Inspector General Recommends 23 Changes to NYPD Body Camera Program
The Inspector General who oversees the New York Police Department says that the institution needs to make serious changes to its body camera pilot program before it is implemented across the region.
Back in December, the NYPD rolled out its own pilot program, equipping 54 officers from several different precincts in high-crime areas with body-worn cameras, reports The New York Daily News.
Seven months later, the Department of Investigation's Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD released a comprehensive review stating that the program needs a lot of work before it goes into effect.
The report, which was published on Thursday, includes 23 recommendations to help improve police and community relations, while keeping officers and the public safe. These recommendations include camera activation, protecting the anonymity of certain groups, retention periods, and access to video. The review also recommends that more police interactions be automatically recorded and that the footage is stored for 18 months, rather than one year.
"There are some good things" in the NYPD order defining the pilot program, said Inspector General Philip Eure at a news conference, according to The Associated Press. "We just feel very strongly that before they expand the program they need to take a harder look at some of these things."
Although NYPD officers are currently required to record interactions involving "reasonable suspicion," the review suggests that the cameras be turned on to record "all street encounters or all investigative contacts." Eure's review also states that officers be required to undergo training so they know which situations should not be recorded, like those involving victims of sex crimes.
Another issue is whether or not a cop should notify someone when they're interacting with an officer who is wearing a body cam. Officers in Chicago and Washington, D.C. are currently required to issue a verbal notification to people when they're recording the interaction.
Eure also suggests that neither officers nor citizens involved in complaints be allowed to review the footage until after they give formal statements to investigators.
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