HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-12; Police Department's In-Car Video System Policy (Districts - All); Williams, MickeyTo the members of i:h~;
err, COUNCIL
Date \l \2E3 CA ./ CC =V:::
CM _LAC .JL'OCM (3) ~
January 12, 2023
Council Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor Blackburn and b rs of the City Council
From : Mickey Williams, Chief of Polic;,::.1 ;:i_-1--H~r--
Via: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Re: Police Department's In-Car Vi eo -?stem Policy (Dist ricts-All)
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2023002
This memorandum provides information related to the Police Department's acquisition and
launch of the Motorola in-car video system and related policy governing its use.
Background
On May 10, 2022, City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an
agreement with Motorola Solutions, for the replacement of the Police Department's computer-
aided dispatch system and purchase of in-car video systems for 60 patrol vehicles. At that time,
City Council directed staff to prepare a policy governing the use and operation of the in-car video
system.
Discussion
In November, Motorola Solutions provided training to Police Department employees that will be
utilizing the in-car video system. On January 5, 2023, the Police Department enacted new
Department Policy 447-Mobile Video System, which governs the operation of the in-car video
system. Later in January 2023, the Police Department intends to put into service the first cars
with this technology. Policy 447 is attached to this memorandum.
Next Steps
Staff will continue to assess the need for amendments to the policy as the Police Department
utilizes the new in-car camera systems.
Attachment: Carlsbad Police Department Policy 447
cc: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Allegra Frost, Deputy City Attorney
Police Department
Administration
2560 Orion Way I Carlsbad, CA 92010 I 442-339-2100 t
Attachment A
Carlsbad Police Depari:me111t
Policy Manual Special Order 2023Q01
Pursuant to Carlsbad Police Department Policy 208, this Special Order becomes
effective Januarv 5, 2023.
New Poli cy Sectuon 447 Mobile Video System
Mobi le Video System
447.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The Carlsbad Police Depa1iment has equipped marked patrol cars with a Mobile Video
System (MVS). The MVS is used to record certain activities by providing a visual
and/or audio record. The use of the MVS equipment, if an assigned vehicle is equipped
with one, is mandatory as outlined in this policy.
447.2 TRAINING
(a) Department personnel should not use the MVS until they have completed training
in the proper use of the system.
(b) Training will consist of the following:
1. A review of the Department Policy on the use of the MVS equipment.
2. A review and orientation of the MVS and its functions and components.
447.3 MEMBER PRIVACY EXPECTATION
All recordings are the property of the City of Carlsbad and are subject to review,
reproduction and distribution as deemed necessary by the Chief of Police, or designee.
Personnel have no privacy interest in these recordings. Such review, reproduction and
distribution may be done without prior knowledge or authorization of the employee(s)
involved, except as provided for under this policy.
447.4 OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES
(a) At the beginning of each duty shift, the employee(s) operating a department
vehicle equipped with an MVS shall log onto the MVS using the MVS touch
screen.
(b) Personnel operating a department vehicle with a MVS shall ensure that the
assigned wireless audio transmitter is adequately charged and functioning
properly.
(c) Ensure the wireless audio transmitter is worn on the front po1iion of the duty belt
or shirt, or if impractical, at a location that allows the microphone to record the
audio transmissions of the member to ensu~e audio is obtained when recording.
(d) Following the Department member's duty shift, the audio transmitter shall be
adequately charged for the next duty shift.
(e) Employees who have activated their Mobile Video System (MVS) are still
required to activate the BWC upon exiting the vehicle, consistent with Carlsbad
Police Policy 449, and to continuously operate it until the conclusion of the
incident or until they are permitted to turn it off in accordance with this policy.
(f) Members shall not surreptitiously record another department member without a
couti order unless lawfully authorized by the Chief of Po li ce or the authorized
designee.
(g) Members shall document the existence of a recording in all reports or other
official records of the contact, including an instance where the MVS
malfunctioned, or the member deactivated the recording. In such instances,
members shall indicate the reason for the deactivation.
(h) Employees operating a department vehicle with an MVS are responsible for the
proper use, care, and serviceability of the MVS. Employees shall as soon as
practical notify their supervisor if the MVS, or any component thereof, is
inoperable. Employees shall send notification via an IT ticket to the police
department's Information Technology Division to report the need for repair of the
MVS.
1. The police vehicle shall not be used until repair is completed unless
authorized by a supervisor.
2. If the MVS becomes inoperable at any time during an assigned duty shift,
the officer shall notify a supervisor as s0on as reasonably possible and only
continue to utilize the vehicle if approved by the supervisor. ·
447.5 ACTIVATION OF THE MVS
Members should activate the MVS any time the member believes it would be
appropriate or valuable to record an incident. Department members are encouraged to
advise members of the public of the recording. However, the Department member
must consider who is being recorded and any facts that would indicate that such notice
would interfere or otherwise be contrary to the mission of the Department. In the event
that the Department member believes such notice would interfere or otherwise be
contrary to the mission of the Department, the member may elect not to advise the
public of the recording . Members should make the advisement in a language the
recorded person(s) can understand, to the extent that members are able to
communicate in that language.
Employees who have activated their Mobile Video System (MVS) are still required to
activate the BWC upon exiting the vehicle, and to continuously operate it until the
conclusion of the incident or until they are permitted to turn it off in accordance with the
BWC Policy 449.
(a) Members shall activate the MVS (audio and video) during the following:
1. All anticipated enforcement actions and investigative contacts to include field
interviews, traffic stops and searches. Generally, members do not need to record
routine repoIi calls where there is no anticipated enforcement action .
2. When practical, all suspect statements. Victim and witness statements when
deemed appropriate or useful by the member of the Department.
3. When transporting a prisoner or providing transportation for a member of the
public.
4. Any other contact that becomes adversarial after the initial contact in a
situation that would not otherwise require recording or in the event the member
believes the recording would protect the interests of the member or the
Department.
5. When requesting or obtaining consent to search .
6. During all prisoner handling, searching, booking, or transferring processes,
unless prohibited by a Detention Facility.
(b) Once the MVS is activated, it shall remain on until the incident has reached
a conclusion, or you depart the scene.
(c) Any and all conversations which are required to be recorded shall be
recorded by using either the in-car microphone or remote transmitter.
(d) Members shall remain sensitive to the dignity of all indjviduals being recorded
and exercise sound discretion to respect privacy by discontinuing recording
whenever it reasonably appears to the member that such privacy may outweigh
any legitimate law enforcement interest in recording. Suspects who are nude or
partially unclothed shall be covered as soon as reasonably possible to protect
their personal privacy and dignity.
However, private citizens do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when
talking with police officers during the scope of an officer's official duties.
Requests by members of the public to stop recording shall be evaluated
balancing the request for privacy with legitimate law enforcement interest in
recording. In the event that recording is ceased , recording should resume when
privacy is no longer at issue unless the crrcumstances no longer fit the criteria for
recording .
447.6
At no time is a member expected to jeopardize his/her safety in order to activate
a MVS or change the recording media. However, the MVS should be activated in
situations described above as soon as practicable.
CESSATION OF RECORDING
Once activated, the MVS system should remain on until the incident has concluded. For
purposes of this section, conclusion of an incident has occurred when all arrests have
been made, arrestees have been transpo1ied and all witnesses and victims have been
interviewed .
Officers shall cease recording whenever necessary to ensure conversations are not
recorded between a person in custody and the person's attorney, religious advisor or
physician, unless there is explicit consent from all parties to the conversation (Penal
Code§ 636).
447.7 REVI EW OF MVS RECORDIN GS
{a) Employees are prohibited from copying, altering, editing, deleting, or distributing
any audio or video recording except as authorized by this policy.
(b) Recordings may be reviewed in any of the following situations:
447.8
1. Employees who are required to write a police report pursuant to any
incident will be allowed to review relevant video and audio files while
completing the report to ensure accuracy and completeness.
2. Sergeants conducting an administrative review of any incident should
review relevant video and audio files during the course of their review.
3. MVS recordings may be reviewed by an investigator or supervisor
participating in an official performance review or Department
investigation, such as a personnel complaint, claims investigation,
administrative inquiry, or criminal investigation.
4. To assess proper functioning of MVS system
5. To assess possible training value. Recordings may be shown for training
purposes.
PROHIBITED USE OF MVS
Members are prohibited from using Department-issued MVS's and recording media
for personal use and are prohibited from making personal copies of recordings
created while on duty or while acting in their official capacity. Members are also
prohibited from retaining recordings of activities or information obtained while on-duty.
Members shall not duplicate or distribute such recordings, except for authorized
legitimate Department business purposes. All such recordings shall be retained at the
Department. Members are prohibited from using personally owned video recording
devices while on-duty without the express consent of the Watch Commander. Any
member who uses a personally owned video MVS for department-related activities
shall comply with the prov1s1ons of this policy, including reten tion and release
requirements. Recordings shall not be used by any member for the purpose of
embarrassment, intimidation or ridicule. As part of the investigative record, recordings
shall not be shared with others without a legitimate professional interest in the case
and should be considered "need to know" content. Members without the "need to
know" about the investigation shall be prohibited from viewing the video without the
express permission of the division commander.
The Department shall take all reasonable measures to ensure the security of stored
recordings, whether audio or video, in an effo1t to prevent unauthorized access to
said stored recordings.
4-47.9 SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
(a) Sergeants who have personnel assigned to them who are assigned vehicles that
are equipped with an MVS are required to conduct quarterly inspections. While
doing so, supervisors shall inspect audio and video recording devices to ensure
the devices are operating properly, programed correctly (accurate date, time, and
officer name).
The inspections will ensure that the MVS is being used to record incidents
consistent with this policy. Inspection results will be forwarded to the respective
Lieutenant of the division for review and approval via the member's OEM.
1. Sergeants will randomly select at least two dates every quarter, that their
employee was working , to inspect the proper use of the officer's MVS. The
supervisor will confirm that the number of incidents where a vehicle was used
with an MVS that require a recording, match the number of recordings
submitted . If the supervisor identifies a discrepancy, they will follow-up with
the officer to determine the reason the recordings submitted did not match the
officer's number of incidents. Sergeants will also make sure that the randomly
selected MVS videos were uploaded and categorized properly. If there is a
violation of this policy determined by the sergeant, at a minimum the violation
and supervisory action should be documented in the member's OEM .
2. If during the inspection, the sergeant determines that the officer's MVS is not
functioning properly, the MVS will be immediately taken out of service for
repair and/or replacement.
3. Lieutenant's Responsibilities-Lieutenants will ensure the Sergeants'
inspections are completed per this policy. If a supervisor identifies a
discrepancy, the lieutenant will follow up with the supervisor to ensure the
discrepancy is corrected.
4. Supervisors may review any relevant digital audio and video recordings prior
to approving police reports and should review all relevant recordings prior to
approving administrative reports (audits, employ OEM's, etc.) related to those
recordings . Upon review of administrative reports, it is the supervisor's
responsibility to ensure that each recording is. categorized correctly to confirm
the digital evidence is being retained for the appropriate amount of time.
5. Supervisors may use recordings of field incidents for training purposes.
However, employees shall not, except with the express consent of the Chief of
Police or designee, use recordings depicting incidents that are the subject of
litigation, incidents outlined in.the 01S policy, or incidents that are the subject
of administrative personnel actions.
6. A member shall only view buffered recordings for a legitimate law enforcement
purpose, and then may only do so with prior approval from a Captain or above
within the police depariment.
7. This policy does not limit a supervisor's ability to inspect MVS recordings if
there is reason to believe that an officer is not properly recording, uploading or
categorizing incidents.
447.10 AUDITS
It is the responsibility of the MVS Lieutenant/Administrator to ensure at the beginning of
each month, an audit is conducted of uncategorized incidents. The MVS Administrator
shall ensure that all uncategorized videos are categorized properly by the appropriate
employee that recorded the video.
447.11 RETENTION REQUIREMENTS
It is the responsibility of the member making the recording to affirmatively categorize recordings
in the Motorola Vault system based upon the circumstances of the incident.
All MVS video recordings shall be retained for a period consistent with the requirements of the
organization's records retention schedule, but in no event for a period less one year. (Gov.
Code § 34090.6).
(a) Non-evidentiary recordings/Accidental recording -one year.
(b) Case where a Member reasonably believes that there is a high probability of
civil liability to the City -three-year retention. ·
(c) Detention-two-year retention.
(d) Felony-three-year retention.
(e) Felony with Use of Force-three-year retention.
(f) Homicides -permanent retention in Evidence.com AND all videos shall be
recorded to a backup media, such as DVDs and logged into evidence.
(g) Major injury traffic collision-three-year retention
(h) Minor injury traffic collision-two-year retention
(i) Misc. case-two-year retention
U) Misc. case with Use of Force-three-year retention
(k) Misdemeanor (including traffic related misdemeanors)-two-year retention.
(I) Misdemeanor with Use of Force-three-year retention
(m) Pending review-permanent retention
(n) Restricted Professional Standards-two-year retention
(o) Routine incident with no apparent investigative value-one year retention.
(p) Training-two-year retention.
Mickey Williams, Chief of Police
1/5/2023
Date