go-19.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS SUBJECT Digital Evidence Capturing Devices CHIEF OF POLICE Signature on File Proudly Policing Since Nationally Accredited 1841 1986 NUMBER ORIGINAL ISSUE CURRENT REVISION TOTAL PAGES 19 08/03/2008 10/08/2021 11 AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES General Order 16, Digital Audio and Video Recording System General Order 17, Records Management General Order 18, Criminal Investigations General Order 42, Impounding and Controlling of Property and Evidence ACCREDITATION REFERENCES CALEA Chapter 83 KEY WORD INDEX Cellular Telephone Camera Procedure II DECD – All Other Devices Procedure V General Procedures Procedure I Public Safety Camera System Procedure III Tallahassee Bystander Application Procedure IV POLICY When utilizing digital evidence capturing devices, members shall adhere to established guidelines in producing, capturing, transferring, storing, and disposing of evidentiary digital files. DEFINITIONS AVR: Digital Audio and Video Recording System. Axon Capture: A software application on each Department-issued cellular telephone enabling members to capture digital photographs, video recordings and audio recordings.\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT Axon Citizen: A software application which allows citizens to furnish digital images such as cellular telephone photographs/videos and closed-circuit television images directly to the Evidence.com account of designated members. Biased Policing: The selection of individuals for enforcement action based in whole or in part on a trait common to a group, without actionable intelligence to support consideration of that trait. This includes, but is not limited to race, ethnic background, gender or gender identification, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, age, cultural group, or other identifiable characteristics. Digital Evidence: Information and data of investigative value stored on, or transmitted by, an electrical device (e.g., photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, computer files). Evidence.com: A cloud-based system which stores all videos, photographs and audio recordings captured by a body-worn AVR, Axon Capture and Axon Citizen. LERMS: Law Enforcement Records Management System. Public Safety Camera System: The Department-authorized closed circuit television system consisting of digital cameras strategically and overtly positioned within the City of Tallahassee. Tallahassee Bystander: A smart device application which lets citizens capture incidents with video and automatically stream or upload it to city government. PROCEDURES I. GENERAL PROCEDURES – DIGITAL EVIDENCE CAPTURING DEVICES Devices – A. A digital evidence capturing device (DECD) is an electronic device which has the ability to capture digital evidence or other digital data (e.g., photographs, video recordings, audio recordings). DECDs include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: 1. Digital cameras, 2. Audio recorders, 3. Camcorders, 4. Telephone answering machines, GENERAL ORDER 19 PAGE 2 of 11 DIGITAL EVIDENCE CAPTURING DEVICES OCTOBER 8, 2021\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT 5. Video recorders, and 6. The camera within a cellular telephone. B. Members shall use only Department-issued DECDs and are authorized to utilize DECDs only for legitimate Department purposes. C. Members are responsible for utilizing DECDs in a lawful, professional, and ethical manner. D. If utilization of a DECD requires specific training prior to use: 1. The Department is responsible for providing the proper training, and 2. Members are required to successfully complete the training before using the DECD. E. When a DECD is the subject of a specific General Order, those policies shall supersede this general order (e.g., General Order 16 – Digital Audio and Video Recording System). Media – F. Recording media includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following: 1. Flash memory: Computer memory which can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. This memory may be built into an electronic device or on a removable media (e.g., secure digital card, compact flash card, USB flash drive). 2. Long-term storage media: A non-volatile digital media capable of long-term storage of digital data (e.g., optical discs, network storage devices, hard disc drives, digital tape libraries). 3. Non-rewritable optical disc: An optical disc used to store digital data that cannot be rewritten upon (e.g., CD-R, DVD +/-R). G. Members shall use only Department-issued recording media and are authorized to utilize recording media only for legitimate Department purposes. H. Members are responsible for utilizing recording media in a lawful, professional, and ethical manner. II. DECD – CELLULAR TELEPHONE CAMERAS GENERAL ORDER 19 PAGE 3 of 11 DIGITAL EVIDENCE CAPTURING DEVICES OCTOBER 8, 2021\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT A. Members shall use the Department-issued cellular telephone to capture evidentiary photographs, video recordings and audio recordings when crime scene circumstances do not meet the requirements for a forensic specialist response as established in General Order 18 (Criminal Investigations) yet evidence is present in need of collection. B. Utilization of the body-worn AVR does not relieve an officer’s responsibility of capturing evidentiary photographs or recordings as outlined in subsection A above. C. Members should use the Department-issued cellular telephone to capture other photographs and recordings as warranted or needed (e.g., documentation of public relations events, sharing photographs with officers of missing or wanted persons). D. There are two (2) methods to capture photographs and recordings utilizing the cellular telephone and the reason for capturing the photograph or recording will dictate which method the member will utilize. 1. Evidentiary – Access the camera function via the Department-approved software application (i.e., Axon Capture), or 2. Non-evidentiary – Access the camera function without utilizing the software application. E. Members are prohibited from utilizing the cellular telephone to record at a location whenever a citizen present at the location would have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g., inside a private residence, any location when meeting with their attorney) unless the member has received specific consent from a citizen on scene who has the authority to give such consent (e.g., resident). F. Members shall not secretly photograph or record another member. G. The Department recognizes technical malfunctions may occur with the Department-issued cellular telephone camera. H. Camera malfunction does not relieve a member of the responsibility to take appropriate police action (e.g., documentation and collection of evidence). I. Failure to capture photographs or recordings as denoted in this section will not be considered a policy violation as long as reasonable justification is articulated to the member’s chain of command or other designated members (i.e., Internal Affairs investigators). GENERAL ORDER 19 PAGE 4 of 11 DIGITAL EVIDENCE CAPTURING DEVICES OCTOBER 8, 2021\n\n--- Page 5 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT J. Unless authorized by a commanding officer, members shall not utilize the cellular telephone to record: 1. Any person acting in the capacity of a confidential informant at the time of the recording, or 2. Any member assigned to the Special Investigations Section when such recording would identify the member. K. Members shall upload all photographs and recordings created or obtained for evidentiary purposes, as prescribed in Department training, even those which: 1. Were unintentionally captured, 2. Are blurry or otherwise unrecognizable as an image, or 3. Did not capture what was intended to be captured. L. Members shall document in an original or supplemental offense, incident or traffic crash report the capturing of photographs and recordings of an evidentiary nature. M.