Bill Text: IL SB1877 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act concerning procedures for the use of officer-worn body cameras. Effective January 1, 2022.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-07 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Rachelle Crowe [SB1877 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SB1877-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning law enforcement.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera | |||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Act is amended by changing Sections 10-10, 10-20, and 10-25 as | |||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | follows:
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7 | (50 ILCS 706/10-10)
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8 | Sec. 10-10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | "Badge" means an officer's department issued | |||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | identification number associated with his or her position as a | |||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | police officer with that department. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | "Board" means the Illinois Law Enforcement Training | |||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | Standards Board created by the Illinois Police Training Act. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | "Business offense" means a petty offense for which the | |||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | fine is in excess of $1,000. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | "Community engagement caretaking function" means a task | |||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | undertaken by a law enforcement officer in which the officer | |||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | is performing an articulable act unrelated to the | |||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | investigation of a crime. "Community engagement caretaking | |||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | function" may include includes , but is not limited to, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | participating in town halls or other community outreach | |||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | programs , helping a child find his or her parents, providing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | death notifications, and performing in-home or hospital |
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1 | well-being checks on the sick, elderly, or persons presumed | ||||||
2 | missing. | ||||||
3 | "Fund" means the Law Enforcement Camera Grant Fund.
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4 | "In uniform" means a law enforcement officer who is | ||||||
5 | wearing any officially authorized uniform designated by a law | ||||||
6 | enforcement agency, or a law enforcement officer who is | ||||||
7 | visibly wearing articles of clothing, a badge, tactical gear, | ||||||
8 | gun belt, a patch, or other insignia that he or she is a law | ||||||
9 | enforcement officer acting in the course of his or her duties. | ||||||
10 | "Law enforcement officer" or "officer" means any person | ||||||
11 | employed by a State, county, municipality, special district, | ||||||
12 | college, unit of government, or any other entity authorized by | ||||||
13 | law to employ peace officers or exercise police authority and | ||||||
14 | who is primarily responsible for the prevention or detection | ||||||
15 | of crime and the enforcement of the laws of this State. | ||||||
16 | "Law enforcement agency" means all State agencies with law | ||||||
17 | enforcement officers, county sheriff's offices, municipal, | ||||||
18 | special district, college, or unit of local government police | ||||||
19 | departments. | ||||||
20 | "Law enforcement-related encounters or activities" | ||||||
21 | include, but are not limited to, traffic stops, pedestrian | ||||||
22 | stops, arrests, searches, interrogations, investigations, | ||||||
23 | pursuits, crowd control, traffic control, non-community | ||||||
24 | engagement caretaking interactions with an individual while on | ||||||
25 | patrol, or any other instance in which the officer is | ||||||
26 | enforcing the laws of the municipality, county, or State. "Law |
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1 | enforcement-related encounter or activities" does not include | ||||||
2 | when the officer is completing paperwork alone or only in the | ||||||
3 | presence of another law enforcement officer. | ||||||
4 | "Minor traffic offense" means a petty offense, business | ||||||
5 | offense, or Class C misdemeanor under the Illinois Vehicle | ||||||
6 | Code or a similar provision of a municipal or local ordinance. | ||||||
7 | "Officer-worn body camera" means an electronic camera | ||||||
8 | system for creating, generating, sending, receiving, storing, | ||||||
9 | displaying, and processing audiovisual recordings that may be | ||||||
10 | worn about the person of a law enforcement officer. | ||||||
11 | "Peace officer" has the meaning provided in Section 2-13 | ||||||
12 | of the Criminal Code of 2012. | ||||||
13 | "Petty offense" means any offense for which a sentence of | ||||||
14 | imprisonment is not an authorized disposition. | ||||||
15 | "Recording" means the process of capturing data or | ||||||
16 | information stored on a recording medium as required under | ||||||
17 | this Act.
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18 | "Recording medium" means any recording medium authorized | ||||||
19 | by the Board for the retention and playback of recorded audio | ||||||
20 | and video including, but not limited to, VHS, DVD, hard drive, | ||||||
21 | cloud storage, solid state, digital, flash memory technology, | ||||||
22 | or any other electronic medium.
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23 | (Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
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24 | (50 ILCS 706/10-20)
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25 | Sec. 10-20. Requirements. |
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1 | (a) The Board shall develop basic guidelines for the use | ||||||
2 | of officer-worn body cameras by law enforcement agencies. The | ||||||
3 | guidelines developed by the Board shall be the basis for the | ||||||
4 | written policy which must be adopted by each law enforcement | ||||||
5 | agency which employs the use of officer-worn body cameras. The | ||||||
6 | written policy adopted by the law enforcement agency must | ||||||
7 | include, at a minimum, all of the following: | ||||||
8 | (1) Cameras must be equipped with pre-event recording, | ||||||
9 | capable of recording at least the 30 seconds prior to | ||||||
10 | camera activation, unless the officer-worn body camera was | ||||||
11 | purchased and acquired by the law enforcement agency prior | ||||||
12 | to July 1, 2015. | ||||||
13 | (2) Cameras must be capable of recording for a period | ||||||
14 | of 10 hours or more, unless the officer-worn body camera | ||||||
15 | was purchased and acquired by the law enforcement agency | ||||||
16 | prior to July 1, 2015. | ||||||
17 | (3) If deploying a camera, the camera Cameras must be | ||||||
18 | turned on at all times when the officer is in uniform and | ||||||
19 | is responding to calls for service or engaged in any law | ||||||
20 | enforcement-related encounter or activity, that occurs | ||||||
21 | while the officer is on duty. | ||||||
22 | (A) If exigent circumstances exist which prevent | ||||||
23 | the camera from being turned on, the camera must be | ||||||
24 | turned on as soon as practicable. | ||||||
25 | (B) Officer-worn body cameras may be turned off | ||||||
26 | when the officer is inside of a patrol car which is |
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1 | equipped with a functioning in-car camera; however, | ||||||
2 | the officer must turn on the camera upon exiting the | ||||||
3 | patrol vehicle for law enforcement-related encounters. | ||||||
4 | (C) Officer-worn body cameras may be turned off
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5 | when the officer is inside a correctional facility | ||||||
6 | which is equipped with a functioning camera system. | ||||||
7 | (4) Cameras must be turned off when:
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8 | (A) (blank); the victim of a crime requests that | ||||||
9 | the camera be turned off, and unless impractical or | ||||||
10 | impossible, that request is made on the recording; | ||||||
11 | (B) a witness of a crime or a community member who | ||||||
12 | wishes to report a crime requests that the camera be | ||||||
13 | turned off, and unless impractical or impossible that | ||||||
14 | request is made on the recording; or
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15 | (C) the officer is interacting with a confidential | ||||||
16 | informant used by the law enforcement agency. | ||||||
17 | However, an officer may continue to record or resume | ||||||
18 | recording a victim or a witness, if exigent circumstances | ||||||
19 | exist, or if the officer has reasonable articulable | ||||||
20 | suspicion that a victim or witness, or confidential | ||||||
21 | informant has committed or is in the process of committing | ||||||
22 | a crime. Under these circumstances, and unless impractical | ||||||
23 | or impossible, the officer must indicate on the recording | ||||||
24 | the reason for continuing to record despite the request of | ||||||
25 | the victim or witness. | ||||||
26 | (4.5) Cameras may be turned off when the officer is |
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1 | engaged in community engagement caretaking functions. | ||||||
2 | However, the camera must be turned on when the officer has | ||||||
3 | reason to believe that the person on whose behalf the | ||||||
4 | officer is performing a community engagement caretaking | ||||||
5 | function has committed or is in the process of committing | ||||||
6 | a crime. If exigent circumstances exist which prevent the | ||||||
7 | camera from being turned on, the camera must be turned on | ||||||
8 | as soon as practicable. | ||||||
9 | (5) The officer , if not in uniform, must provide | ||||||
10 | notice of recording to any person if the person has a | ||||||
11 | reasonable expectation of privacy and proof of notice must | ||||||
12 | be evident in the recording.
If exigent circumstances | ||||||
13 | exist which prevent the officer from providing notice, | ||||||
14 | notice must be provided as soon as practicable. | ||||||
15 | (6) For the purposes of redaction, labeling, or | ||||||
16 | duplicating recordings, access to camera recordings shall | ||||||
17 | be restricted to only those personnel responsible for | ||||||
18 | those purposes. The recording officer and his or her | ||||||
19 | supervisor may access and review recordings prior to | ||||||
20 | completing incident reports or other documentation, | ||||||
21 | provided that the officer or his or her supervisor | ||||||
22 | discloses that fact in the report or documentation. The | ||||||
23 | recording officer's assigned field training officer may | ||||||
24 | access and review recordings for training purposes. Any | ||||||
25 | law enforcement officer directly involved in the | ||||||
26 | investigation of a matter may access and review recordings |
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1 | which pertain to that investigation. | ||||||
2 | (7) Recordings made on officer-worn cameras must be | ||||||
3 | retained by the law enforcement agency or by the camera | ||||||
4 | vendor used by the agency, on a recording medium for a | ||||||
5 | period of 90 days. | ||||||
6 | (A) Under no circumstances shall any recording | ||||||
7 | made with an officer-worn body camera be altered, | ||||||
8 | erased, or destroyed prior to the expiration of the | ||||||
9 | 90-day storage period , except in incidents where the | ||||||
10 | recordings are clearly not of a law enforcement action | ||||||
11 | or event .
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12 | (B) Following the 90-day storage period, any and | ||||||
13 | all recordings made with an officer-worn body camera | ||||||
14 | must be destroyed, unless any encounter captured on | ||||||
15 | the recording has been flagged. An encounter is deemed | ||||||
16 | to be flagged when:
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17 | (i) a formal investigation or informal inquiry | ||||||
18 | has commenced, as defined in the Uniform Peace | ||||||
19 | Officers' Disciplinary Act complaint has been | ||||||
20 | filed ; | ||||||
21 | (ii) the officer discharged his or her firearm | ||||||
22 | or used force during the encounter;
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23 | (iii) death or great bodily harm occurred to | ||||||
24 | any person in the recording;
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25 | (iv) the encounter resulted in a detention or | ||||||
26 | an arrest, excluding traffic stops which resulted |
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1 | in only a minor traffic offense or business | ||||||
2 | offense; | ||||||
3 | (v) the officer is the subject of an internal | ||||||
4 | investigation or otherwise being investigated for | ||||||
5 | possible misconduct;
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6 | (vi) the supervisor of the officer, | ||||||
7 | prosecutor, defendant, or court determines that | ||||||
8 | the encounter has evidentiary value in a criminal | ||||||
9 | prosecution; or | ||||||
10 | (vii) the recording officer requests that the | ||||||
11 | video be flagged for official purposes related to | ||||||
12 | his or her official duties. | ||||||
13 | (C) Under no circumstances shall any recording | ||||||
14 | made with an officer-worn body camera relating to a | ||||||
15 | flagged encounter be altered or destroyed prior to 2 | ||||||
16 | years after the recording was flagged. If the flagged | ||||||
17 | recording was used in a criminal, civil, or | ||||||
18 | administrative proceeding, the recording shall not be | ||||||
19 | destroyed except upon a final disposition and order | ||||||
20 | from the court . | ||||||
21 | (8) Following the 90-day storage period, recordings | ||||||
22 | may be retained if a supervisor at the law enforcement | ||||||
23 | agency designates the recording for training purposes. If | ||||||
24 | the recording is designated for training purposes, the | ||||||
25 | recordings may be viewed by officers, in the presence of a | ||||||
26 | supervisor or training instructor, for the purposes of |
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1 | instruction, training, or ensuring compliance with agency | ||||||
2 | policies.
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3 | (9) Recordings shall not be used to discipline law | ||||||
4 | enforcement officers unless: | ||||||
5 | (A) a formal or informal complaint of misconduct | ||||||
6 | has been made; | ||||||
7 | (B) a use of force incident has occurred; | ||||||
8 | (C) the encounter on the recording could result in | ||||||
9 | a formal investigation under the Uniform Peace | ||||||
10 | Officers' Disciplinary Act; or | ||||||
11 | (D) as corroboration of other evidence of | ||||||
12 | misconduct. | ||||||
13 | Nothing in this paragraph (9) shall be construed to | ||||||
14 | limit or prohibit a law enforcement officer from being | ||||||
15 | subject to an action that does not amount to discipline. | ||||||
16 | (10) The law enforcement agency shall ensure proper | ||||||
17 | care and maintenance of officer-worn body cameras. Upon | ||||||
18 | becoming aware, officers must as soon as practical | ||||||
19 | document and notify the appropriate supervisor of any | ||||||
20 | technical difficulties, failures, or problems with the | ||||||
21 | officer-worn body camera or associated equipment. Upon | ||||||
22 | receiving notice, the appropriate supervisor shall make | ||||||
23 | every reasonable effort to correct and repair any of the | ||||||
24 | officer-worn body camera equipment. | ||||||
25 | (11) No officer may hinder or prohibit any person, not | ||||||
26 | a law enforcement officer, from recording a law |
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1 | enforcement officer in the performance of his or her | ||||||
2 | duties in a public place or when the officer has no | ||||||
3 | reasonable expectation of privacy.
The law enforcement | ||||||
4 | agency's written policy shall indicate the potential | ||||||
5 | criminal penalties, as well as any departmental | ||||||
6 | discipline, which may result from unlawful confiscation or | ||||||
7 | destruction of the recording medium of a person who is not | ||||||
8 | a law enforcement officer. However, an officer may take | ||||||
9 | reasonable action to maintain safety and control, secure | ||||||
10 | crime scenes and accident sites, protect the integrity and | ||||||
11 | confidentiality of investigations, and protect the public | ||||||
12 | safety and order. | ||||||
13 | (b) Recordings made with the use of an officer-worn body | ||||||
14 | camera are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of | ||||||
15 | Information Act, except that: | ||||||
16 | (1) if the subject of the encounter has a reasonable | ||||||
17 | expectation of privacy, at the time of the recording, any | ||||||
18 | recording which is flagged, due to the filing of a | ||||||
19 | complaint, discharge of a firearm, use of force, arrest or | ||||||
20 | detention, or resulting death or great bodily harm, shall | ||||||
21 | be disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information | ||||||
22 | Act if: | ||||||
23 | (A) the subject of the encounter captured on the | ||||||
24 | recording is a victim or witness; and | ||||||
25 | (B) the law enforcement agency obtains written | ||||||
26 | permission of the subject or the subject's legal |
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1 | representative; | ||||||
2 | (2) except as provided in paragraph (1) of this | ||||||
3 | subsection (b), any recording which is flagged due to the | ||||||
4 | filing of a complaint, discharge of a firearm, use of | ||||||
5 | force, arrest or detention, or resulting death or bodily | ||||||
6 | harm shall be disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of | ||||||
7 | Information Act; and | ||||||
8 | (3) upon request, the law enforcement agency shall | ||||||
9 | disclose, in accordance with the Freedom of Information | ||||||
10 | Act, the recording to the subject of the encounter | ||||||
11 | captured on the recording or to the subject's attorney, or | ||||||
12 | the officer or his or her legal representative. | ||||||
13 | For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection (b), | ||||||
14 | the subject of the encounter does not have a reasonable | ||||||
15 | expectation of privacy if the subject was arrested as a result | ||||||
16 | of the encounter. For purposes of subparagraph (A) of | ||||||
17 | paragraph (1) of this subsection (b), "witness" does not | ||||||
18 | include a person who is a victim or who was arrested as a | ||||||
19 | result of the encounter.
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20 | Only recordings or portions of recordings responsive to | ||||||
21 | the request shall be available for inspection or reproduction. | ||||||
22 | Any recording disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act | ||||||
23 | shall be redacted to remove identification of any person that | ||||||
24 | appears on the recording and is not the officer, a subject of | ||||||
25 | the encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Nothing | ||||||
26 | in this subsection (b) shall require the disclosure of any |
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1 | recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt | ||||||
2 | from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. | ||||||
3 | (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit access to a camera | ||||||
4 | recording for the purposes of complying with Supreme Court | ||||||
5 | rules or the rules of evidence.
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6 | (Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
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7 | (50 ILCS 706/10-25)
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8 | Sec. 10-25. Reporting. | ||||||
9 | (a) Each law enforcement agency which employs the use of | ||||||
10 | officer-worn body cameras must provide an annual report to the | ||||||
11 | Board, on or before May 1 of the year. The report shall | ||||||
12 | include:
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13 | (1) a brief overview of the makeup of the agency, | ||||||
14 | including the number of officers utilizing officer-worn | ||||||
15 | body cameras; | ||||||
16 | (2) the number of officer-worn body cameras utilized | ||||||
17 | by the law enforcement agency; | ||||||
18 | (3) any technical issues with the equipment and how | ||||||
19 | those issues were remedied; | ||||||
20 | (4) a brief description of the review process used by | ||||||
21 | supervisors within the law enforcement agency; | ||||||
22 | (a-5) Each prosecuting agency which uses recordings | ||||||
23 | provided by officer-worn body cameras must provide an annual | ||||||
24 | report to the board, on or before May 1 of the year. The report | ||||||
25 | shall include for each recording used in prosecutions of |
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1 | conservation, criminal, or traffic offenses or municipal | ||||||
2 | ordinance violations: | ||||||
3 | (5) for each recording used in prosecutions of conservation, | ||||||
4 | criminal, or traffic offenses or municipal ordinance | ||||||
5 | violations: | ||||||
6 | (1) (A) the time, date, location, and precinct of the | ||||||
7 | incident; | ||||||
8 | (2) (B) the offense charged and the date charges were | ||||||
9 | filed; and | ||||||
10 | (3) (6) any other information relevant to the | ||||||
11 | administration of the program. | ||||||
12 | (b) On or before July 30 of each year, the Board must | ||||||
13 | analyze the law enforcement agency reports and provide an | ||||||
14 | annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor.
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15 | (Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16 .)
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16 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | ||||||
17 | 1, 2022.
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