Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Orange County Sheriff's Office <br />Policy Manual <br />Portable Audio/Video Recorders <br />Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2018/02/14, All Rights Reserved. <br />Published with permission by Orange County Sheriff's Office ***DRAFT***Portable Audio/Video Recorders - 2 <br />Members should document the existence of a recording in any report or other official record of the <br />contact, including any instance where the recorder malfunctioned or the member deactivated the <br />recording. Members should include the reason for deactivation. <br />427.5 ACTIVATION OF THE AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDER <br />This Policy is not intended to describe every possible situation in which the portable recorder <br />should be used, although there are many situations where its use is appropriate. Members should <br />activate the recorder any time the member believes it would be appropriate or valuable to record <br />an incident. <br />The portable recorder should be activated in any of the following situations: <br />(a)All enforcement and investigative contacts including stops and field interview <br />situations <br />(b)Traffic stops including, but not limited to, traffic violations, stranded motorist <br />assistance, and all crime interdiction stops <br />(c)Self-initiated activity in which a member would normally notify Central <br />Communications <br />(d)Any other contact that becomes adversarial after the initial contact in a situation that <br />would not otherwise require recording <br />Members should remain sensitive to the dignity of all individuals being recorded and exercise <br />sound discretion to respect privacy by discontinuing recording whenever it reasonably appears to <br />the member that such privacy may outweigh any legitimate law enforcement interest in recording. <br />Requests by members of the public to stop recording should be considered using this same <br />criterion. Recording should resume when privacy is no longer at issue unless the circumstances <br />no longer fit the criteria for recording. <br />At no time is a member expected to jeopardize his/her safety in order to activate a portable recorder <br />or change the recording media. However, the recorder should be activated in situations described <br />above as soon as reasonably practicable. <br />427.5.1 CESSATION OF RECORDING <br />Once activated, the portable recorder should remain on continuously until the member reasonably <br />believes that his/her direct participation in the incident is complete or the situation no longer fits <br />the criteria for activation. Recording may be stopped during significant periods of inactivity such <br />as report writing or other breaks from direct participation in the incident. <br />427.5.2 SURREPTITIOUS USE OF THE PORTABLE RECORDER <br />North Carolina law permits an individual to surreptitiously record any conversation in which one <br />party to the conversation has given his/her permission (N.C.G.S. § 15A-287). <br />Members of the Office may surreptitiously record any conversation to which they are a party <br />during the course of a criminal investigation in which the member reasonably believes that such <br />a recording will be lawful and beneficial to the investigation. <br />3