Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Program PDF

Oversees the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's (JSO) body-worn camera (BWC) program, which was adopted to: \[CALEA 41.3.8, 83.2.2\] 1\. Record law enforcement officers' interactions with community members to enhance public trust, transparency, and accountability; 2\. Capture digital video evidence...

Oversees the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's (JSO) body-worn camera (BWC) program, which was adopted to: \[CALEA 41.3.8, 83.2.2\] 1\. Record law enforcement officers' interactions with community members to enhance public trust, transparency, and accountability; 2\. Capture digital video evidence that can be used for criminal, civil, and traffic-related court cases; 3\. Assist officers when completing reports, conducting investigations, and preparing for court appearances; and 4\. Generate video recordings that can assist instructors when conducting agency training. B. Facilitates the issuance, maintenance, and replacement of BWC equipment. C. Provides initial and refresher training courses for all aspects of the BWC program. D. Processes all public records requests, investigative requests, and other agency requests for BWC recordings. II\. Hours of Operation and Callout / Notification Criteria A. Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 0800-1700 hours. Order Type: U Effective Date: 09/19/2024 Version: 8 Page: 1 of 11 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 B. Office Contact Information 1\. Main Office Phone Number: (904) 630-0920. 2\. Email: jsobodycam\@jaxsheriff.org. C. Callout Criteria The on-call member of the BWC Unit shall be called out via the Investigative Police Dispatcher for: a\. An officer-involved critical incident that necessitates the immediate uploading and viewing of BWC recordings; b\. An investigation that requires immediate restriction of access to BWC recordings; or c\. Any time-sensitive situation involving BWC equipment and/or software. III\. Policies & Procedures A. BWC Definitions 1\. Activation -- Double-pressing the BWC start/stop button to begin recording audio and video. 2\. Body-worn Camera (BWC) -- A JSO-issued wearable audio and video recording system used to record interactions between community members and law enforcement officers. 3\. Buddy Officer -- JSO officer assigned to attend to the personal needs of an officer who was principally involved in a critical incident. 4\. BWC Docking -- The process by which an officer places the BWC into a JSO network-attached data transfer device, resulting in recorded videos being uploaded to the storage server. 5\. BWC Portal -- The web-based management system for BWC recordings (www.evidence.com) that officers use to view BWC recordings and update classification tags. 6\. BWC Recording -- The electronic recording produced by an activated BWC. BWC recordings include the 30 seconds of buffered video (no audio) that was captured prior to activating the BWC while the BWC was in Standby Mode. 7\. BWC Upload -- The transfer of BWC recordings from a BWC to the storage server. 8\. Citizen-Related Activity -- Any event involving the interaction, or reasonable possibility of an interaction, between a community member and a law enforcement officer serving in an official capacity, either on or off duty. Page: 2 of 11 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 3 of 11 9\. Classification Tag -- The designation given to a BWC recording that indicates how long the recording must be retained, in accordance with public records laws and agency policy. 10\. Deactivation -- Pressing and holding the BWC start/stop button for four seconds to stop recording and return the BWC to Standby Mode. 11\. Metadata -- Information associated with a BWC recording that includes the name of the officer to whom the BWC is issued, the date and time the video was recorded, and the classification tag. 12\. Officer -- Used in this directive to refer to all sworn law enforcement, regardless of rank, who are required to, or have volunteered to, participate in the BWC program. 13\. Officer-Involved Critical Incident -- Any work-related event involving a JSO member that resulted in serious injury or death. 14\. Recording Mode -- The BWC has been activated and is creating an audio/video recording on the BWC's permanent memory. 15\. Standby Mode -- The BWC is powered on and the camera is capturing video but not recording it to permanent memory. B. BWC Equipment Issuance, Training, and Usage Requirements \[CALEA 41.3.8\] 1\. All police officers and sergeants shall be issued two BWCs and complete the initial JSO BWC training course, along with annual refresher training every year thereafter. These training courses provide instruction on the proper placement, usage, and maintenance of the equipment, as well as the agency policy on viewing, storage, retention, and distribution of BWC recordings. 2\. Regardless of their work status (regular duty, overtime, secondary employment, or off- duty), all police officers and police sergeants are required to wear their issued BWCs while wearing: a\. A JSO Class A or Class B uniform; or b\. Any tactical clothing that identifies them as law enforcement, including exterior-worn vest carriers. 3\. Officers shall wear their assigned BWCs in accordance with training and shall not manipulate the BWC to hinder its ability to capture audio or video. BWCs must be mounted using the appropriate JSO-issued mount for the officer's attire: a\. Class A and Class B uniforms -- Axon Body 2/3 Wing Clip Mount; b\. Exterior-worn vest carrier -- Axon Body 2/3 Double Molle Mount; and Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 c\. Helmet-mounted BWCs -- Axon Flex 2 Universal Helmet Mount. 4\. Officers shall remove their BWCs prior to entering: a\. The Breathalyzer Room inside the Pretrial Detention Facility (PDF); b\. The Internal Affairs Unit office; or c\. The Integrity Unit office. 5\. Officers are responsible for the proper maintenance of their issued BWCs and accessories. Prior to each shift, officers shall inspect their BWCs to ensure they are fully charged, undamaged, and working properly. When an officer discovers one of his issued BWCs is malfunctioning, he shall immediately switch to his other issued BWC and report to the BWC Unit office as soon as practical to obtain a replacement. 6\. Instances of lost, stolen, or damaged BWCs shall be handled in accordance with Order 474 (Supply). An officer shall bring a copy of the associated documentation when obtaining a replacement from the BWC Unit. C. Activation and Deactivation of BWCs \[CALEA 41.3.8, 83.2.2\] 1\. Officers wearing their BWCs are required to activate them prior to, or immediately upon, any of the following conditions occurring, regardless of work status (regular duty, overtime, secondary employment, or off-duty). Furthermore, these are the only reasons for which an officer is authorized to activate his BWC: a\. Arriving at the scene of any dispatched call for service (whether assigned to the call or not); b\. Operating an agency vehicle in emergency mode in accordance with Florida State Statute (F.S.S.) 316.072(5); c\. Self-initiating field activity (i.e., on-view activity); d\. Being flagged down by a citizen seeking police assistance; and e\. Performing investigative follow-up duties that will likely involve interactions with community members. 2\. Officers shall keep their BWCs activated until one of the following conditions apply, at which time the officer may deactivate his BWC after stating the applicable reason (in bold): a\. Conclusion of Citizen-Related Activity: There is no longer the potential for an interaction with a community member. This occurs when the officer leaves the scene or has returned to his vehicle unaccompanied by a community member. Page: 4 of 11 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 5 of 11 b\. Legally Privileged Communication: Privileged communication, Florida State Statutes (F.S.S.) Chapter 90, is taking place. This includes conversations between: \(1) JSO members and any attorney who represents the agency's interests (e.g., JSO Legal Advisor, State Attorney's Office (SAO), Office of General Counsel (OGC), United States Attorney's Office); \(2) Sexual assault counselors and victims; \(3) Domestic violence advocates and victims; \(4) Attorneys and clients; and \(5) Doctors and patients. c\. Community Member Request for Unrecorded Statement: A community member has indicated he/she wants to provide case-related information but does not want the interaction to be recorded for personal reasons (e.g., fear of retaliation, privacy concerns, etc.). Prior to deactivation, if feasible given the circumstances, the officer shall obtain approval from a supervisor to deactivate his BWC for the duration of the conversation with the community member. d\. Hazardous Device: The officer is within 1000 feet of a scene involving a bomb threat or located device. 3\. An officer must again activate his BWC if the deactivation reason no longer applies (e.g., citizens return to the scene). 4\. Failure to activate or deactivate a BWC as required is subject to disciplinary action, in accordance with the provisions of Order 501 (Code of Conduct). 5\. Officers are not required to notify anyone that their BWCs are actively recording. If asked if the BWC is recording, officers shall answer truthfully and, if relevant, shall explain that BWC recordings are redacted in accordance with public records laws prior to being released to the public. 6\. For large-scale Incident Command System (ICS) incidents (e.g., a multi-day missing person search) that could potentially capture many hours of footage without citizen-related activity, an assistant chief can amend BWC requirements for that operation by notifying the ICS command and general personnel of the specific changes via written correspondence. 7\. Undercover officers shall, when feasible, conceal their identities and the identities of confidential informants (CI) prior to the arrival of, or interactions with, officers equipped with BWCs. When an officer captures undercover officers or CIs on his BWC, he shall document this in the "Notes" section associated with the BWC recording so the appropriate redactions can be made prior to releasing the BWC recording to the public. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera D. Classification Tags 1\. Like all other public records, BWC recordings must be retained, released, and purged in accordance with the provisions of federal law, state law (including F.S.S. 119), local law, and Order 491 (Public Records Requests). 2\. At the conclusion of his involvement with an incident, in addition to any other relevant disposition codes, an officer shall enter the most appropriate classification tag based on the criteria outlined in Appendix A, "JSO Retention Schedule -- Classification Tags." When criteria from multiple classification tags apply, the one with the longest retention period shall be selected. 3\. When a BWC recording is not associated with an incident (e.g., accidental recording) or an officer needs to change an existing classification tag, he shall access the BWC recording via the BWC Portal and select the appropriate one. 4\. When a BWC recording needs to be retained longer than the period associated with the assigned classification tag, an extension can be obtained by sending an email to JSObodycam\@jaxsheriff.org. 5\. Accidental recordings shall be indicated as such by placing the phrase "Accidental Recording" in the "Notes" section associated with the BWC recording. E. BWC Docking and Storage \[CALEA 41.3.8\] 1\. Officers are required to securely upload the BWC recording(s) contained on his BWC by docking the BWC at one of the designated docking stations or syncing to a JSO computer using the issued cable. The officer shall then retrieve his other assigned BWC to use for the following shift. 2\. Any BWC recording captured by an officer during his regular shift must be uploaded within 24 hours. 3\. Any BWC recording captured by an officer while working secondary employment, working overtime, or off-duty must be uploaded no later than his next regular working day. 4\. Except for individuals authorized to perform maintenance or conduct evidentiary seizures, a BWC shall only be handled or moved by the officer to whom it is issued. F. BWC Recordings \[CALEA 83.2.2\] 1\. Restrictions and Security a\. BWC recordings are the sole property of JSO. Unless otherwise noted in policy, members shall not: \(1) Erase, alter, reuse, or modify any BWC recording; Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 6 of 11 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 7 of 11 \(2) Make a copy of any BWC recording or capture a BWC recording on a secondary recording device; \(3) Disseminate any BWC recording to another individual or post any BWC recording to a social media/ online platform; or \(4) Facilitate any unauthorized viewing of a BWC recording. b\. BWC recordings are preserved on a secure storage server and are backed up for redundancy purposes in compliance with Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) standards. Each BWC recording contains an associated chain of custody audit trail that documents all events associated with the recording. c\. Any access and/ or use of a BWC recording not expressly permitted by this order requires approval from the Undersheriff. 2\. Officer Access a\. All officers are permitted and encouraged to view their own BWC recordings. BWC recordings can assist in accurately documenting information related to an investigation. b\. Officers authoring reports, to include Response to Resistance reports, may view the BWC recordings of other officers who were present during an incident or investigation in order to ensure they have reviewed all available evidence for reporting purposes. The review authorization includes the following rules and limitations: \(1) If the incident is being investigated by the Cold Case Unit or Integrity Unit, the review of BWC recordings from other officers is NOT authorized; \(2) Officers shall only view BWC recordings from other officers when they are the one authoring a report. Officers shall not view the BWC recordings of other officers unless they have an official need to do so; \(3) Officers who review BWC recordings from other officers while still in the field (on the other officer's BWC or other officer's BWC Portal account), shall document in the narrative of any report authored the name(s), JSO ID number(s), and method of review for any other officers' BWC footage reviewed; \(4) When authoring Response to Resistance reports or Canine Engagement reports, officers are encouraged to initially author the narrative based on their perception of events as they remember them. It is important for officers to document the totality of the circumstances known at the time the decision to use force was made. Officers are encouraged to then review available evidence, to include BWC recordings, and to incorporate this additional information into the narrative, citing the source of the evidence. This new evidence should not replace an officer's initial memory or perception of events but should be used to ensure the report accurately documents Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 8 of 11 the incident, to include information that may not have been known to officers at the time the decision to use force was made; and \(5) Officers viewing BWC recordings for reporting purposes may view via other officers' BWCs or other officers' BWC Portal accounts. If officers are not able to view BWC recordings of other officers using those methods, officers shall follow the process for requesting an uploaded BWC recording for investigative purposes. c\. Requests to view an uploaded BWC recording for investigative purposes shall be submitted via the JSO BWC Video Request Log found on the 94Net and the BWC Unit site. Requests should contain the following information: \(1) Central Communication Report (CCR) number; \(2) Date and time of recording; \(3) Name and ID number of the officer who generated the BWC recording; \(4) Reason for the request; and \(5) Name of the supervisor who approved the request. d\. Requests for BWC recordings by the SAO, OGC, or other law enforcement agency shall be directed to the BWC Unit. e\. Upon receipt of a subpoena duces tecum for a BWC recording, an officer shall: \(1) Request a hard copy of the BWC recording by emailing JSObodycam\@jaxsheriff.org and attaching a copy of the subpoena; \(2) After being notified it is ready, collect the hard copy from the BWC Unit office and hand deliver it to the issuing party (e.g., the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles \[FLHSMV\] Hearing Office); and \(3) For instances when there is insufficient time to produce and obtain the requested BWC recording, contact the issuing party and request a continuance due to the time constraints. f\. An officer who observes potential misconduct on a BWC recording shall report his observations to his supervisor, the Internal Affairs Unit, or the Integrity Unit, in accordance with Order 501 (Code of Conduct). g\. Officers are encouraged to notify the Assistant Chief of Training via their chain of command of any BWC recording that may be of value for training purposes. 3\. Commanding Officer/Supervisor Access \[CALEA 41.3.8\] Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 9 of 11 a\. Commanding officers have access to view all uploaded BWC recordings but may only view a BWC recording for one of the following reasons: \(1) Administrative Investigation: The BWC recording is related to an administrative investigation the commanding officer is conducting. \(2) BWC Unit Audit: The BWC recording was randomly selected by the BWC Unit for review to ensure the BWC equipment is functioning properly and is being operated in accordance with training and policy. The commanding officer shall document his findings on Form P-0789e (BWC - Recording Compliance Review Report). \(3) Criminal Investigation: The BWC recording potentially contains critical and time- sensitive information related to a criminal investigation (e.g., video of an outstanding suspect who assaulted an officer). \(4) Employee Performance Review: The BWC recording captures the performance of an officer under his command and shall be used for evaluation purposes. b\. Commanding officers are permitted to share access to a BWC recording with a supervisor, provided one of the four reasons also applies to the supervisor. c\. Any commanding officer or supervisor accessing a subordinate's BWC recording shall indicate in the "Notes" section on the BWC Portal why the recording was viewed. 4\. Investigative Unit Access a\. The Internal Affairs Unit, Integrity Unit, and Professional Oversight Unit (POU) have access to all uploaded BWC recordings. Members of these units shall only view BWC recordings related to an investigation or review they are conducting. b\. Members of other investigative units who need access to BWC recordings related to an investigation they are conducting shall submit their request via the JSO BWC Video Request Log containing the information listed in the "Officer Access" section above. G. Evidentiary Seizures of BWCs \[CALEA 41.3.8\] 1\. Immediately following an officer-involved critical incident, after the scene is stabilized, the responding supervisor shall: a\. Collect all BWCs worn by officers who were directly involved in the incident and secure them for the responding investigative unit; and b\. Notify the on-call member of the BWC Unit, who shall respond to upload all relevant BWC recordings to the storage server, facilitate the viewing of those recordings by authorized personnel, restrict access to uploaded BWC recordings as requested by the investigative unit, and provide officers with replacement BWCs. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Body Worn Camera Order Number: 574 Version: 8 Page: 10 of 11 2\. When a commanding officer or supervisor is made aware of potential misconduct potentially captured on BWCs that have not yet been docked for uploading, he shall: a\. Collect all BWCs that potentially captured the misconduct; b\. Dock the BWC so that all BWC recordings can be uploaded; and c\. Conduct an administrative investigation or notify the appropriate unit in accordance with Order 501 (Code of Conduct).