They’re watching you, but who’s watching them? Body cams raise issues

It’s an age-old question with a modern twist: Who watches the watchmen? Nowadays, many police agencies are turning to body-worn cameras – but the new technology comes with its own problems.

When must officers record? Is the newfangled technology turning these tools into an eye of Big Brother? What about privacy?

Such questions are addressed by a scorecard put out earlier this month by two human rights groups as suggested practices for using the devices and for sharing policies and videos shot by the cameras.

S.C. law enforcement agencies are required by state law to buy the cameras as they can afford to and to develop policies for the cameras’ use. But the future of body cams is still in flux, said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina.

“It’s a really new technology,” Alpert said. “It has not been tested in the courts.”

The scorecard was put out by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Upturn to highlight transparency and privacy concerns. So how do the Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department stack up?

The State talked to the three agencies about the groups’ recommendations.

THE CRITERIA

How easily can you find the policy?

Columbia and Richland get a green light on this. The police department has deployed body cams for its street officers and has its policy available on the homepage of www.columbiapd.net. Richland has not yet outfitted deputies with cameras, but Sheriff Leon Lott said the department’s policy will be put on www.rcsd.net after cameras have been purchased. Lexington has not yet issued body cams to deputies, and sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Adam Myrick said the policy will be available through a Freedom of Information Act request.

When do officers have to record?

Do policies clearly outline when officers must record? Do they require explanations when officers fail to do so? These are addressed in the Richland policy, which requires officers to note body cam use in incident reports. If a camera was off, there must be an explanation in the report.

The Columbia police department’s policy outlines when officers must record but allows discretion to turn off a body camera if its use is “likely to hinder the investigation” or “the recording holds no evidentiary value.”

Though the policy doesn’t mention failure to record, Chief Skip Holbrook said, “Concrete justifications are discussed with the chief and other command staff members should there be an absence of recorded video.”

Lexington County has a list of situations in which deputies should “make a reasonable effort” to activate their body cams. If deputies fail to record, they will have to make note of the reason why, Myrick said.

How safe is your privacy?

The scorecard gives high marks to policies that protect vulnerable people, such as victims of sex trafficking, from being recorded without their informed consent. It looks less favorably on vague guidance or not requiring informed consent.

The Richland policy says to “use discretion where there is a victim of rape or sexual assault.” It also highlights the importance of respecting the privacy of people in hospitals and mental health facilities and encourages deputies to avoid recording nudity.

Lexington has similar provisions and also suggests deputies can offer to record audio only as an alternative to video footage. If a recording is stopped for a victim or witness, deputies must explain the reason when filing a report.

Though Columbia’s policy does not address this issue, the chief said:

“Under state law, there are certain persons/victims who can request to not be recorded by a body-worn camera, i.e., sexual assault victims, anyone who is unclothed, etc. Officers use discretion based on the circumstances.”

The chief also pointed out that South Carolina is a single-party state, meaning that for a conversation to be recorded, consent is only required from one person in that conversation – which means officers can record without the consent of others.

Are officers told not to watch videos before filing reports?

None of the policies address whether officers should view body camera footage before filing reports. When asked, officials from Richland and Columbia said their policies don’t address that because state law doesn’t address that.

How long are videos kept?

Policies should require departments to delete unflagged footage within six months, according to the scorecard.

Columbia keeps body cam video and audio for a minimum of 60 days. For Richland, the minimum is 90 days. Neither department specifies a mandatory point at which to delete footage.

For Richland, Lott said “evidentiary concerns, transparency and accountability issues” must be taken into account before deleting videos.

“Our policy is designed to make sure that our citizens advisory council, courts, public and department have properly reviewed footage prior to deletion,” Lott said.

Videos filmed by Lexington deputies are kept for 45 days as long as they don’t involve an arrest, use of force or confrontational encounter – and as long as they aren’t part of any internal investigation.

Is footage safe?

To protect footage, civil rights groups say policies should prohibit tampering and misuse and “indicate that all access to recorded footage will be logged and audited.”

All three Midlands departments prohibit using footage for unofficial purposes. Though none of the policies mention logging or auditing, officials at the Columbia police department told The State newspaper their storage system allows them to see who has accessed footage.

Similarly, Lexington officials said the systems they plan to use will keep a log of anyone who has accessed body cam videos.

In Richland, officials pointed out that the department did two years of testing to determine the best cameras – including which have the best oversight tools.

If you file a complaint, do you get to see video?

Though all three policies defer to state law on who has access to body cam footage, Richland went a step further when asked by The State.

“Citizens presently filing complaints of misconduct, where in-car video is in play, are able to review that footage – and citizens will have the same accesses during the appropriate time of an investigation,” Lott said.

Whether or not Columbia police department footage is released to folks filing complaints is up to the chief’s discretion, Holbrook said.

What kind of tech is tracking you in these videos?

What is biometric technology? The scorecard gives the example of facial recognition and says departments should sharply limit the use of such technologies.

None of the policies address this. When asked, Columbia police said the department’s cameras aren’t biometric capable.

“We would have to replace our body-worn cameras to implement biometrics, and that is not likely for the foreseeable future,” Holbrook said.

Similarly, Lexington County does not “have any plans in regards to biometrics,” Myrick said.

Richland leaned in the opposite direction from the scorecard. “In the event of a crime, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will utilize any technology available to bring closure to victims and capture those responsible,” Lott said.

THE TAKEAWAY

So what happens if law enforcement agencies fall short of what civil rights groups say should be done? Police and experts are still figuring that out.

Meanwhile, agencies in South Carolina are still working toward body cams statewide. Right now, Alpert said, there aren’t universally accepted best practices.

“These are new technologies that are needing to be controlled, but also the department needs to be transparent in what they’ve found, and no one has reached a happy medium,” he said.

This story was originally published August 21, 2016 at 4:40 PM with the headline "They’re watching you, but who’s watching them? Body cams raise issues."