, including social media. - **f**. No photo or video will be released to the public, i.e. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or any other form of social media until the Fire Chief or his designee has released said photograph or video. - **i**. Open records requests are routinely approved and managed by the Chief of Support Services. - **ii**. Social media, public information, and outreach use of digital media are routinely approved and managed by the Chief of Strategic Services. - **iii**. Use of digital media for training is routinely approved by the Chief of Health, Safety, and Professional Development. - **iv**. Non-Incident digital media that consist of employee related functions may be posted without approval as long as it adheres to other SFD policy and guidelines. Such media is still required to be submitted as stated above. - **g**. Video deemed of little or no training value will be deleted after 180 days. - **i**. This determination is routinely made by the Chief of Health, Safety, and Professional Development. - **h**. Any video containing the following will be maintained and preserved by the department for 1 year. - **i**. In any case, where, upon administrative review, it appears that the video depicts evidence of a crime, or evidence of potential value in a personal injury action. - **ii**. Any fire in which the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office is conducting an investigation. - **iii**. Any video that is released to the public and/or social media. - **iv**. Any video requested to be kept by any officer of the department. These requests can be made to the Chief of Support Services. - **v**. A video that captures a discipline issue or a policy violation. - **I**. A government record with an expired retention period may not be destroyed if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, public information request, administrative review, or other action involving the record is open. - **j**. If there is a request from any source to maintain a video from an incident response, the request will be made through department email to the Chief of Support Services. - **k**. Any member issued a department camera, will complete a supplemental narrative on any response that the camera is used. This report is the documentation of the control and custody of the video data. - **l**. The supplement should provide who was in control of the camera and the chain of custody for the storage device. - **m**. All video is subject to being used as criminal evidence. - **n**. Helmet Mounted Cameras - **i**. All video will be turned in, unedited, to the on duty District Chief prior to the end of shift or when the electronic storage device is full. - **1**. The on-duty District Chief will turn the electronic storage devices into the IT Department as soon as possible. The storage device shall not be inserted into any device other than the helmet camera until it is handled by IT personnel. - **2**. The IT manager will transfer the electronic data from the storage device, directly to the assigned master file location on the department server. Once the data is transferred to the server, the storage device can be formatted. - **ii**. Only department owned helmet cameras will be permitted. The member issued a helmet camera should use the camera in the following conditions. - **1**. Anytime the member is wearing their helmet on a scene with active fire. - **2**. Anytime directed by an officer. - **3**. Anytime the member determines it is appropriate and HIPAA compliance is not violated. - **4**. The use of a helmet camera should never interfere with the performance of duties or create a safety hazard. If initializing the camera delays other duties or creates a safety hazard, the member may delay recording or elect not to record. - **iii**. Personal use of department issued helmet camera is strictly prohibited. - **iv**. Any photo or video that contains identifiable patient information are covered by HIPPA Privacy Laws and must be protected. - **o**. The recording of discipline or other sensitive topics is prohibited. It is the responsibility of the member operating the camera to be aware of conversations and to notify other members that they are recording. ## 7. References & Related Policies - This section provides references to applicable laws, standards, or other related internal policies or guidelines. | NFPA | Applicable State or Federal Statutes | OSHA | Spring FD | |---|---|---|---| ## 8. Contact Office - The appropriate contact office for questions or comments on this SOG is: - Company Officer - District Chief - Deputy Chief of Support Services - Assistant Chief - Fire Chief ## 9. List of Changes | Revision No. | Description of Changes | Approved by | Effective Date | |---|---|---|---| ## 10. Errors - See something wrong? Click here or use this QR code to submit an error or inconsistency. ## 11. Disclaimer - This policy is for internal use only and does not enlarge a member's legal duty or civil liability in any way. This policy should not be construed as creating a duty to act or a higher duty of care, with respect to third-party civil claims against members or the department. A violation of this policy, if proven, can only form the basis of a complaint by this department for non-judicial administrative action in accordance with the laws governing member discipline.