Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Chesterton Police to buy body and in-car cameras

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By KEVIN NEVERS

At its meeting on Monday, Feb. 11, the Chesterton Town Council will hear a request from Police Chief Dave Cincoski for authorization to purchase body and in-car camera systems for his officers.

As Cincoski told the Police Commission at its meeting Thursday night, the systems will cost approximately $40,000, funds for which have been budgeted.

The system is the same one used by the Porter County Sheriff’s Police and the Valparaiso Police Department, Cincoski noted, and in a demo of the system last month it was “well received” by CPD officers.

Town Council Member Emerson DeLaney, R-5th--the council’s liaison to the CPD--told the commission that he’s talked to a number of PCSP deputies about the system and “they love it, they absolutely love it.”

“Some of the features on the system are just amazing,” DeLaney added. “For the safety of our officers as well as the public, it’s a win-win.”

Among the features is this one: the cameras automatically activate when an officer draws his service weapon or removes the CPD-issued shotgun from its storage locker in the vehicle. The system is also much more compact than other systems on the market.

In advance of Cincoski’s appearance before the council on Monday, members by consensus endorsed a new Standard Operating Procedure for the use of the body and in-car cameras. Some highlights from that SOP on the “Mobile Audio/Video” (MAV) and “Body Worn Camera (BWC) recording system:

* “At the start of each shift, officers shall test the MAV/BWC system’s operations” and shall “ensure the MAV recorder (in-car) is positioned and adjusted to record events.”

* “Officers shall note in reports, call-for-service logs, or e-tickets when records are made during an incident. Any recordings are not a substitute for normal and routine notes, reports, or log entries.”

* “In the event that a portion of video needs to be deleted (i.e., inadvertent recording or activation, personal encounter, etc.), the officer must submit a request in writing and be approved by the chief or designee. The approval for deletion will fall in accordance with state record retention laws.

* “All recordings made by members on any department-issued recording device while acting in an official capacity of the department shall remain the property of the department. Officers shall have no expectation of privacy or ownership interest in the content of these recordings.”

* “Officers are prohibited from using recording systems for personal use and from making personal copies of recordings created while on duty.”

* “Recordings shall not be used by any member of the department for the purpose of embarrassment, intimidation, or ridicule.”

* “Recordings shall not be used to record communications with other police personnel without the permission of the chief of designee; encounters with undercover officers or their confidential informants; when on break or otherwise engaged in personal activities; in any location where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a restroom or locker room.”

* “Officers shall recognize that in activating a recording system, there are situations where a person has been the victim of a highly personal crime, such as a sexual assault, or where the victim has made it known they do not wish to be recorded, or while inside a residence. Officers should consider the evidentiary value versus the detrimental effect on the victim when determining if deactivating the recording system is warranted.”

* “Officers are encouraged to record every citizen encounter as any contact can potentially be hazardous. . . . The MAV/BWC system shall be activated in any of the following situations: traffic stops; vehicle pursuits; suspicious vehicles; arrests; consents to search; physical, verbal, or domestic disputes or uses of force; OWI investigations, including field sobriety tests; crimes in progress; any other contact that the officer perceives potential to become adversarial; all self-initiated activity in which an officer would normally notify dispatch; any other circumstances where the officer believes that a recording of an incident would be appropriate.”

* “Once activated, the MAV/BWC system shall remain on until the incident being recorded has concluded in order to ensure the integrity of the incident and the recording. . . For the purpose of this section, conclusion of an incident has occurred when all arrests have been made, arrestees have been transported, and all witnesses and victims have been interviewed.”

* “If an officer is involved in an officer-involved shooting or other serious use of force, the department reserves the right to limit or restrict an officer from immediately reviewing any video recordings.”

* “Officers shall not edit, alter, erase, duplicate, copy, share, or otherwise distribute recordings in any manner without the prior written authorization of the chief or designee.”

 

 

Posted 2/8/2019

 
 
 
 

 

 

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