Lakewood Police Department
Policy and Procedure
Interview Recording Policy 		Effective Date: 10/15/2010
Policy Number: PP-8022
  1. Policy

    The video or audio recording of an interview conducted by a police agent is a legitimate means of documentation and evidence preservation.  A problem may arise when the police agent has more than one person in the interview room, records the interview, but allows the recording to continue upon his leaving the room.  It is important to avoid creating an unwarranted expectation of privacy when people are being recorded in interview rooms. 
  2. Procedure
    1. Public entrances to the police department as well as entrances to the Investigation Division shall have signs posted in English and Spanish, which state, "For security purposes, premises are monitored by audio and video equipment."
    2. The recording or monitoring of a telephone call, interview, or discussion, when one party to the conversation has consented to the recording or monitoring, is a legal investigative tool.  A police agent as a party to a telephone call may record the conversation.  Police agents may also solicit the aid of victims and witnesses to record conversations for investigative purposes. 
    3. The videotape recording of arrestees in the booking area shall be authorized for security purposes.  Any recording of conversations within the booking area shall be authorized. 
    4. The videotape recording or the audiotape recording of interviews conducted in the Investigation Division's interview rooms is a recognized means of documentation and preservation.  There is no requirement that a police agent inform an individual that his or her conversation is being recorded. 
    5. If a police agent leaves the interview room and the interviewee remains with a parent or legal guardian, the agent should turn off the microphone, upon leaving the interview room, by flipping the switch located immediately outside the interview room.  Agents should not monitor, nor place themselves in a position to overhear, the conversation. 
    6. When a police agent exits an interview room and leaves the interviewee alone, statements made by the interviewee to himself may be recorded. 
  3. Rule
    1. The private consultation between an attorney and his client is a privileged communication.  No conversation between an attorney and his client shall be audio taped, videotaped, or monitored unless the police agent is physically present in the interview room.  Upon leaving the interview room, the police agent shall turn off both the videotape and audiotape.  Police agents shall neither monitor nor place themselves in a position to overhear the conversation.   

PP-8023 - Internet Policy