New Pa Law about Police audio and video

Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Tom Wolfe has indicated he will sign a measure exempting police audio and video recordings from its public-records law and allowing police departments broad discretion over when to refuse requests from the public for copies of them. The bill, which covers all video and audio recordings by police officers, including dashboard and body cameras, was passed in the Senate without debate, 49 to one.

Law enforcement organizations supported the bill which was opposed by the ACLU, which contend it will be nearly impossible for the public to obtain police video.Although the governor would prefer a law that allows more transparency in the release of police video, he believes the bill is a good first step toward encouraging police departments to use body cameras to increase accountability without concerns over violating state law.Pennsylvania joins a growing list of states that are setting statewide policy over the collection of audio and video by officers. Every state allows certain exemptions to deny the public release of a video. However, according to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, some states give the video the presumption of a public record.

Under Pennsylvania's bill, it would be grounds for a denial of a request for a recording if a police department or prosecutor's office decides it cannot remove or obscure the identity of a confidential informant or victim or evidence in a criminal investigation or an administrative investigation.

A court could still order the release of a police recording if a request is denied by a law enforcement agency. The bill sets limits on requests, providing a window of 60 days after an incident in which to submit a request for a copy of an officer's audio or video recording, and it would prevent public access to recordings made inside a law enforcement facility, such as a police department. It does not address when a police camera must be turned on and how long data must be stored before it is erased, although it has tasked the state police with writing guidelines for the storage of the recordings. Currently, the state police do not use body cameras, while police departments in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, use them on a limited basis.

The bill clarifies that officers can gather body camera footage inside a private residence while on duty, an effort to address concerns about violating the state's surveillance law, and it makes clear that uniformed officers can legally record any conversation while using a state police-approved device in public.