Minutes 10-06-2016 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 Sheriff to request a Judge's permission to release a video. He said the Sheriff has more knowledge than any attorney about law enforcement. Commissioner Price said it is important that all understand she is coming from a different perspective. She said she has been stopped for walking twice in Orange County, and once in Charlotte. She said something needs to be done, and the body cameras will help. She is supportive of the usage of these sooner rather than later. Chair McKee asked if Sheriff Blackwood would work with management about pricing, and get figures back to the BOCC to make a decision with him, not for him. Commissioner Dorosin said the hour is late. 3. Written Consent to Search Requirement for Law Enforcement BACKGROUND: At the September 6, 2016 Board of Commissioners' ("BOCC") meeting, Commissioner Mark Dorosin submitted a petition that the topic of written consent to search be discussed at an upcoming BOCC work session. Some law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, including the Durham, Greensboro, and Fayetteville Police Departments have adopted policies requiring police to obtain written consent to search. Both federal and State law, however, allow consent to be provided in writing, orally, or by other means, as long as the expression of consent communicates its meaning clearly. Proponents of requiring use of written consent to search forms assert that this measure is necessary given statistics that seem to indicate that minorities are disproportionately more likely to be stopped and searched than white drivers. Meanwhile, concern has been voiced from law enforcement that such a requirement would negatively affect their ability to engage in efforts to combat crime and ensure public safety. Commissioner Dorosin said this is an important tool they should adopt. He said this goes a long way to building trust and a tool in the service of law enforcement. He urged the Sheriff's Department to adopt this and his peers to support it. Sheriff Blackwood said written consent to search was used in the 1980s, but it went away because attorneys started instructing law enforcement that written or verbal consent can be used to search, as long as the consent was clear. He talked to retired law enforcement, who said they would feel less safe if this was implemented. He said he would not adopt the policy, but when feasible, he would require his deputies to use the written consent form. He said if this practice is abused, there will be camera records to show it. He said if there are complaints to searches, he would address them. Chair McKee asked Commissioner Dorosin if there is probable cause to search, then the written consent is not used, or necessary. Commissioner Dorosin said the written consent is for when there is not probable cause to search. Jennifer Galassi, Legal Advisor to the Sheriff's Office, said that is not necessarily always the case, as sometimes written consent is received even when there is probable cause. She said getting the consent facilitates law enforcement's ability to things more expeditiously. She said if consent is received, the interaction tends to be more cooperative. She said law enforcement does not have to inform the person in question that there is the right to give written consent, and the prosecution does not have to prove the person in question knew that written consent existed.