Body camera policy?

[Yankee Chronicler]

As a result of more than a few rather unpleasant situation in recent memory, our department has purchased body cameras for the inspectors. They just arrived -- they're still in the boxes. Next step is deciding when to operate them, and if anything is exempt. Does anyone work for a department that uses body cameras? If so, what's your policy?

 

[Sifu]

I heard some were going that way a few years back but never heard any more. I am curious about this one!

 

[Yikes]

I can’t speak to building department policy. However, on the private side, our insurance company has advised architecture and engineering companies to MINIMIZE the amount of photos and videos taken during construction site visits, to delete photos and videos that don’t capture items directly stated as problems on inspection reports, and to not allow employees to save construction photos on their personal electronic devices.

They have given us numerous examples of court/mediation cases concerning construction defects, where the A&E’s photos and videos were subpoenaed. Lawyers would scour the photos to find the construction defect, perhaps located somewhere in the background of a photo that was focusing on a completely different subject, and present it as evidence that the A&E’s had visually observed the defective condition and failed to write a correction notice. In other words, they try to construct a case of implied negligence in construction observation.

 

[tmurray]

I had them when I worked on the municipal side.

Inspectors could use them when they felt it was advantageous. Normally, this was only when they were dealing with a particularly aggressive individual.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

I had them when I worked on the municipal side.

Inspectors could use them when they felt it was advantageous. Normally, this was only when they were dealing with a particularly aggressive individual.

That's certainly the impetus to using them. The problem is that only using them "when dealing with a particularly aggressive individual" could probably be construed into a federal lawsuit for unequal protection. "They record me when I talk to them, but they don't record my neighbor when they talk to him."

I'm fishing here. We need to know what other departments that use body cameras (if there are any) have for a policy. I'd like to hope that it will be something uniform and objective, not "We turn it on when talking to someone we don't like."

 

[Inspector Gadget]

I have a bodycam for my dangerous and unsightly bylaw work. The policy we've created is that our inspectors are to record (audio, visual if possible) whenever we are entering a property to enforce construction taking place without a permit, or to discuss violation of an order.

We have had discussions on using them for inspections, but at the moment, we're only looking at tweaking our policy to require recording of any inspections performed on an occupied dwelling unit (new house, renovations, additions to houses.)

You may want to look into the laws for your area. I am only familiar with Canadian law.

What I can say is that the little blinking light on the bodycam is ... obvious. That's a beacon to those involved to avoid being problematic.