Body-Worn Camera’s in Law Enforcement Agencies, 2016

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# Body-Worn Camera’s in Law Enforcement Agencies, 2016
## Data Privacy and The Bureau of Justice Statistics
### Bryan Schafroth
### 2/13/2019

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# Contents

- Introduction

- Description

- Ethical Issues

- Privacy Issues

- Status

- Summary

- References

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# Introduction

#### Body-Worn Camera's (BWC) by Local & State Law Enforcement Agencies
- Law Enforcement Agency Deployment

- Agency Policies

- Accessing & Storage of Data

- Agencies Without Body-Worn Cameras

#### Law Enforcement Management & Administration Statistics (LEMAS)
- June 30, 2016 Survey Questionnaire

#### Body-Worn Cameras in Law Enforcement
- Relatively new concept and adoption by agencies

- No uniform standard policy

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# Description

#### Nearly half of all enforcement agencies in the U.S. have BWCs
.pull-left[
####Enforcement Agencies For:
- Improve Officer Safety

- Increase Evidence Quality

- Reduce Civilian Complaints

- Reduce Agency Liability

- Improve Accountability

- Simplify Incident Review

- Reduce Use of Force
]
.pull-right[
#### Enforcement Agencies Against
- Costs - Insufficient Funding

- Technology Challenges - Data Storage, Hardware

- Privacy Concerns

- Liability

- Security of Camera Footage

- Burden of Requests for Footage by Public/Media
]

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# Description

#### 86% have a policy in place for the use of BWCs
#### Does not cover all aspects 100% 
- **Specific Events to Record: 26%-90% described in the policies**

- Traffic Stops 
 
 - Citizen Contact
 
 - Arrest Seach Warrants 
 
 - Firesarms Deployment 
 
 - Routine Service Calls 
 
 - Criminal Investigations 
 
 - Policing Public Events

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# Description

- **Video Transfer, Storage, Disposal**

- Approx. 87% have systems in place

- **Disclose to Citizens Being Recorded**

- Under 50% have this policy included
  
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- **Direct Access: 8%-88% described in policies**
  - Cheif Executive 
  - Supervisor
  - Officer
  - Public
  - District Attorney
  - IT Deparment Heads and Staff
  - Other Sworn Officers
  -Other Non-Sworn Officers

- **Contact That Must Be Reduced**
  - Under 50% have this policy included

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# Privacy Issues

- Video is available to the public per request for information

- Personal affairs & property can be recorded without a warrant

- Entering a home with other innocent bystanders or children

- Different staff have access to the video footage without formalities

- Officers will lose privacy as employees of the agency

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# Status

-  The research is in active status – the next survey is not given

- 2016 was the last study performed by the department

- There were 10 surveys since 1987 with 1 to 6 years between them

- Technology has continued to change and adoption should increase

- AI and machine learning is also on the rise in everything, which will open up more privacy and ethical issues

- Privacy policies will need to catch up to the technology

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# Summary

- Lacking standardized practice policies nationwide

- Legality of using cameras on citizens

- Perspective of camera, doesn’t show entire scenario

- Securing of video archives is varied and non-existent in some

- Witnesses to crime can be retaliated against

- Victims of sensitive scenarios are exposed (embarrassment, shame)

- Disclosure of the use of these cameras

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#### References

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (November 16, 2018). Body-Worn cameras in law enforcement agencies, 2016.
Retrieved from: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6426

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (November 16, 2018). Data tables. Retrieved from:
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/sheets/bwclea16.zip

U.S. Department of Justice. (November, 2018). Body-Worn cameras in law enforcement agencies, 2016.
(pp. 1-20). Retrieved from: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bwclea16.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice. (January 31, 2018). Privacy policy. Retrieved from:
https://www.justice.gov/doj/privacy-policy

U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs. (n.d.) Freedom of information act. Retrieved from:
https://ojp.gov/about/foia/foia.htm

U.S. Department of Justice. (December 13, 2018). Department of justice freedom of information act
reference guide. Retrieved from: https://www.justice.gov/oip/department-justice-freedom-
information-act-reference-guide