Seattle police department scores 2 out of 8 on body cam policy

The cameras aren’t rolling yet but the Seattle Police Department already has critics of its body cam policy.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights recently assessed a number of major US cities and their policies on police body cams, including Seattle.

Out of eight categories, Seattle passed two — it makes its policy publicly available; and it limits officers’ discretion on when to record.

One category got a partial pass — the policy partially addresses privacy concerns. While the policy allows officers to not record when privacy could be an issue, it does not identify specific categories and instances when privacy should be paramount and recordings should not be made. Such instances can include minors, victims of crimes, etc.

Seattle is one city where controversial shootings have occurred. With a body cam, it is hoped that the public can have an officer perspective on tragic, and controversial incidents.

Failing policy

There were five categories that the Seattle Police Department did not pass on its body cam policy: prohibiting officers from viewing footage before they write official reports; limiting retention of footage; protecting footage against tampering and misuse; making footage available to individuals filing complaints, and limiting the use of biometrics. Biometric technology includes programs, such as facial recognition.

It’s important to understand that the assessment by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights does not address Seattle’s use of body cameras. It only speaks to the city’s policy on body cameras. The Seattle Police Department held a six-month body cam experiment in 2015. It tried out different types of body cams and technologies with a limited number of officers.

But since the 2015 experiment, no Seattle officers have worn cams. Vehicles still have dashboard cameras, however. The city is expected to start rolling out a new body cam program by next year. Seattle received a $600,000 grant from the Department of Justice to implement the program.

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