As More Police Wear Cameras, Policy Questions Arise

[DWC295 70]

Came across this today.

My link

[FFEMT150 214]

Sounds like a good concept so far... Curious about the opinion of the LEOs here...

[9liner 10]

To me, these new "personal" cameras are merely an extension of the officer's in-car camera. We have been using in-car cameras since I came on the job in 2006. We are REQUIRED by policy to inform every driver that they are being "audibly and visually recorded" at the start of EVERY instance of contact i.e. disabled vehicle, traffic stop, collisions (situation permitting). We are also required to roll tape whenever we are responding code to an incident. While the recorder may be a PIA at times, it has saved my a** countless times from frivolous complaints. All of our patrol vehicles are required to have an operational camera. Being in a specialized unit now, our cars are not equipped with cameras and I can honestly say there are times when I still wish I had it. There are certain jurisdictions that actually require their officers to start a tape at the beginning of their shift and continue until they call out of service.

[SOUSGT 357]

Sounds like a good concept so far... Curious about the opinion of the LEOs here...

I wish we had the small cameras when I was on the job. Today, you can buy small camera/DVRs cheep. They will record for a few hours without downloading.

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/hidden-pen-camera-video-recorder.html

I would warn any one using such a device at work to check State law and the rules and regs before using a personal recorder.

NYS permits such devices as long as one of the parties knows that thier conversation is being recorded. Other states and departments may be more restrictive. Also in Law Enforcement, if a video is used in an arrest , there is a chan of evidence and a copy has to be turned over to the DA and the defendant.