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E.P.P. 062 LONGWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT POLICY & PROCEDURE NUMBER EPP - 62 SUBJECT: BODY WORN CAMERA EFFECTIVE: JULY 30, 2020 REVISED: DECEMBER 1, 2023 ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 1 OF 9 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for all members to follow regarding the operation of body worn cameras. Body worn cameras will assist in documenting law enforcement interactions with the public, collecting evidence, increasing accountability, and providing a greater degree of transparency to the public. II. POLICY: It shall be the policy of the Longwood Police Department to establish and maintain a procedure for department issued body worn cameras. The recording created by body worn cameras shall be retained as prescribed by state statute and the State of Florida General Records Schedule. Personnel who are provided a camera system will be trained in its proper use to accomplish these goals. All members shall adhere to the conditions set forth in this policy. III. DEFINITIONS: A. Body Worn Camera (BWC) – A portable electronic recording device worn on a law enforcement officer’s body that records audio and video data in the course of the officer performing his or her official duties and responsibilities. B. Video Recording – A digital recording of images captured on a BWC, which may or may not contain audio. C. Buffering Mode – The mode of a BWC when the on/off switch is placed in the ‘on’ position. The camera overwrites a continuous loop in ‘Buffering Mode’; however, the video is not retained until the camera enters ‘Event Mode’. Up to but not exceeding 30 seconds of video. D. Event Mode - The mode of a BWC when the user double presses the event button or when the camera responds to predefined automatic triggers, such as an emergency light bar activation. During this mode, both audio and video are permanently saved until the user stops the recording. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 2 OF 9 E. Evidence.com – The cloud-based storage portal which provides access to data captured on all department issued BWC systems. Data shall be transmitted and stored on Evidence.com in an encrypted format. The ability to view, redact, and delete data is only accessible to authorized personnel based upon predefined roles. F. Pre-Event Buffering – The period of time recorded prior to the manual activation of the Event Mode button, starting the recording process. The BWC will record up to 30 seconds of video with no audio at the start of all videos. G. System Administrator – The appointed department member who will have full access to user rights, assign and track equipment, reset user passwords, and act as liaison with representatives from the system manufacturer. IV. MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES: A. Selected uniformed members of the department will be assigned a BWC system based on their work assignment. Other sworn department members can be assigned a BWC at the request of their immediate supervisor, based on their assignment. B. Members shall only use BWC equipment issued by the department and authorized by the chief of police for the recording of day to day operations. C. Members shall receive proper training in the use of the BWC hardware and software prior to being assigned a BWC to include the cloud based digital evidence management system Evidence.com. This training will include a review of procedures regarding video data downloading, retention, storage, naming, labeling, categorizing and creating video files. D. Members assigned a BWC shall be responsible for its upkeep, storage, and functionality. Any loss or damage to the BWC or accompanying equipment shall be documented by the end of the shift during which the problem was discovered. This will be documented on an Equipment Request and forwarded through the chain of command during the same shift. Members shall never attempt to repair damaged equipment on their own. E. Prior to the start of their shift, members shall assure the BWC is charged and functional. Any deficiencies shall be reported to the member’s immediate supervisor as soon as practical. F. Members shall return the BWC to the docking station for proper download and charging no later than the end of every shift in preparation for their next duty day, unless exigent circumstances arise. The BWC shall be placed in the docking station prior to the start of the member’s next shift if exigent circumstances did exist. The BWC must be returned to the docking station prior to any extended leave, including scheduled weekends off, vacations, or other scheduled time ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 3 OF 9 away from work. Supervisor approval must be obtained for any exigent circumstances or changes to this section. G. The docking station for the BWC is located at the police department. It will be the responsibility of each member assigned a BWC to make sure the camera is properly placed in the docking station for it to download and charge for the next shift. V. CRITERIA FOR ACTIVATION: A. Members shall turn on their BWC to ‘Buffering Mode’ prior to going in service. It shall remain on except for reasons identified in this section. B. Members are REQUIRED to activate their BWC to Event Mode in the following circumstances: 1. When dispatched to a call for service by Communications Center personnel, or when a call for service is created in the XCAD system, except for the following situations: a. An event created by a school resource officer at the beginning of their shift at their assigned campus. Note: Should any of the circumstances requiring activation listed in any section of this policy, occur during the shift the officer shall immediately activate their BWC. b. An event created at the beginning of an off-duty special detail. Note: Should any of the circumstances requiring activation listed in any section of this policy occur during the off- duty special detail the officer shall immediately activate their BWC. 2. “On View” or officer initiated contacts with subjects involved or suspected of being involved in criminal activity. 3. All traffic enforcement or investigative encounters. 4. Tactical situations, including but not limited to building searches, vehicle searches, vehicle pursuits, foot pursuits, etc. 5. Any consensual citizen contact that becomes adversarial. C. Members are required to activate and keep their BWC in Event Mode at all times when a member of the public is in their care or custody. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 4 OF 9 D. Members may mute the audio function of the body-worn camera system when they are not interacting with a suspect, witness, victim, or other person involved in an incident. When it is necessary to mute the audio, members will verbally state the reason for doing so on the BWC system before muting or immediately upon unmuting the audio. E. It is understood there may be situations when time or tactical advantage will delay the manual activation of the BWC to Event Mode (i.e. unanticipated threat presenting itself to the officer, foot pursuit, or medical care being administered). In these situations officer safety is paramount and the BWC should be activated as soon as practical. Under no circumstances should a member attempt to activate the BWC until it is safe to do so nor should an officer abandon a tactical position solely to obtain a better camera angle of the situation at hand. F. While there is not a legal requirement to inform a citizen they are being recorded via a BWC, members may tell a citizen. This information may assist in deescalating an aggravated situation when the citizen realizes they are being recorded. G. If a citizen requests the officer turn off their BWC it should be explained to them this cannot be done for the safety of all parties involved; however, members responding to calls of a sensitive nature, including but not limited to sexual battery, lewd and lascivious, etc., are permitted to stop video recording the victim upon request. Prior to stopping the recording an officer must state the reason for the stoppage. The BWC shall be re-activated to event mode if the officer continues their investigation and makes contact with any witnesses or suspects. H. A member’s BWC can be deactivated from Event Mode once they have cleared their calls for service, are no longer in contact with a member of the public, and no safety concerns remain. I. Recording may be stopped during significant periods of inactivity such as report writing or other breaks from direct participation in an incident, or on calls of an unusually long duration. J. The BWC may be powered off to conserve battery life during extended periods of inactivity when a member is not conducting normal duties, such as but not limited to, court, meetings, etc. It is the member’s responsibility to activate the BWC to Buffering Mode when such periods of inactivity conclude. K. The activation of the member’s in-car camera system does not relieve the requirement of the officer to activate their BWC. In situations such as motor vehicle stops or vehicle pursuits, both the in-car camera system and the BWC shall be activated to Event Mode. L. School Resource Officers are not required to activate their BWC to Event Mode when performing routine daily duties such as normal conversation with teachers and students. School Resource Officers will adhere to activation requirements ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 5 OF 9 when the specific situation being addressed fall under part B. of this section. School Resource Officers shall have their BWC activated to Event Mode at all times during unusual occurrences or active shooter situations at the school. The BWC shall not be deactivated from Event Mode until the member has determined the situation has been resolved and has either left the scene or transitioned back to normal duties. M. If a member fails to activate their BWC during a required situation, part of a required situations, or interrupts/terminates the recording without cause, they shall verbally notify their supervisor as soon as practical. N. Any failure of the BWC shall be reported to the on-duty supervisor immediately and every effort shall be made to obtain a replacement BWC as soon as possible. O. Assisting officers in any activation required events that are issued BWC cameras shall use them to record their involvement in any incidents regardless of the other recording systems already in use. It is the responsibility the assisting officer to advise the primary or arresting officer that they have pertinent recordings of the incident and to ensure proper notations, labeling and categorizing is completed in all documented reports and Evidence.com. P. When BWC recording is evidence in any criminal case, officers will complete the appropriate documentation to petition the court for cost of investigation (equipment use, cost of storage, etc.) as outlined in E.P.P 49 and F.S.S. 938.27. VI. LIMITATIONS/PROHIBITED USE: A. Members are strictly prohibited from using the BWC to record any activity not related to official police duties. Areas qualifying as prohibited are: 1. Personal activity on or off duty. 2. Personal conversations with other law enforcement or public during routine non enforcement related activities. 3. Recording confidential informants or undercover officers unless as part of investigation which have been pre-approved in an operational plan. 4. Recording in areas that have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as but not limited to, locker rooms, bathrooms or dressing rooms, healthcare offices or hospitals where privacy of the patient should be considered. 5. Any exceptions to the above listed prohibitions must be approved by a supervisor. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 6 OF 9 B. Members are prohibited from creating, disseminating, or sharing copies of any BWC recording for personal use. All recordings shall be downloaded in the Evidence.com system. Members are also prohibited from creating a secondary copy of any BWC system recording with other devices (i.e. cell phones, video cameras). C. Members are prohibited from using any other electronic devices, programs, apps, etc. or other means in order to intentionally interfere with the capability of the BWC. D. Members are strictly prohibited from posting any video recordings from the BWC system to any social media websites or applications without the prior approval of the chief of police or his designee. E. Members shall not permit citizens or other members not involved in an ongoing investigation to view video recording via the BWC systems. Such request shall be directed to normal public record request procedures. F. Members shall not use another member’s BWC in place of their own for any reason, unless prior approval is granted by the supervisor. G. Members are strictly prohibited from altering, deleting, redacting, or making any changes to the original span of any recording downloaded from the BWC unless authorized to by this policy. H. Members are prohibited from intentionally miss categorizing their video while assigning it to a retention category. Retention categories are further detailed in paragraph IX. VII. PERMITTED USE BY MEMBERS: A. Members should review BWC video recordings to prepare written reports or for court testimony preparation, including, but not limited to, motions, hearing, depositions and trials. B. Members shall only allow BWC recordings to be viewed by non-department personnel when verbal authorization is given by their direct supervisor or higher authority, or the member is authorized to do so in the course of their responsibility. C. A law enforcement officer, upon his or her own initiative or request, will be permitted to review the recorded footage from their body worn camera before writing a report or providing a statement regarding any event arising within the scope of their official duties. Any such provision may not apply to an officer’s inherent duty to immediately disclose information necessary to secure an active crime scene or to identify suspects or witnesses. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 7 OF 9 VIII. DOWNLOADING RECORDINGS: A. All recordings made on the BWC shall be downloaded by members as indicated in this policy. Any exception to this rule requires supervisor’s approval. B. Some situations may require a member to download the BWC immediately or as soon as practical during a tour of duty. These include, but are not limited to: 1. Response to resistance 2. Fleeing motorist/vehicle pursuit 3. Foot pursuits 4. Officer involved crash 5. Video captures of evidence in a criminal case 6. Citizen complaint during which a BWC was active 7. Any situation the officer’s supervisor or higher authority requests IX. VIDEO RETENTION AND DOCUMENTATION: A. Recordings shall be retained for a defined period based on a category assigned to it in Evidence.com. For a complete listing of categories and their retention schedules please refer to Appendix A. B. It shall be the responsibility of the member who created the video to ensure every recording captured by their assigned BWC is initially categorized according the retention schedules listed in Appendix A. If two or more categories arise from one event, the category with the higher retention schedule will be used. C. In addition to the categories outlined in Appendix A in this policy the following special categories shall be applied to any video that meet the specified criteria: 1. Major Crime – retained until manually deleted. Any recording that captures evidence pertaining to a capital/life felony case. It shall be the responsibility of the investigative supervisor to apply this category to a recording when necessary. 2. Missing Person – retained until manually deleted. Any recording that captures evidence pertaining to a case involving a missing person or runaway where the individual has not been recovered/located. It shall be the responsibility of the investigative supervisor to apply this category to a recording when necessary. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 8 OF 9 3. Restricted – retained until manually deleted. Any recording that is deemed to be of such a sensitive nature or of the vital interest of the department that only a supervisor should have access to view the video. It shall be the responsibility of the BWC System Administrator to apply this category to a recording when necessary. D. In the event a non-criminal report is assigned to another member for further investigation, and the investigation results in the creation of an offense report, it shall be the responsibility of the assigned member to update the category and title of all associated videos to ensure compliance with this policy. X. TRAINING: A. All members will be provided BWC training prior to a BWC being issued. Training will cover all required topics, including the BWC hardware, operation, downloading, retention, and rules surrounding the use of the BWC as well as the video recording storage system on Evidence.com. B. BWC recordings may be viewed by members to identify training needs when applicable. XI. SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES: A. A designee approved by the chief of police shall be the System Administrator of the BWC Program. B. Supervisors shall make sure any member assigned to them are using the BWC system according to policy. C. Supervisors shall conduct monthly inspections of their members’ BWC video recordings. These periodic checks shall be conducted for the purpose of determining the proper function, use, practices and ensuring the proper labeling and categorizing of videos has been completed by each member under their command to ensure conformity to agency’s policy and procedures. D. Supervisors shall instruct any officer under their supervision and involved in an incident to download any video recording as soon as practical when an incident listed in section V.B. of this policy occurs. E. In the event a member reports their BWC is not functioning properly, the supervisor shall determine if the system should be placed out of service and submitted for repair. They will also make sure a replacement BWC is provided to the member as soon as possible. Any request for repair shall be forwarded through the chain of command as soon as practical. A copy of the request shall also be forwarded to the System Administrator. ENFORCEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE BODY WORN CAMERA EPP – 62 PAGE 9 OF 9 XII. PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS: A. All BWC recordings are considered property of the Longwood Police Department, and are subject to Florida State Statute 119. Appendix A - Classification and Retention Schedule Category Retention Capital or Life Felony 100 Years Missing Person - not found 100 Years Child Abuse 25 years Juvenile Offender 20 Years Elder Abuse 8 Years Fraud 8 Years (Felony or Misdemeanor) Felony 1, 2 & 3 7 Years Misdemeanor 1 & 2 5 Years Property Damage/Accident Review 5 Years Traffic Crash 4 Years Non-Criminal 4 Years Vehicle Apprehension (without charges) 4 Years Incident Report 4 Years K9 Deployment 4 years RTR 4 years Involuntary Examination 4 years Search Warrant 4 years Emergency Response 1 Year Missing Person - found 1 Year Traffic Stop 1 Year Field Contact/ S13 6 Months Non Event/Training 90 days Rejected Evidence 90 days