Model Police Camera Legislation

This office was asked to draft legislation that would put cameras on police officers and in police vehicles in Massachusetts. So, here is the latest draft. Please feel free to use this work for your own purposes.

1. Definitions:

“audio” – audible sound.

“body cam” – is device that is attached to person which can record video and GPS data.

“commissioner” – the commissioner of public safety.

“community caretaker stop” – when police interacts with motor vehicle occupants without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity acting out of concern for the well-being of the person inside.

“cruiser cam system” – the sum of all components installed on police vehicles of which allow cruiser cams to record data. This includes but is not limited to, cruiser cam(s), wireless microphone, mobile data storage devices, and operating system software.

“cruiser cam” – a camera or set of cameras installed in police vehicle which has the capability to visually record police activities.

“evidentiary video” – digital recordings of moving images and sounds captured by police as described in this section

“GPS data” – GPS coordinates indicating location of where audio and video were recorded along with a timestamp of GPS coordinates indicating time and date of when audio and video were being recorded.

“incident data” – all recorded data relating to a motor-vehicle stop or community caretaker stop.

“main storage system” – the storage equipment, which stores all data, created because of this section.

“mobile data storage device” – storage device that stores recorded data from either cruiser cam systems or body cams.

“motor-vehicle stop” – where police stop a motor vehicle on a public where because police had a reasonable suspicion, based on specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences therefrom, that an occupant of motor vehicle had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a crime.

“non-evidentiary data” – data that will not be used to prosecute crime or civil violation.

“non-evidentiary recordings” – recordings that will not be used to prosecute crime or civil violation.

“offsite location” – a location in different building from the location of the main storage system.

“operator” – driver of a motor vehicle.

“video” – recorded visual images.

“wireless microphone” – a device that is attached a police officer’s person, captures then transmits sound to cruiser cam system which is then recorded to be in sync with cruiser cam(s) video.

2. Audio-Video-Data Recording Program. Upon the effective date of this chapter, the Commissioner of Public Safety shall create and implement program and regulations as described in this section, whereby all police officers and police vehicles engaged in traffic enforcement shall be equipped with recording devices as shall enable law enforcement officers to accurately store video, audio, and GPS data of any motor-vehicle stop or community caretaker stop initiated by police, and shall be trained in their use. In addition, upon effective date of this chapter, Supervisor of Public Records shall adopt and amend regulations pursuant to the provisions of chapter to implement the provisions of this chapter as it relates to public records and access to records made because of Audio-Video-Data Recording Program.

3. Purpose. The purpose of the Audio-Video-Data Recording Program is protecting the public safety by identifying persons operating motor vehicles in an impaired condition, and providing good and clear evidence thereof, thereby streamlining the trial process and protecting law enforcement officers from unwarranted citizen complaints, and imposing no financial burden on municipalities.

4. The program shall include:

(a) Measures to make the recordings as tamperproof as possible, and to prevent any improper editing, including measures which:

(i) Prohibit data tampering, editing, and copying, except that is needed when digitally differentiating evidentiary and non-evidentiary data;

(ii) Prohibit tampering with the data prior to downloading from mobile data storage;

(iii) Create an auditing system which provides a record of who accesses video data, when, and for what purpose; the audit system record must be maintained for a minimum of 10 years;

(iv) Explicitly state who will be authorized to internally access data in police department (e.g., supervisors, Internal Affairs, certain other officers and department personnel, and prosecutors) and for what purpose (e.g., administrative review, training, and investigations);

(v) Ensure there is a reliable back-up system of all data located in an offsite location;

(vi) Specify when data will be downloaded from the mobile data storage to main storage system and who will download them; and,

(vii) Mandate a multi-factor authentication for any use of the main storage system, and at a minimum must include a knowledge factor and a possession factor.

(b) Measures for a training program for law enforcement personnel to ensure proper use of equipment;

(c) Notice to the public, including public education and announcements that motor-vehicle stops are being videotaped; and,

(d) Measures that allow a police agency to assign cameras to officers beyond what is required in this sections that align to the purpose of the program.

5. Motor vehicle stops and community caretaker stops – All stops initiated by police whom operating police vehicles must be digitally recorded with a minimum of two recording systems simultaneously recording the motor vehicle stops, (1) a cruiser cam system and (2) a body cam. All other stops initiated by police must be digitally recorded by at least a body cam.

(a) The recorded audio and video from the cruiser cam and body cam must clearly and accurately depict the events of stop and should attempt to capture events leading to the stop. Cruiser cam systems must start recording of data 60 seconds before any signal to a motor vehicle to stop. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in a dismissal with prejudice of any resulting citation or criminal charge from the stop, unless for good cause shown.

(b) Unless it is unsafe, impractical, or impossible to do so, upon police officer’s’ first confrontation of motor vehicle occupants, a police officer must first clearly state, in a manner that can be understood, the police officer’s name, agency, and an identification number (such as badge number), then, secondly, clearly state that the stop is being video-recorded, that occupants have a right to remain silent, and that any statements made can be used against occupants in a court of law. Failure to comply with this paragraph shall make the use of any subsequently recorded data inadmissible for purposes of prosecuting any crime or civil violation charged as a result of stop, unless upon a motion for good cause shown.

(c) Unless it is unsafe, impractical, or impossible to do so, if as a result of a stop a field sobriety test occurs, the recorded video must clearly and accurately depict any field sobriety test conducted during stop. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in a dismissal with prejudice of any resulting citation or criminal charge from the stop, unless for good cause shown.

(d) Unless it is unsafe, impractical, or impossible to do so, if as a result of a stop a search of vehicle occurs, police officer must first use body cam to capture all elements in plain sight before pursuing search. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in a dismissal with prejudice of any resulting citation or criminal charge from the stop, unless for good cause shown.

(e) Unless it is unsafe, impractical, or impossible to do so, if as a result of stop a search of a person occurs, the search should be positioned in a way that allows for search to be clearly and accurately recorded. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in a dismissal with prejudice of any resulting citation or criminal charge from the stop, unless for good cause shown.

(f) Unless it is unsafe, impractical, or impossible to do so, if the stop ends with a warning, citation, or criminal charge, a copy of the video recording must be provided or made available to relevant person being cited or charged prior to any deadline mandated as a result of the citation or criminal charge without fee to person. Deadlines include, but are not limited to, show cause hearings, arraignment, or payment date. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in a dismissal with prejudice of any resulting citation or criminal charge from the stop, unless for good cause shown.

(g) If the stop does not end with a warning, citation, or criminal charge, at the conclusion of the stop, every occupant of a motor vehicle stopped and every person stopped, must informed by police that they may receive a copy of recorded data without fee to any occupant, and instructions on how to do so. The police officer making this notice must provide occupant more than verbal notice, such a piece of paper.

(i) Every occupant of a motor vehicle stopped and every person stopped are exempt from the fee when requesting incident data.

(h) If because of a stop, person is placed in police vehicle wherein interior of the police vehicle records audio or video data, police officer must clearly state to said person that the interior of the police vehicle is also recording audio and video.

6. Technical requirements of equipment.

(a) The body cam must be able to record GPS data of stop, at a minimum of one data point per minute. The device must be able to capture video at a minimum of 30 frames per second. The device must have technology that addresses low light situations, with the technology being, at a minimum, as good as standard high-intensity infrared illuminators. The body cam must record video in color. The body cam must have a microphone that is able to record audio in synchronization with the video. The body cam must be waterproof at a minimum to an IP67 standard.

(b) The cruiser cam system must be able to record GPS data of stop, at a minimum of one data point per minute. Cruiser cams must be able to capture video at a minimum of 30 frames per second. The device must have technology that addresses low light situations, with the technology being, at a minimum, as good as standard high-intensity infrared illuminators. The cruiser cam must record video in color. The cruiser cam system must have a wireless microphone that is able to record audio in synchronization with the video.

(d) Mobile storage devices must use solid-state technology.

(e) No part of the equipment used in this program may be privately owned.

7. Police Agency Policies. Police agencies must develop polices for video recording practices and make polices available, especially upon request. The format of the policies must be in one document, not a collation of many documents. The policies must include agency’s specific measures to prevent data tampering, deleting and copying. Policies must clearly state where video recordings are to be stored in file systems. Policies must explicitly forbid agency personnel from accessing recorded data for personal use. Policies must have a clear and consistent protocol for releasing video recorded data externally to the public and news media.

8. Data retention. All data recorded because of this program must be kept for six years, except for non-evidentiary recordings, which must be kept for a minimum of 16 months.

9. Public record. All recorded data made because of this program is considered a public record. Nothing in this program shall specifically or by necessary implication exempt said recorded data from disclosure.

11. Public access. All recorded data must be accessible to the public within 10 days of date of recording. For each motor vehicle or community caretaker stop must exist a listing or index from which the public may request incident data. The listing or index must be freely assessable on the internet or world wide web. The listing must not reveal the name of any persons on video, but should reveal the date and time of recording and description of what happened because of stop, including but not limited to citations, arrests, crimes charged, or no action by police. The fee for each request is fifty dollars, unless requestor is exempt from fee. The data may be provided to requestor via direct online download, or compact disc.

12. Research and training use. Any recorded data may be requested by Massachusetts’s governmental agencies for training use and may not be charged a fee. Persons requesting recorded data for research purposes cannot be charged a fee. Person who makes request for research purposes must provide results of research back to agency where request was made within two years of being provided with data, otherwise researcher must pay fee of $50 per incident to said agency.

13. Retention of existing offenses and penalties. Nothing in this section will be construed to create a new offense, civil criminal, to supplement or supplant any existing offenses. Nor will anything in this chapter be construed to modify existing provisions of law relating to the operation of motor vehicles under the influence of drugs or intoxicating liquors as provided in Chapter __, Section __.