15-20 Body Worn Camera Flashcards
(50 cards)
What is the Rationale?
The Toronto Police Service (Service) has undertaken the use of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs). The goals of equipping front-line officers with BWCs are to assist the Service to:
- enhance public trust, confidence in the police and police accountability
- capture an accurate record of police officer interactions with the public
- enhance public and police officer safety
- strengthen the commitment to bias free service delivery by officers to the public
- provide improved evidence for investigative, judicial and oversight purposes
- ensure fair and timely resolution of complaints and reduce unwarranted accusations of misconduct
- provide additional supervisory and leadership tools; and
- provide information as to the effectiveness of Service procedures and training.
Rationale
The BWC is an audio video recording device that will document officers’ interactions with members of the public during the execution of their duties. BWCs are intended to
capture specific incidents. They are not intended for twenty-four (24) hour recording.
Rationale
The Supreme Court of Canada decision of _____emphasizes that interactions between the police and public are not to be secretly recorded without judicial authorization. Covert recording by a uniform police officer using the BWC is prohibited by law.
Regina v. Duarte (SCC 1990)
Rationale
Front-line uniform officers will be equipped with the BWC technology and SHALL record all
investigative and enforcement activities in compliance with this procedure. Frontline uniform officers who would not in the normal course of their duties engage in enforcement or investigative duties will not be equipped with BWC technology.
Rationale
When a BWC is used, recordings are considered as supporting the officer’s observations and SHALL
supplement, detailed memorandum book notes and applicable reports.
Rationale
In circumstances where the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) mandate has been invoked, the SIU will be the lead investigative agency, and the Service cannot release that footage to the public; that decision would be made by ___. In cases where the SIU is not involved or their involvement has ceased, the Service may release to the public, recordings from body-worn cameras where such recordings depict _____. Such “compelling public interest” releases will only occur with the explicit authorization of ____. Where a specific request for such a release has been made to the Chief and the Chief decides that there should not be such a release, the Chief will issue an explanation for that decision.
the SIU
interactions with members of the public where a “compelling public interest” exists (such as where there are allegations of discreditable conduct, improper conduct, misconduct or excessive or improper use of force by Service Members)
the Chief of Police (Chief)
Procedure
Discipline
Any police officer found not in compliance with this Procedure, and/or associated Service Governance, will receive a minimum penalty of ____ This penalty increases to a minimum of ____for a supervisor.
eight (8) hours.
sixteen (16) hours
Discipline
The Service is committed to maintaining public trust by delivering professional and unbiased policing at all times.
- The above discipline will take effect after an officer is trained and equipped with a BWC for
sixty (60) calendar days. Sixty (60) calendar days was deemed by the Service to be a fair amount of time to allow officers to learn to properly use this new technology.
Context of Recording
Recording in a Private Place -
- Is permitted during exigent circumstances, under the legal authority of a warrant or with the consent of the owner/occupant of the private space. This includes private spaces such as a residence, government buildings and religious places as long as legal authority exists and is documented.
Context of Recording
Recording with the consent of the owner/occupant –
– In a situation where an officer’s lawful presence in a private place is conditional on the owner’s/occupant’s consent, if the owner/occupant requests that the interaction not be recorded, the officer is required to stop recording or request the owner/occupant come out to a public setting. Officers are required to provide the owner/occupant a reasonable opportunity to refuse or consent to being recorded.
Context of Recording
Recording in exigent circumstances or while in execution of a search warrant –
When an officer is lawfully entitled to enter a private place in exigent circumstances or on the authority of a search warrant, the officer is lawfully permitted to record with their BWC during their presence at the location. In these circumstances, an officer SHALL continue to record, despite an individual’s objection to being recorded.
Context of Recording
Recording in a Public Place –
Officers may encounter situations where individuals object to being recorded in a public place. Officers may continue to record, in compliance with the law. Officers should be mindful that the public has a reasonable, albeit diminished expectation to privacy in public spaces.
Context of Recording
- While this Procedure makes it clear that officers SHALL start recording their BWC’s when they are engaging or about to engage a member of the public in an investigative or enforcement activity and that a recording SHALL not be started unless that is so, police actions at demonstrations or protests sometimes present unique challenges. BWC’s SHALL not be used as
tools to carry out general surveillance and are not intended to be used to dissuade members of the public from exercising their lawful right to peaceful assembly, demonstration or protest. Officers at such events SHALL start recording their BWC’s when they engage or are about to engage a member or members of the public to investigate a breach of the law or to attempt to enforce the law.
Context of Recording
Incidents of a Sensitive Nature –
Officers equipped with a BWC must be cognizant of the impact recordings may have on victims, witnesses, or suspects involved in incidents of a sensitive nature, including in a public place. In such circumstances if it is momentarily necessary to obstruct the video to protect the dignity of another person (for example to allow them time to put clothing on), and taking into consideration the expressed wishes of the person in question; only the video should be obstructed and this should only be resorted to for a short period of time and provided that the member(s) are not in a situation where they might use force while the lens is covered. Further, this must be in accordance with the law and documented in the officer’s memo book.
Context of Recording
Incidents of a Sensitive Nature –
In circumstances where an officer equipped with BWC is in a place of worship, the officer SHALL be
cognizant of the privacy of those parties present as it relates to their engagement in prayer, confession, worship and other matters that may be deemed personally sensitive. In those circumstances, the officer SHALL ensure that the parties are aware of the reasons that continuous recording is necessary. In those circumstances, if the BWC recording is stopped due to a reasonable concern for the dignity of a person, it must be in accordance with this Procedure and documented both on the BWC and in the officer’s memo book.
Retention, Security and Disposal
The retention period of records is managed according to the City of Toronto By-Law No. 689-2000. The Body-Worn Camera and the Cloud Solution are both
Information Technology Assets and therefore subject to the Toronto Police
Retention, Security and Disposal
Service Information Security Policy and IT Governance that establish organization-wide controls to ensure____. These controls govern any _____ and SHALL be implemented by the Information Security Officer.
secure storage, transfer, and disposal of all recordings created by the BWC system, including records containing audio, video files and meta-data
wrongful access, attempts to defeat security measures, and inappropriate or personal use of this infrastructure,
Retention, Security and Disposal
All BWC records SHALL be retained for a minimum of____which ensures the records are retained for the duration of the general limitation period established by the ____
two (2) years plus one (1) day
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c.24, Sched. B) and then securely destroyed, absent a circumstance that triggers a longer retention period.
Use and Disclosure (Internal) BWC Recordings
In general, the rules governing the use, review and dissemination of BWC recordings are contained in privacy legislation Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Access to or viewing of BWC records will only be allowed to members of the Service with a specific role in relation to the records justifying and necessitating such access. The following are specific examples of circumstances in which access will be allowed:
a. A Service Member who wore the BWC which captured the recording and who has already completed any required initial notes, reports, statements and interviews regarding the recorded events SHALL be allowed to access such recordings
b. Supervisors of the Service Member who wore the BWC which captured the recording, or who are captured in the recording (as long as that Supervisor is not also a witness to the event) to allow the Supervisor to fulfill his/her duties as a Supervisor or where there are specific allegations of misconduct against the Service Member, or where a Use of Force form was completed and the events detailed in the form are also captured on the recording SHALL be allowed to access such recordings;
c. Service Members (including members of other Police Services, and members of other criminal or quasi-criminal authorities, who are conducting an investigation as agents for the Service) who have grounds to believe the recording includes evidentiary materials relevant to a Service criminal or quasi-criminal investigation SHALL have access to such recordings
d. Legal counsel to the Service and Service Members supporting them with regards to an on-going or potential legal proceeding SHALL have access to such recordings
e. Service Members who are conducting an audit of the Service’s body-worn cameras Procedures SHALL be allowed to access such recordings
f. Service Members tasked with the development of training programs for the Service, who are made aware through their Unit Commander that certain BWC recordings may contain material that may be useful for the purposes of training of Service Members, SHALL have access to such recordings. All appropriate anonymizing measures SHALL be completed by the lead trainer prior to use in training
g. Service Members attached to Forensic Identification Service responsible for analysis in relation to specific BWC recordings SHALL be allowed access to such recordings
h. Service Members engaged in internal investigations, such as Professional Standards criminal or conduct investigations or internal reviews, SHALL be allowed access to BWC recordings that may be relevant to those investigations; and
i. Service Members aiding the Chief with respect to a “compelling public interest” release (described earlier in this Procedure) SHALL be allowed access to those BWC recordings.
Use and Disclosure (External) BWC Recordings
Access to or viewing of production of BWC records for people who are not members of the Toronto Police Service will be provided only as permitted or required by law. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following are examples of circumstances where this will occur:
a. Members of bodies responsible for independent oversight of police (e.g. Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU)) who are conducting an investigation and who have grounds to believe that the BWC recordings include evidentiary materials SHALL have access to such recordings
b. Anyone who has legal authority (whether that be by statute, regulation or prior judicial authorization) SHALL have access to such recordings, including in relation to the prosecution of Toronto Police Services criminal and quasi-criminal cases and access requests granted under MFIPPA
c. Members of the public or their representatives may be allowed to view BWC footage that captures an incident in which they were involved for the purpose of attempting to informally resolve a complaint or potential complaint into the conduct of a Service Member; such viewing will be at the discretion of the Officer in Charge or delegate; and
d. Members of the public will see a BWC recording that has been ordered released to the public by the Chief by virtue of there being a ‘compelling public interest’ in the release of such recording.
Police Officer
- No police officer SHALL use a BWC without
having completed the BWC training.
Police Officer
- BWCs SHALL not be used to replace:
- detailed memorandum book notes and applicable reports; and
- photographic or video evidence normally captured by Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) or Forensic Identification Services (FIS)
Police Officer
- When equipped with a BWC, you SHALL:
- use the BWC assigned to you and in accordance with the prescribed training
- ensure your BWC, is fully charged at the start of your shift
- ensure that your BWC is functioning properly in accordance with BWC training
- report all malfunctions to your immediate supervisor and the HELP desk at the earliest opportunity
- report any loss, damage or theft of your BWC to your immediate supervisor at the earliest opportunity but no later than the completion of the tour of duty on that date
- not modify or attempt to modify any permanent settings or components of your BWC
- ensure the camera is mounted on your uniform in the approved location, using the approved mounting system
- ensure your camera status and recording indicators, and lens are not obstructed from your view, the public’s view, and the view of other members and other first responders
- put the camera into “Stealth Mode” for officer safety reasons (contained within the definition of Stealth Mode, in the definitions below) only
- start a BWC recording
o prior to arriving at a call for service
o at the earliest opportunity, prior to any contact with a member of the public, where that contact is for an investigative or enforcement purpose (including but not limited to; an apprehension under the Mental Health Act or an interaction with a person in crisis), regardless of whether or not the person is within camera view
o to record statements that would normally be taken in the field including utterances and spontaneous statements
o to record interactions with a person in custody or member of the public while in a Service facility, if the officer believes it would be beneficial to do so
o to record Protective Search (Formerly Level 1) and Frisk Search (Formerly Level 2) in the field; and
o to record any other interaction where the officer believes a BWC recording would support them in the execution of their duties.
Police Officer
- When equipped with a BWC, you SHALL not record:
- policing activities that are not investigative or enforcement, in nature (should an activity change from non-investigative or non-enforcement to investigative or enforcement then the BWC must be recording immediately)
- Strip Search (Formerly Level 3) and Body Cavity Search (Formerly Level 4) under any circumstance
- administrative conversations within a police facility;
- in circumstances where an officer is extending confidentiality to a person or is engaged with a person who is known to be a Confidential Source and the officer is dealing with that person as such;
- attendance in a courthouse, except in exigent circumstances, or under legal authority; and
- attendance at a healthcare facility, except
o under exigent circumstances
o under the authority of prior judicial authorization
o where the officer has custody of a person who is being treated or is waiting for health care treatment and the officer is alone with that person
o where the officer has custody of a person who is being treated or is waiting for health care treatment and the officer REASONABLY BELIEVES that the interaction between the officer and the person in his or her custody requires or might soon require the use of force; or
o with the express consent of all people who might reasonably be expected to be captured in the recording. - In circumstances where an officer is present at an Indigenous Ceremony, the officer should be mindful of the significance of their privacy similar to that, which occurs within a Place of Worship. Unless required for an investigative or enforcement purpose, the officer SHALL not be recording during the ceremony except where the officer has received the explicit consent of the Elder or Knowledge Keeper conducting the ceremony to do so. Officers SHALL, whenever possible, have such a discussion with the Elder or Knowledge Keeper prior to the event in which the ceremony is to be held.
- Formal statements normally taken at a police facility, including The Queen v. KGB (youth case accused person’s initials) statements, are not to be recorded using the BWC. Those statements are to be conducted by an appropriate investigator at a police facility.
