Assembly Bill 69 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez unanimously passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee today. The bill would establish best practices and procedures for the collection and storage of video footage from police body cameras.
“Body-worn cameras are quickly becoming the norm in police departments across the country. They are valuable tools for giving the public insight on what an officer’s day-to-day experiences are and increasing the trust between the community and the police,” said Rodriguez.
In recent years, several studies have been done on the use of these cameras. One of these studies is the evaluation of the use of these cameras by the Rialto Police Department in 2012. The topline results were that cameras reduced the use of force by 60 percent and civilian complaints against police by 88 percent.
Recognizing the benefits of body cameras, many law enforcement agencies across the country have begun purchasing cameras. The Los Angeles Police Department announced that they will purchase 7,000 body cameras for their officers to use and President Obama has promised as much as $75 million dollars in federal grant funding to help agencies purchase cameras.
AB 69 focuses on providing guidelines for downloading and storing body-worn camera data for those law enforcement agencies that choose to implement a body-worn camera program and includes recommendations to ensure the security, integrity and reliability of the data downloaded and stored.
Assemblymember Rodriguez represents the 52nd Assembly District which includes the cities of Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona and portions of unincorporated Fontana.