Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher has been appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to the ‘Law Enforcement Officer Body Camera Study Committee’ formed as a result of legislation in Arizona House Bill 2511. Sheriff Mascher is the only Arizona Sheriff selected for membership in the study committee.
Additional law enforcement representatives include DPS Director Frank Milstead and Surprise Police Chief Terry Young.
The committee has been tasked to study and recommend polices and laws on the use of law enforcement officer body cameras and body camera recordings in a report due to the Governor by December 31, 2015. The committee will meet as needed beginning in October.
Some of the issues expected to be addressed in the study include:
- Overall effectiveness of cameras / Reduction in use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints
- How to determine which officers within an agency should wear body cameras / Training policies
- Storage and retention issues related to video recordings / Chain of evidence / Access by who
- Preventing data tampering, deleting and copying.
- Body camera video as a public record / Redaction – privacy concerns – retention timeline
- Law enforcement circumstances that mandate body camera activation/recording
- Camera use in areas where there is an expectation of privacy / Recording victims-informants / The balance between transparency and privacy