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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
police; camera recordings; required redactions
Purpose
Requires law enforcement agencies to redact identifying information of specified persons from an officer's body-worn cameras before being released to the public.
Background
A law enforcement officer includes: 1) an individual, other than a probationary employee, who is certified by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, other than a person employed by a multi-county water conservation district; 2) a detention or corrections officer, other than a probationary employee or juvenile detention officer, who is employed by the state or a political subdivision; 3) a non-probationary regularly appointed and paid deputy sheriff of a county; and 4) a non-probationary regularly employed police officer in a city or town (A.R.S. § 38-1101).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires a law enforcement agency, before it releases a copy of a video recording from an officer's body-worn camera to the public, to redact any portion of the video that shows the face or an identifiable body part of any person who appears in the recording if the person is not the subject of a police investigation or enforcement action and the person:
a) was in a private location that was not open to the public;
b) was in a public location and the person had an expectation of privacy;
c) is a victim of or witness to a crime; or
d) was in a state of undress and the person's groin or buttocks were not covered, or the person is female, and the person's breasts were not covered.
2. Allows a person to provide the law enforcement agency with a written waiver to release a video that would otherwise require redaction.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
MAPS 2/1/21 DP 8-6-0-0
3rd Read 2/23/21 31-29-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 9, 2021
JA/gs