Public Inquiry [Citizen]

[Cyrus Raven]

1. CONTACT INFORMATION

• Full Name: Cyrus Raven
  Phone Number: 5356160
  E-Mail Address: [email protected]
  Position in Institution (If Applicable): N/A

2. REQUEST INFORMATION

• Detailed information of your request:
  • I am writing to inquire about the written standard operating procedures regarding the usage of body-cameras by Law Enforcement Officers.
    
    Is there currently a requirement for Officers to wear a body-cam at all times while on-duty?
    
    Does body-cam footage get stored in the Los Santos Police Department's internal servers?
    
    Has the Los Santos Police Department identified any problem areas needing improvement with regards to body-cameras being worn? If so, what measures have been taken to improve these problems?
    
    Has the Los Santos Police Department identified any problem areas needing improvement with regards to body-camera footage being stored? If so, what measures have been taken to improve these problems?
    
    Is there any penalty for Officers who are found to not be wearing a body-cam while on-duty and/or do not keep their footage for a set period of time?

[Elena Flores]

Los Santos Police Department "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE"

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• Re: Public Inquiry [Citizen]
  
  Los Santos Police Officers are required to wear a body camera at all times while on duty.
  
  The Los Santos Police Department uses devices produced by Axon, a manufacturer that further provides a cloud-based storage solution and infrastructure for all recorded evidence that is further in compliance with all data security and storage standards set forth in international jurisdictions. When shifts are concluded, the footage is ingested directly to their secure servers.
  
  In 2020, the Department noticed inconsistencies and discrepancies in investigations due to body cameras not being activated or worn properly by officers, after which an audit was conducted of internal policy, and the requirement of wearing a body camera at all times while on duty was reiterated and strict enforcement began.
  
  The Department is clear in its expectations surrounding body cameras being worn by officers. Consequences for any member who would purposely avoid these requirements will be certain and severe. Such misconduct undermines public trust, has the potential to erode confidence and trust in the Department, and tarnishes the badge of the vast majority of officers who conduct themselves with integrity and reverence for the law.
  
  (( We expect our faction members to roleplay placing on a body camera every time they go on shift for the sake of roleplay, or be able to reasonably prove that this roleplay was done in accordance with the server rules establishing a 48-hour period throughout which the roleplay is valid should footage be required, as is the expectation of any other player on the server wishing to roleplay such a device.
  
  It is difficult to address questions surrounding video evidence storage in a purely in-character manner because it can and will be twisted in a manner that will be used to benefit others based on technical restrictions outside of roleplay and the game.
  
  We do not expect or hold our faction members liable for not recording their gameplay, as this is an unreasonable burden on those who have a system that allows them to play the game but lets them do little more than that. We also do not hold our faction members liable if they are found to be unable to accurately provide /do's eg. 6 months after an incident has occurred or decided to clear out disk space on their computer weeks after an incident occurred if they were in a position to save footage at that time.
  
  These are unreasonable technical and potential financial expectations that we will not impose on players simply wishing to roleplay as law enforcement on a video game server. ))

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• Respectfully,
  
  Chief of Police Elena Blake
  Los Santos Police Department

[Cyrus Raven]

Thank you for the response.

The Department is clear in its expectations surrounding body cameras being worn by officers. Consequences for any member who would purposely avoid these requirements will be certain and severe.

To clarify, with it being a written SOP that Officers must have a body-cam on while on-duty, I assume even Officers who are found to have forgotten to put one on are likewise reprimanded?

((This is a though topic to speak without going a bit OOC. In my view, it shouldn't be the case that players RP'ing a LEO are forced to record actual gameplay much less keep it stored for extended periods of time, I think everyone agrees with this at this point.

Good quality RP can still be had if at the very least proof of RP is kept. With the requirement for proof of RP being 48 hours, I think this gives people a reasonable amount of responsibility to ensure they RP placing a body-cam on every 48 hours, yet situations still happen at a frequent enough rate that in my view warrant a change.

If proof of RP isn't kept or done in the first place, it IC'ly means the player's character never put one on, which in turn should have some sort of IC consequence.))

Would the Los Santos Police Department have an interest in upgrading their current body-cam system and policies to avoid forgetful officers?

((Roughly translated in OOC terms: Would the faction support the expansion of the current rule-set for proof of RP beyond the 48 hour limit, in turn lifting some of the OOC burden on LEO players?

Alternatively, certain equipment RP'ly found in police cruisers such as cones and barriers are (correct me if I'm wrong) assumed to be in the cruisers from the moment they are spawned in via /fspawn, not requiring any prior RP from the players besides when they want to take them out and place them down. Would a similar exception to body-cams be viable so that any player scriptly on-duty is assumed to have their body-cam RP'ly on, being able to RP turning it off whenever they wish?))

[Elena Flores]

Los Santos Police Department "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE"

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• Re: Public Inquiry [Citizen]
  
  Officers who have forgotten to equip a body camera are reprimanded severely, though instances are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. An example would be an officer found to have made a genuine mistake by forgetting to equip a body camera being suspended from active duty, and an officer intentionally disabling their body camera, such as a recent incident covered in a press release, being faced with more severe disciplinary action, up to termination of employment. While reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis with respect to severity of the incident, a foundation of severe disciplinary action has been established for any officer without a body camera.
  
  The Los Santos Police Department has made attempts at acquiring new body cameras, specifically an upgraded version of the body cameras currently in use, but these requests and proposals were rejected by the Board of Governors.
  
  The Department will always be interested in exploring options that will uphold or further benefit both public trust and accountability while also taking a burden off its officers without sacrificing the former.
  
  (( We requested an in-character upgrade to the Axon Body 3 but it was denied due to features listed on the real-life variant, including live maps and streaming.
  
  I believe that a stance on adjustments to the rule set would need further deliberation as a whole before standing on any particular side, be that in agreement or disagreement.
  
  With the clothing update that is planned, though when is unknown, based on the current rendition of requested uniforms, body camera objects are being added to the uniforms of the LSPD faction, though this may obviously change based on what assets actually make it into the server upon implementation.
  
  Should server management take the approach of having any player that is on duty through the script be assumed to have a body camera, then that is the approach the LSPD could stand by. It takes a burden and OOC expectation off the players, while those roleplaying as corrupt can roleplay turning them off and back on in a manner similar to others roleplaying their license not being on their person. ))

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• Respectfully,
  
  Chief of Police Elena Blake
  Los Santos Police Department

[Cyrus Raven]

Thank you for the prompt reply once more. That about answers all of my questions, please feel free to archive this.

[Elena Flores]

Los Santos Police Department "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE"

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• Re: Public Inquiry [Citizen]
  
  Archived.

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• Respectfully,
  
  Chief of Police Elena Blake
  Los Santos Police Department