The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Police Department
	General Order 2-1.4	Mobile Video Recorders

It is the policy of this department that officers will activate a mobile video recorder (MVR) when such use is appropriate during the performance of their official duties, and where the recordings are consistent with this policy and the law. This policy does not govern the use of surreptitious recording devices used in undercover operations.

This policy is intended to provide officers with instructions on when and how to use the In-Car and Body-Worn Cameras (MVRs) so that officers may reliably record their contacts with the public in accordance with the law. The use of MVRs provides documentary evidence and helps document allegations of officer misconduct.

The UNCG Police Department has adopted the use of MVR equipment to accomplish the following objectives: 

• To allow for accurate documentation of police-public contacts, arrests, and critical incidents.
• To enhance the accuracy of officer reports and court testimony.
• To increase the department’s ability to review probable cause for arrest, officer and suspect interaction.
• To provide evidence for investigative and prosecutorial purposes.
• To present additional information for officer evaluation and training.
• To be used in documenting crime and accident scenes and other events that may include the confiscation and documentation of contraband or evidence.

For the purpose of this policy a recording is a visual, audio, or visual and audio recording captured by a body-worn camera, a dashboard camera, or any other video or audio recording device operated by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency personnel when carrying out law enforcement responsibilities. This term does not include any video or audio recordings of interviews regarding agency internal investigations or interviews or interrogations of suspects or witnesses.

1. Training Requirements
   
   All officers must complete the department's MVR training program prior to use. Officers must read, understand, and sign off on the MVR policy in PowerDMS. The Police Training Officer and the Field Operations Commander or designee will ensure that newly hired officers have completed this training prior to their use of a MVR. Additional training may be required to ensure the effective use and operation of the equipment. All training must be documented.
2. Requirements for Activation and Deactivation
   
   Officers while performing their official duties will immediately activate the MVR to record contacts with individuals with the exceptions of the restrictions outlined in this policy. Whether on-duty or working a special event, officers will use the MVR to record all portions of the following incidents:
   • Responding to emergency calls for service.
   • All vehicle and foot pursuits.
   • All traffic stops including the investigation of a vehicle and occupants already stopped or parked.
   • All searches including, but not limited to, people, vehicles, buildings and places.
   • All requests for consent to search without a warrant will be recorded, including searches of persons, vehicles and buildings. Both audio and video recordings of the request and consent will be made when practical. This type of recording is intended to enhance a documented consent; however, it is not intended to replace the use of any department form used to gain and/or record the consent to search without a warrant, when an officer requests such permission.
   • All arrests and/or citations.
   • All prisoner transports.
   • Any incident where an officer invokes his authority as a law enforcement officer.
   • Any incident upon direction of a supervisor, at the request of another officer or anytime an officer deems it appropriate to activate.
   • All domestic and relationship violence calls including suspect(s), victim(s), and witness interviews.
   • All voluntary and involuntary commitment interactions and transports.
   • Any situation or incident that the officer, through their training and experience reasonably believes should be recorded.
   Where possible and practical officers should inform individuals that they are being recorded.
   
   If an officer fails to activate the MVR or fails to record the entire contact, the officer will notify their supervisor and the reason for the deactivation. The officer must also document why a recording was not made, was interrupted, or was terminated. This documentation can be made on the case report narrative or in the call for service notes if no other report is generated. Once activated, officers are not permitted to deactivate the MVR until the reason for the contact or incident has been completed unless approved by a supervisor.
3. Restrictions on Using the MVR
   
   MVRs shall be used only in conjunction with official law enforcement duties. The MVR shall not generally be used to record:
   • Courtroom or judicial proceedings;
   • Internal conversations with other department personnel without the permission of the Chief of Police or designee;
   • Encounters or interviews with any undercover officers or confidential informants;
   • When on break, off-duty, or otherwise engaged in personal activities;
   • In any location where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a restroom or locker room or similar facility unless such use is necessitated by exigent circumstances or an active crime in progress;
   • When conducting a crime prevention or safety program, participating in a panel Q&A, or in internal or external meetings;
   • When participating in an interview associated with a supervisory investigation or internal affairs investigation unless specifically approved and permitted by the Chief of Police;
   • When processing an arrestee at a detention facility when such recording is prohibited.
   • When conducting vehicle patrol, foot patrol, or during a building check, unless specified within this policy or determined by the officer that the MVR should be activated.
   • While working a Special Event unless determined by the officer that the MVR should be activated or it is specified within this policy or by the event’s Operation’s Plan that the MVR should be activated.
4. Procedures for Use
   
   All officers will inspect and test the functionality of each MVR at the begining of their shift. Malfunctions and/or damage shall be reported to the immediate supervisor without delay. If the problem cannot be corrected, the supervisor will issue a temporary replacement and notify the Field Operations Commander and the Logistics Officer as soon as possible.
   
   All officers while in uniform and working a scheduled shift or special event are required to wear a MVR at all times while on duty or on assignment unless otherwise directed by a supervisor.
   
   Plain clothes officers are required to sign out and return a spare MVRs for use while in a patrol capacity or while executing a search warrant. Uniformed officers in need of a temporary replacement will also sign out and return a spare camera until their assigned camera is returned.
   
   Officers will only use department issued MVRs. The MVR equipment and all data, images, video, and metadata captured, recorded, or otherwise produced by the equipment is the sole property of the department.
   
   The MVR shall be worn in a forward facing center mass of chest position that allows for the best possible recording angle and image quality of the officer.
   
   Officers will not edit, alter, erase, duplicate, copy, share, or otherwise distribute in any manner the MVR recordings without prior written authorization and approval from the Chief of Police or designee. Officers will NOT use the MVR or make copies of any recording for personal use.
   
   Officers may review MVR recordings as needed to complete investigations, prepare reports, review events, acquire information, or conduct training. If an officer is suspected of a criminal offense or personal misconduct, the department reserves the right to limit access to any recordings that are considered to be part of an investigation or a personnel matter.
   
   Requests for deletion of portions of the recordings (e.g., in the event of a personal recording) must be submitted in writing and approved by the Chief of Police or designee in accordance with state public records and records retention laws. All requests and final decisions will be kept on file.
   
   Officers will document the use of a MVR in an incident and related report narrative when recordings were made during the incident in question. MVR recordings are not a replacement for written reports and documentation.
   
   All officers must activate their MVR regardless if another officer on scene has his or her MVR recording. Recordings of multiple angles of a situation may help clarify details that may be obstructed from one particular view.
5. Criminal and Administrative Use of Recorded Data
   
   University adjudication - Access to the recordings by Dean of Students will be on a case by case basis, approved by the Chief of Police or designee with priority given to protecting criminal court cases. Exceptions may be made where evidence is needed to quickly remove a person from campus based upon the threat or risk they pose to the university. These recordings may be redacted where necessary and a reason for the redaction noted in the case file.
   
   Use in a criminal proceeding - If a case is being adjudicated in the judicial system, the investigating and/or arresting officer will notify the prosecuting official that there is MVR data associated with the criminal case. This notification may be made through the submission of a case file, officer’s notes and remarks on citations, in person notifications with the prosecuting official, or through email or phone conversation.
   
   Suspects and other individuals will not be allowed to review the recordings at the scene of an incident. All requests to review or access any recordings should follow applicable policies, regulations, rules and procedures. Any request for duplicate recordings or in-office viewings (for civilians) of MVR media must be made in writing to the Chief of Police. These will be decided based on legal considerations.
   
   During a personnel complaint or an internal investigation, recorded imagery related to the incident or allegation shall be preserved at the direction of the Professional Standards Commander or the Chief of Police. The imagery data shall be retained until completion of the investigation and retained for three years thereafter.
6. Data Storage and Retention Requirements
   
   All MVR recorded data will be stored and retained by the department for a minimum of 30 days, or until all criminal, civil or administrative cases to which the recording are relevant have been adjudicated or an order for expungement has been issued by a court.
   
   MVR recorded data obtained during a death investigation will be maintained for a period of 30 years. If the incident results in a capital punishment conviction, the MVR data will be maintained indefinitely and will not be destroyed.
   
   At the time MVR data is originally recorded, officers are responsible for creating cases when data needs to be archived beyond 30 days. Officers have the ability to preserve imagery data on the server by creating a case file.
   • All recordings will be securely downloaded no later than the end of each assigned work day or duty assignment. Each file will contain information related to the date, MVR identifier, and assigned officer.
   • In the event that a MVR fails to upload, officers should attempt to locate the System Administrator (Technical Services Unit, TSU) before the end of their shift in order to receive assistance with the upload process. If assistance is not located and it is the last day of their shift, officers should ensure that the System Administrator is notified through the use of a service ticket in Web Help Desk. They should then place the malfunctioning device in an evidence locker and notate this on the Web Help Desk ticket.
   • All images and sounds recorded by the MVR are the exclusive property of this department. Accessing MVR recordings or data for the purpose of copying, uploading or releasing files to any website, social media, data storage device, or Cloud Based Server without authorization from the Chief of Police or designee is strictly prohibited.
   • Access to MVR recordings and data will be audited to ensure that only authorized users are accessing the data for a legitimate purpose.
   • Recordings will be securely stored in accordance with state records retention laws and no longer than useful for purposes of training or for use in an investigation or prosecution or civil actions or administrative complaints.
7. Duplicates, Copies, and Requests for Disclosure
   
   The TSU Supervisor or designee is responsible for ordering, issuance, retrieval, storage cleansing (degaussing), report generation and duplication of all recorded MRV media officers needing additional copies for court or investigative purposes, must make their request to the evidence custodian through the Web Help Desk no later than (1) week prior to the time needed. Requests for duplicate recordings from the District Attorney's Office should be directed to the evidence custodian or designee. Any request for a duplicate recording from a defense attorney should be referred back to the District Attorney's Office. All requests for disclosure of MVR data will be referred to the Chief of Police in accordance with G.S. §132-1.4A.
   
   G.S. §132-1.4A(h), a law enforcement agency shall disclose or release a recording to a district attorney (i) for review of potential criminal charges, (ii) in order to comply with discovery requirements in a criminal prosecution, (iii) for use in criminal proceedings in district court, or (iv) any other law enforcement purpose, and may disclose or release a recording for any of the following purposes:
   • For law enforcement training purposes.
   • Within the custodial law enforcement agency for any administrative, training, or law enforcement purpose.
   • To another law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes.
   All release for law enforcement purposes must be documented in the call for service or the case report.