House Bill 407 would require law enforcement agencies who use body cameras to adopt written policies on operating the camera. These agencies would also have to make these policies available to the public.
The body camera policy must identify:
- Which officers are required to wear body cameras;
- Which activities, during the operation of the camera, are mandatory, optional or prohibited;
- Standard procedures for obtaining consent to operate the body camera when entering a private residence and any exceptions for the consent requirement;
- Standard procedures for reviewing citizen complaints and conducting internal investigations;
- Standard procedures for responding to public record requests for body camera footage;
- Record retention requirements including the length of time body camera footage shall be retrained and the method of string the footage;
- Agency officials who are authorized to access body camera footage records;
- Agency officials who are allowed to edit body camera footage and the circumstances when editing body camera footage is allowed;
- Sanctions for an officer who fails to comply with the body camera policy;
- The frequency of the agency 's review of technology advances and best practices for body camera use.
Departments using police body cameras to some extent
- Central State University
- Miami University
- Englewood
- Enon
- Piqua
- Sugarcreek Twp.
- Tipp City
- University of Dayton
- Xenia
Departments testing police body cameras
- Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
- Clayton
- Bellbrook
- West Chester Twp.
Departments researching, considering or planning to use police body cameras
- Beavercreek Police Department
- Butler County
- Greene County Sheriff's Office
- Hamilton
- Middletown
- Riverside
- Vandalia
- Trotwood
Xenia Police Department has joined the ranks of law enforcement agencies around the region and across the country using body cameras to provide protection and transparency for its officers and the public.
Xenia officers started wearing body cameras Monday. The move follows other local law enforcement agencies, such as Central State University, Sugarcreek Twp. and the University of Dayton. Beavercreek, Greene County and Vandalia are among law enforcement agencies considering equipping their officers with the cameras.
Nationally, the most recent call for police to wear body cameras come after a white Chicago police officer was charged with murder after a dash camera video showed him shooting a black 17-year old teen 16 times.
In late November, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city would invest $2.2 million to expand its police body camera pilot program.
Xenia outfitted its department with 45 cameras, enough to allow one for each patrol officer and four additional cameras that could be used to replace a camera needing repair, said Xenia Police Chief Randy Person.
“Non-uniform officers, such as detectives and others, have access to the cameras if they need them, but we don’t require them to wear cameras constantly,” Person said.
The cost of the body cameras totaled about $30,000 and was supplemented with a $5,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant, according to Person.
Some officers were already wearing body cameras on their own, Person said.
All Xenia officers started wearing the cameras at the end of a 90-day pilot program that began in the fall.
Xenia issued the cameras as state legislators introduced House Bill 407 on Monday. The bill would require law enforcement agencies using body cameras to adopt and make written policies available to the public.
If passed into law, police departments and sheriff’s offices would have to establish procedures for using the cameras including creating policies for responding to public records requests for body camera footage; developing record retention requirement; and identifying which agency officials are authorized to access body camera footage records.
Xenia has developed and issued to officers a written policy for the body cameras which addresses privacy concerns and gives police officers authority to turn the cameras off at certain times and in certain situations, Person said.
“It uses common sense and allows some leeway there,” he said. “In those cases where it may be turned off, we’re just going to have to defend it because of the policy.”
Person said there was also concern about the potential for a large amount of public records requests for body camera footage.
“The cost of the cameras can be the cheapest part of the system” Person said. “It’s the long-term storage of those videos that really get into your long-term costs.”
Earlier this year, the Beavercreek police department established a committee to research body camera use and develop a pilot program. Beavercreek plans to spend $5,000 on a pilot program next year that will equip three officers with body cameras.
One concern is the cost of the cameras, which will run between $700 to $1,400 each. However, there are also major concerns about privacy and public records requests for the footage, Beavercreek Police Chief Dennis Evers said.
Evers said he is waiting on recommendations from the committee on how to handle these concerns.
“We’ve got to secure a separate server for that and then we have to figure out who is going to be responsible for reviewing the footage and handling the public records requests,” he said. “It will go through normal public records procedures, but keep in mind we have to have redaction software.”
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