Journal & Topics Media Group

Draft Policy Outlines How Niles Police Would Use Body Cameras

FOIA Filed After Public Discussion At Village Board Meeting

One model of a police body worn cameras sold by Safety Vision, the company Niles police are recommending a purchase of body cameras from. (Safety Vision photo)

Draft policy 429 regulates how and when Niles police body cameras should begin and end recording, how long footage must be retained before it is destroyed, and instructs officers to activate the cameras for nearly all situations and interactions with the public.

The Niles Journal this week obtained the draft policy that regulates the proposed use of body cameras by police officers and the retention and use of footage from them.

When Niles trustees heard a presentation by Police Chief Luis Tigera recommending a plan to purchase police body cameras, he and trustees discussed the draft policy during the open session of their Tuesday, Feb. 26 village board meeting.

The draft policy was released to the Journal on Tuesday, March 5, after a Freedom of Information Act public records order was filed Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Tigera recommended the purchase of 55 police body worn cameras capable of recording video and audio from Safety Vision for a total cost of $52,000 in two phases, with half purchased in the current 2019 fiscal year using DUI seizure funds, and the remaining purchased through the fiscal year budget.

In the draft, exceptions to recording include when officers are talking with confidential informants, witnesses or persons reporting a crime, or in most cases when officers are in a place where a “reasonable expectation of privacy” exists.

Private discussions with police are not considered to have an expectation of privacy, even if they occur in a person’s home, the draft policy says. Although not required by law, police are instructed to advise people they are being recorded.

Police would also turn body cameras off when not engaged in law enforcement activity, completing paperwork, or in court related situations. Officers may turn off body cameras in squad cars equipped with cameras.

The draft policy says footage from cameras would be kept for 90 days before being destroyed, unless material is “flagged.” Flagged segments of recordings would be kept for two years and in some cases longer, such as with court cases.

Footage would be retained in the event a complaint is filed, officers use their firearm or force during an encounter, an encounter with an officer results in an arrest or detention (other than a minor traffic stop), when an officer is the subject of an investigation, footage is of value to parties in a court case, or the officer making the recording requests they be retained for official purposes. Officers may not keep personal copies of recordings.

Recordings shall be protected under the Freedom of Information Act or Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act.

Footage may be reviewed by other officers involved in a relevant investigation with permission of a supervisor, by court personnel in a related case, by media personnel with permission of the police chief or his authorized designee, or in compliance with a FOIA request. Under the draft policy, police reports would note when recordings are made.

The draft policy also protects the public’s right to record law enforcement. “No officer may hinder or prohibit any person recording a law enforcement officer in the performance of his/her duties in a public place or in a circumstance where the officer has no reasonable expectation of privacy,” the draft says. “The unlawful confiscation or destruction of the recording medium of a person who is not a law enforcement officer may result in discipline or penalties.”

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