Interesting research from Professor Volkan Topalli and associates at Georgia State University. A summary article from Georgia State News Hub can be found here. The following is from the working paper: "Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been the subject of much research on how the technology’s enhanced documentation of police/citizen interactions impact police behavior. Less attention has been paid to how BWC recordings affect the adjudication of citizen complaints against

This short news article from the Firehouse website details the testing of body-worn cameras for EMS units in Robeson County, NC. I've written about the expansion of BWCs to non-law enforcement entities in the past. EMS applications are a natural extension of the technology. The article indicates that one of the primary reasons for deployment consideration is to protect paramedics from assault with the secondary possible application of live-streaming telemedicine. This applica

The debate on whether or not to release body-worn camera video continues across the country. A change of attitude from "trying to find every reason not to release" to "releasing everything unless there is a clear legal exemption" is beginning to take hold. As this shift occurs, agencies should seriously consider publishing their BWC records release policy on their agency website as well as a detailed explanation on how the request process works. This is the agency's responsib

July 23, 2021 My old WordPress designed website, after six long years of faithful service, has out-paced my ability to keep up with the evolving technology. I have therefore moved the site to a new platform where the "back-end" mechanics are more user friendly and provide more functionality. I've keep the same design but plan on adding more features in the near future. One of the hardest decisions I had to make was selecting from the hundreds of posts and articles I've writte

Scot Haug, Post Falls, ID, Police Department Chief of Police (retired), and myself, presented on the topic of BWC program compliance and auditing during the 2021 Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance Virtual National Meeting. This 45 minute discussion focused on issues, concepts, and approaches to reviewing BWC videos for policy compliance review and program auditing, covering topics such as the important role of compliance monitoring in BWC programs, different

May 17, 2021 Honored to be speaking at LERM 2021 on Agency Policy: Mitigating Records Management Risk and Reducing Risk: Managing Body-Worn Camera Records. https://lnkd.in/e3kSrd7 PRI Management Group

April 25, 2021 I would not be surprised if the NC Legislature took a very hard look at their public records law regarding the release of BWC video. States all around the country have realized that the justifications for withholding video just do not outweigh the need to release it. Laws must balance the public's right to know and law enforcement's valid exemption requirements. It can be done.

April 23, 2021 I've written about this before. Waiting until a critical incident happens to figure out what should be done is too late. From the article: "After Reardon shot Ma'Khia on Tuesday, the mayor of Columbus and other officials gathered to discuss a way to get video out as quickly as possible, said Davis, the Columbus spokeswoman." Fortunately, they got the video out quickly. This should be a reminder to police chiefs and sheriffs, political leadership, and prosecutor

April 22, 2021 Public record laws directed at the release of body-worn camera video in response to a request must carefully considered. It must balance privacy, accountability, evidentiary value, and resource demands on police departments. Unfortunately, the current law in North Carolina, passed by a previous legislature, was too restrictive. The result is a pendulum swing in the completely opposite direction. The article doesn't make it clear if this proposed law is for all

April 15, 2021 I encourage all police leaders, PIOs, legal counsels and Body-Worn Camera managers to read this excellent article by Arif Alikhan in the March issue of Police Chief magazine. It is a primer on the importance of developing an effective process for releasing video evidence, especially BWC video, following a critical incident. This process should be worked out long before the first BWC is deployed. Inaction, resistance, or poor execution could have significant imp

April 15, 2021 Interesting news story. Former police chief releases video of a shooting after he leaves the agency and after the University refuses to release it. Either the UAH Police Department’s body-worn camera policy is silent on employees making copies of video or the chief violated policy by making one and keeping it. That’s just one disturbing aspect of this course of action by both the chief and UAH.

April 15, 2021 An excellent case study in community influence, political leadership, police oversight, and the challenges of practical application. It will be interesting to see what the “solution” looks like. https://www.fox13now.com/news/four-months-into-new-law-salt-lake-city-has-failed-to-enact-police-body-camera-audits

March 10, 2020 Part 2 of my two part podcast interview on the topic of body-worn compliance and auditing is now available of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Technical Assistance Program website. https://www.bwctta.com/tta/podcasts/interview-dan-zehnder-auditing-and-compliance-pt-ii

February 3, 2020 Part 1 of my two part podcast interview on the topic of body-worn compliance and auditing is now available of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Technical Assistance Program website. https://www.bwctta.com/tta/podcasts/interview-dan-zehnder-auditing-and-compliance-pt-i

January 29, 2020 The BWC Training and Technical Assistance Team had a very productive series of meetings over two days last week in Nashville. I am looking forward to continuing the support of all the City’s criminal justice entities in achieving Mayor Cooper’s initiative.

January 17, 2020 I am working with a small team of national experts from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance Team to assist the City of Nashville to successfully implement their stalled program. I am looking forward to facilitating constructive discussions within city government and lead the problem solving effort. https://fox17.com/news/local/national-police-body-camera-experts-to-visit-nashville

October 24, 2019 Interesting article on Worcester Police Department’s body camera pilot program. Like most departments, Worcester will find itself balancing privacy and transparency. According to the article, MassLive submitted a public records request to the department for video which was granted. However, MassLive goes on to say that they didn’t publish all the videos because “in most cases, they show personal information — like the inside of an apartment and close-up views

October 11, 2019 Chief Jeffrey Smythe, of the Burlington NC police department, demonstrated the positive value of releasing body-worn camera video in an effort quell community unrest after a controversial arrest. It’s a shame he had get a court order to do so. Read the media posting first: https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/crime/burlington-police-assault-on-officer/83-652b608f-17f0-4456-907f-8ead739df10f Then watch the excellent YouTube video released by the Chief:

October 3, 2019 Not a week goes by when I don’t read about a police department embroiled in controversy because officers failed to activate, or improperly deactivated, their body-worn cameras (BWC) during an officer involved shooting or other type of major incident. Obviously, I don’t have access to all the facts. I have to rely on the limited information provided by media reports. However, I can state this with some certainty. The vast majority of these failures could have b

September 21, 2019 Thank you to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Collins CO for hosting “Body-Worn Camera Records: Law, Policy and Process” Sept. 16 & 17. We had a great group of attendees and a lively discussion on how to best manage open records requests under CORA & CCJRA. Contact Principis Group, Inc. to see how your agency can host this, or other, BWC topic seminars.