BWC Policy Review Chief Der Staff_FINAL Draft 8-18-22.xlsx

	A	B	C	E	G	I
1	PATF-HoCo BWC Policy Review					Final Draft: 8-18-22
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3	BWC Sections		Section Description (When Applicable)	Strengths	Concerns	Questions & Requests for Clarification
4	I	Policy		The BWC policy is available to the public.
5	II	Authority
6	III	Definitions	N.3. Types of Recordings - Non-evidentiary Recordings that do not contain evidence or are not part of an investigation			What is the use of non-evidentiary recordings? Can they be used for quality control audits and/or training regarding non-critical incidents?
7	III	Definitions	Definitions General			Spell out and define CIB (see Section VIII.H.1) Define Axon (see Section III.K.4) Define Uniformed Police Services Details (see Section IV.A.3).
8	IV	Wearing of Body Worn Cameras	A.1. BWC shall be worn by uniformed sworn members who are issued a BWC If an officer is issued a BWC, it shall be worn at all times while on duty and in the uniform of the day, including uniformed overtime. Exceptions are when officers are in the Class A uniform, training uniform or plain clothes assignment. B. All officers involved in the execution of a search and seizure warrant who are issued a BWC including those officers in a plain-clothes assignment, shall wear the BWC and operate it consistent with the guidelines detailed in this policy. - 1. The BWC shall be affixed to the outermost garment, i.e. the winter coat, external vest carrier, or raid vest.	IV.A.1. The policy specifies that that the BWC should be worn at all times that an officer is on duty. IV.B.1. The policy specifies where the BWC cameras should be worn, to maximize the camera's ability to capture video footage of the officer's activities.		IV. A.1. ("exception') and IV.B. ("all officers") seem to be contradictory regarding the wearing of BWCs by officers on plain clothes assignments.: Why are officers wearing Class A uniforms exempt from wearing BWCs?
9			D. The BWC Division is responsible for providing training to all sworn personnel issued a BWC. Officers and supervisors will be trained and maintain proficiency in all aspects of using BWC, to include activation of the camera, viewing footage, uploading data, tagging and categorizing videos, and report writing when BWC footage is included.	The policy provides for training in the use of BWCs.		IV.D. Do officers receive sufficient Mental Health and Diversity training that would, for example, influence the degree to which they make “reasonable efforts to conform to policy” (II.A.2.) or make appropriate evaluations about honoring a citizen’s request to turn off BWC (V.E.1.a.)?
10			E. Officers may only wear HCPD-issued BWCs and mounts consistent with Departmental training, and are strictly prohibited from tampering with, dismantling, or modifying any component of the BWC. - 1. The BWC shall not be utilized off-body as a covert surveillance tool ... 1. The BWC shall never be utilized for personal use.	The policy specifies some circumstances in this BWC use is prohibited.
11			Wearing of Body Worn Cameras (General)			Are officers performing interrogations or other handling of individuals in custody required to wear BWCs?; Are the BWC's recording Miranda Rights for people being interrogated?
12	V	General Operational Procedures	V.A. 1. Officers will inspect and test their assigned BWC prior to each shift or assignment to verify it is functioning properly and the battery is sufficiently charged.	The policy details an officer's responsibility for maintaining and testing the BWC.
13			V.C.1. Activation - If an officer’s assigned car and handgun holster are equipped with automatic activation, the BWC will automatically switch to Event Mode when the officer activates the emergency equipment in the police vehicle, draws the firearm from its holster, or the Conducted Electric Weapon (CEW) is initiated and the trigger pulled.	The policy supports automatic activation of the BWC.		Are all cars and handgun holsters used by the HCPD equipped with automatic activation? If not, how will this issue be resolved?
14			V.C.2. Activation - Consistent with Departmental training, officers will only activate BWC for legitimate law enforcement purposes. … Events during which the BWC shall be activated include but are not limited to	The policy specifies a minimal set of situations in which the BWC must be activated.
15			V.C.5 Activation - If an officer fails to activate the BWC and fails to document the entire incident on the BWC, or the BWC fails to function, the officer shall document the reason for doing so in the incident report or in CAD if no report is written.	An officer who fails to activate the BWC during an incident must document the reason for failing to do so.
16			V.D. Notification - Officers shall inform citizens that they are being recorded at the beginning of the contact or as soon as safely possible, consistent with training	The policy requires the officers to notify citizens that they are being recorded.
17			V.E.1 Victim and Citizen Requests - Generally officers have no obligation to stop recording in response to a citizen's request if the recording is pursuant to investigation, arrest, lawful search, or the circumstances clearly indicate that continued recording is necessary. a. Officers should continue to evaluate the situation and honor the citizen's request if and when appropriate.	The policy provides for some officer discretion in stopping a BWC recording.		The policy lacks sufficient guidance for officers in utilizing their discretion. What are examples in which an officer should honor a citizen's request to stop recording?
18	VI	Special Operational Procedures	Special Circumstances and Protected Areas - A. Consistent with training, recording will not take place within areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy recognized by the Fourth Amendment unless - 3. Exigent circumstances exist.			What are exigent circumstances that permit officers to refrain from using BWCs to record?
19	VI	Special Operational Procedures	Special Circumstances and Protected Areas - E. When responding to K through 12 educational institutions, offers should 1. Refrain from activating the camera unless necessary for law enforcement purposes. 2. To the extent possible, attempt to avoid recording staff and persons other than the involved parties. 3. To the extent possible, attempt to avoid recording educational activities.			What are the triggers to begin recording?
20	VII	Administrative Procedures
21	VIII	Access, Review and Use of Recordings	VIII.G.2. When an officer shoots or seriously injures another person or is involved in an in-custody death		An officer who has shot or seriously injured someone or is involved in a an in-custody death should not be allowed to review video before writing a report or being interviewed.
22			VIII.H. The immediate supervisor must review the BWC recordings of an officer when 1. There is an incident resulting in an officer writing a use-of-force report when the use of force is captured on the BWC except in cases where CIB has assumed the investigation 2. The member alerts the supervisor that he has reason to believe the event may result in a complaint or a complaint has been received.			What is the purpose of the immediate supervisor reviewing the recording? What action is he/she required to take?
23			VIII.J Video and audio footage may be viewed for legitimate law enforcement, administrative and litigation purposes by authorized member		The Police Accountability Board (PAB) should be added to the list of groups authorized to view video footage.
24			VIII.M.1. Watch Commanders or Division Commanders shall utilize Axon Performance for BWC quality assurance reviews.	The policy requires monthly reviews of random videos to assess adherence to policy.
25			VIII.M.1.c.(i & ii) Watch Commanders or Division Commanders shall utilize Axon Performance for BWC quality assurance reviews. c. i. Any minor policy violations observed shall be addressed by the officer's Supervisor or Commander ii. Any major policy violations shall be forwarded through the chain of command to the Commander of the Professional Standards Bureau for review and possible referral to the Internal Affairs Division.		There is nothing in the policy regarding penalties for violating the BWC policy; if disciplinary action is detailed in another HoCo PD policy, this document needs to be available to the public.	How are violations uncovered outside of compliance reviews handled? What is the distinction between "major "and "minor" violations?
26			VIII.M.2. BWC Compliance Reviews - The Staff Inspections Section shall conduct regular reviews of the BWC program, including the BWC Division and the Information Management Division, Digital/BWC Management Section, in accordance with General Order ADM-06, Quality Assurance and Staff Inspections	The policy requires regular reviews of the BWC program.		What frequency is denoted by "regular” for the Staff Inspections Section review of the BWC program? Will this data be shared with the PAB? What data will be shared at the State and Federal level regarding the efficacy of the BWC program?
27	IX	Retention of Data	IX. Retention of Data -A. Retention Periods 1. Recordings will be kept for at least the minimum time required under all applicable laws, policies and the defined legal retention schedule approved by the State Archives.	The policy specifies the minimum retention periods for unedited, unredacted BWC footage for several crime categories.		What is the minimum retention time in cases where there is no applicable law?
28	X	Records Requests and Release of Recordings	X.B. The Digital/BWC Management Section of the Information Management Division has primary responsibility for the proper review, redaction, control, maintenance, retrieval, and distribution of BWC footage.	The Commander of the Professional Standards Bureau is responsible to oversee and monitor compliance with the BWC Program Policy.		What standards will the Digital/BWC Management Section or Supervisor use to determine if they should provide a notification of a violation of the BWC policy? What standards will the Commander of the Professional Standards Bureau use to determine to whom to forward information about a policy violation?
29	XI	Cancellation
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