HALLANDALE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

GENERAL ORDER

TITLE: Body Camera System

GENERAL ORDER NUMBER: DRAFT

EFFECTIVE DATE: TBA

RESCINDS: N/A

ACCREDITATION STANDARDS:CFA 22.04

NUMBER OF PAGES: 5

CROSS REFERENCE:

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CONTENTS: This general order consists of the following numbered sections:

I.GENERAL PROCEDURES

II.USE OF BODY CAMERAS

III.OPERATIONAL PROTOCOL

IV.ISSUED AND DOCKING PROCEDURES

V. ASSIGN AND IDENTIFICATION

VI. ACCESS AND TRAINING

VII. MEDIA ACCESSING AND SECURITY

VIII. AGENCY REVIEW

IX. RETENTION

X. GLOSSARY

PURPOSE: The purpose of this general order is to establish guidelines for the use, management, storage and retrieval of the on-body cameras.

SCOPE: This general order applies to all personnel of the Hallandale Beach Police Department.

DISCUSSION: The Hallandale Beach Police Department is committed to the belief that the on-body camera is an important and valuable tool for law enforcement. The on-body camera is essentially an audio-video documentation of a police officer’s investigative and enforcement activities from the perspective of the officer’s person. The use of the on-body camera is expected to result in greater transparency, more effective prosecution, and improved protection against false allegations.

POLICY: It is the policy of the Hallandale Beach Police Department to provide uniformed officers with an on-body camera designed to record both audio and video. On-body cameras shall be used to assist officers in the performance of their duties by providing an accurate and unbiased recorded account of an incident. Additionally, to maximize effectiveness of the on-body cameras and maintain the integrity of evidence as well as related documentation, all personnel assigned these devices shall adhere to the procedures outlined within this policy.

PROCEDURE:

  1. GENERAL PROCEDURES
  1. All recording media, images and audio are property of the Hallandale Beach Police Department and willnot be copied, released, or disseminated in any form of manner outside the parameters of this policy, without the permission of the Chief of Police.
  1. The release of information/video requested through a public records request will be subject to the same statutory exemptions from disclosure as any other departmental records, pursuant to the Florida Statutes, Chapter 119.
  1. Under no circumstance will any member of the Police Department make a copy of any recorded event without prior written permission of the Chief of Police.
  1. Officers will use only the on-body camera issued and approved by the department. The use of any other camera or recording device is not authorized.
  1. USE OF BODY CAMERAS [CFA 22.04]
  1. Authorized Use

Officers shall activate the unit to record during each citizen encounter related to a call for service, enforcement action, traffic stop, and/or police service. Additionally, other activities such as, building searches, searches for suspects, pursuits, building alarms and prisoner transports shall be recorded.

  1. Prohibited Use [CFA 22.04]

Unless using the on-body camera as described in Section II. A., the on-body camera shall not:

  1. Be used to document any deaths for crime

scene purposes, unless directed by a

supervisor;

  1. Be used to record personal

activity;

  1. Intentionally activated to record

conversations of fellow

employees without their

knowledge during routine, non-

enforcement related activities;

  1. Be used to intentionally or

willingly record confidential informants, undercover officers, or any other investigation where officers may be performing in an undercover manner.

  1. Unless the on-body camerais being used as outlined in this general order, it will not be activated in places where a reasonable exception of privacy exists, such as: locker rooms, dressing rooms or restrooms.
  1. Officers will not make copies of any recording and are prohibited from using a recording device (such as a phone camera or secondary video camera) to record media captured from the body camera.
  1. Officers will not use any other electronic devices or other means in order to intentionally interfere with the capability of the body camera.
  1. Officers shall not erase, alter, reuse, modify or tamper with any recording. Only the authorized system administrators may erase any previously recorded digital recording.
  1. Posting of body camera footage to any social media site, without prior written approval from the Chief of Police is PROHIBITED.
  1. Officers will not allow citizens to review the recordings.
  1. Each on-body camera is assigned and configured for single use. Therefore, no officer shall use a body camera not assigned to them, without command level approval.
  1. OPERATIONAL PROTOCOL
  1. Inspection and general maintenance of the body camera equipment shall be the responsibility of the officer assigned to the equipment. Body camera equipment shall be operated in accordance with manufacturer’s recommended guidelines and department training and policies.
  1. On-body cameras will be assigned to each officer by the Uniformed Patrol Captain and will remain the responsibility of each assigned officer.
  1. Prior to beginning a shift, officers assigned to anon-bodycamera will ensure the device is charged and its readiness by conducting an operational inspection.
  1. Malfunctions or other operational problems, damage, loss, or theft of the body camera equipment must be immediately reported to the officer’s immediate supervisor and thesystem administrator via email.
  1. A police report shall be completed anytime a body camera is damaged, lost or stolen. The case number shall be forwarded to the system administrator.
  1. Once the on-bodycamera is activated to the event mode it shall remain in the event mode until the incident investigation has reached a conclusion, the officer has cleared from the scene, or when use of the camera is prohibited by this general order.
  1. Officers may review the incident recordings when preparing written reports to help ensure the accuracy and consistency of the incident documentation.Officers will review the incident recordings forany use of force incidents.
  1. Any incident that requires the immediate retrieval of the digital recording, (i.e.: investigations pertaining to use of force, in-custody deaths, or any other potential criminal investigation of an officer). A supervisor will take possession of the body camera and upload all video regarding the incident.
  1. The on-body camera shall be worn and utilized by the assigned officer everytime the employee is performing any law enforcement duties to include their normal working schedule, any outside details, outside employment (in uniform) and overtime assignments.Officers are exempt from wearing the on-body camera when attending court related proceedings while on overtime.
  1. ISSUED AND DOCKING PROCEDURES
  1. At the end of the officer’s shift, the on-body camera will be placed into the assigned docking station slot on the Evidence Transfer Station.
  1. The assigned room storing the docking station shall be locked at all times to prevent the possible defense of evidence tampering.
  1. At no timeshall any Department personnel

other than the officer issued the body camera

touch, handle, or otherwise molest the body

camera. The only exception to this are

members of: Information Technology

Department, Training Unit, issued officers

Sergeant, Captain or Major and Crime Scene

Technicians with authorization from the

Office of Professional Standards of the Chief

of Police.

  1. ASSIGN AND IDENTIFICATION
  1. Officers shall utilize the Evidence.com to

identify all recordings with the following:

  1. ID field shall be the assigned case

number.

  1. Category field shall be assigned one of

the descriptors listed on Evidence.com

  1. Title field may contain a brief

description of the incident.

  1. Notes field may be used to enter

notes/comments pertaining to the

incident.

NOTE: All footage shall be properly marked and

identified by the end of the officer’s shift.

  1. ACCESS AND TRAINING
  1. All officers operating the on-body camera will receive hands-on, classroom and/or on-line training, prior to being deployed the body camera in an operational setting.
  1. The Hallandale Beach Police Department will ensure officers, supervisors and investigators have “view only” access to the recorded events.
  1. MEDIA ACCESSING AND SECURITY
  1. The System Administrator and/or the designee will be responsible for burning DVD’s/CD’s of digital evidence uploaded to Evidence.com
  1. Evidentiary copies of digital recordings will be accessed and copied from evidence.com by:
  1. Department approved system

users;

  1. On department approved

equipment;

  1. Copies shall be made for

official purposes only;

  1. Shall not be altered, shortened,

changed, edited, or in any way

modified from its originally

submitted format to ensure

authenticity.

  1. All digital media collected using the body camera is considered a record of the Hallandale Beach Police Department and subject to Florida State Statute Chapter 119.
  1. The release of requested digital media through a written public records request will be subject to the same statutory exemptions in reference to disclosure.
  1. It is the responsibility of the authorized users to keep their passwords and usernames confidential.
  2. Accessing, copying, or releasing any recording other than law enforcement purposes is strictly prohibited, except as required by law.
  1. AGENCY REVIEW
  1. Digital recordings shall not be arbitrarily reviewed to initiate disciplinary proceedings and/or monitor officer’s performance. The exception is for the officer who has been placed on a personal improvement plan in order to address identified multiple citizen and/or personnel complaints.
  1. Department personnel may review their own digital recordings for report writing and/or training purposes.
  1. Review of specific incidents contained on digital recordings may be conducted by an investigator who is assigned by the Chief of Police for the following:
  1. Personnel complaint;
  1. Claims investigation;
  1. Administrative inquiry;
  1. Criminal investigation.

Any other review will require the approval of

the Chief of Police.

  1. Under no circumstances shall any digital recording be used or shown for the purpose of officer ridicule or embarrassment. This includes submission of any portion of video recording to a media organization, unless previously authorized by the Chief of Police.

IX. RETENTION

  1. All recorded imagery shall be stored and retained by the Department for (30) days, or until all criminal, civil or administrative cases to which the recordings are relevant have been adjudicated and all appeals have been exhausted.
  1. Video related to an investigation shall be treated as any other property evidence and therefore its collection, chain of custody, storage, distribution, and disposal will be processed in accordance with the internal department policies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Evidence Processing Manual.
  1. If the other law enforcement agencies were involved with the Department in a joint operational investigation, the Property Custodian shall contact each agency prior to the destruction of the recordings to ensure that the recording is not needed by the other agency.
  1. Any recording of evidentiary value in criminal investigations or prosecutions shall be retained in accordance with General Records Schedules established by the Department of State, pursuant to Florida Statutes §§257.36 and 119.01 et. seq.
  1. GLOSSARY

SystemAdministrator–Evidence.com system

administrator(s) with full access to user rights and

accounts. Assigns and track equipment, control passwords and act as a liaison with Taser Axon representatives.

End User – Axon user with individual account access rights to Evidence.com

Evidence Transfer Manager (ETM)- a docking

station that simultaneously recharges the Axon Flex

while uploading all digitally encrypted data to

evidence.com.

Evidence.com – an online web-based digital media

storage facility accessed at The

virtual warehouse stores digitally-encrypted data in highly secure environment. The digital recordings are accessible to authorized personnel based on security clearance.

Media or Data – includes photographs, audio recording and video footage. The media is stored digitally.

On-body Camera- a mobile recording device system that captures audio and video.

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Drafted: DSF/DP/January 24, 2014/Filed: File Name & Folder

APPROVED:

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Dwayne S. Flournoy, Chief of Police Date

Hallandale Beach Police Department

Staff Reviewed: Date of Review

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