Minutes 02-20-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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27 The Board discussed the Sheriff’s Portable Audio/Video (body-worn cameras) Records Policy. BACKGROUND: At the February 6, 2018 Board of Orange County Commissioners meeting, the Board received a presentation on Motorola’s Digital Evidence Management Solutions (DEMS) and introduced the SI-500 Body Camera and Command Central Vault. Orange County Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood responded to questions from Board members about the possibility of equipping Sheriff’s Deputies with these body-worn cameras (BWC). During the conversation, the Board expressed interest in revisiting the discussion after having a chance to review the Sheriff’s Portable Audio/Video Records Policy, which was distributed at the meeting. Jennifer Galassi, Legal Advisor, said the policy tracks with State law, as well as best practices. She said many of the parameters of the policy are already established based on the relatively new North Carolina General Statute, which excludes recordings from the public records designation, and sets out the process for seeking disclosure, and/or release of recordings. She said the State’s records and retention schedule for Sheriffs’ offices, which this body adopted, and the office adheres to for retention policies. She said this is the framework into which the policy fits. She said the Statute requires all law enforcement agencies that use body cameras to have a policy that addresses the use of those devices, and places restrictions on when a recording may be reviewed and released, both internally and to the public. Jennifer Galassi said the Statute does not address what the policy must address. She said there are issues such as when to activate the body-worn camera; what should guide the Sheriff’s decision to allow disclosure, when that request is made; or when the Sheriff should seek a court order to release a recording. She said all of these areas are within the Sheriff’s purview to establish in his/her policy. Jennifer Galassi said she is here this evening to entertain the BOCC’s comments, and suspects most will center around social justice and issues of civil liberties. She said it is important to remember that this policy has not yet been issued, as the Sheriff’s office does not yet have the body-worn cameras. She said all policies are open to revision and changes when laws change, or better practices are encountered. She highlighted some issues of particular interest to the Board: • This is just another piece of equipment that will be assigned to their officers. As with any equipment, the officer is responsible for insuring, prior to going into service, that it is in good working order. • The policy will outline the specific situations when the body-worn cameras should be activated. The policy states that not every scenario can be foreseen, but it focuses on two touchstones of when a recording should begin: when it is appropriate or valuable to record the incident. An officer is called upon to exercise his/her discretion when making that determination. Good training will be very important. • What to do when privacy issues are encountered. The policy envisions a balancing test that will be employed to weigh the privacy interests of an individual against the legitimate law enforcement interests. If the privacy interests outweigh the law enforcement ones, the decision would weigh in favor of turning off the recording device. • The policy indicates that officers will never be asked to jeopardize their safety by turning on the camera, and will be guided by a standard of reasonableness.