LAPD would delete nearly 12 million body camera videos under proposed policy change

"The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking a policy change that would allow millions of videos collected from officers' body-worn and dashboard-mounted cameras to be deleted, leaving oversight officials worried that useful footage might be lost in the purge. In a presentation to the Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday, the LAPD's chief information officer, John Furay, detailed new data retention guidelines that would allow certain footage to be destroyed after five years."

"If the new guidelines were implemented, Furay estimated that the department would destroy about 11.8 million body-worn videos that no longer serve a purpose. Older videos from dashboard cameras that are still stored on magnetic videotape would also be expunged, he said. But in both cases, he added, the deletion would be done only after first checking with investigators and the department's legal affairs section."

"Several members of the civilian oversight panel, which sets LAPD policies, expressed concern that the proposed policy wasn't clear enough. Commissioner Rasha Gerges Shields said it lacked guardrails against the inadvertent deletion of pertinent records. She said the proposal gave the impression that the department was "mandating ourselves to delete it as soon as the case is done." She also asked about how videos that could be used for training purposes or other reasons would be preserved."

The Los Angeles Police Department seeks to change its data retention policy to allow certain body-worn and dashboard camera footage to be destroyed after five years. Under the current policy, all footage is retained indefinitely. The proposed guidelines would exempt videos from all police shootings and any footage that could serve as evidence in court cases or internal investigations. The department's chief information officer estimates about 11.8 million body-worn videos and older dashboard tapes would be deleted, subject to checks with investigators and legal affairs. Civilian oversight commissioners expressed concern about insufficient safeguards and potential loss of training or other useful footage, leading to a delayed vote.

Read at Los Angeles Times