In the wake of litigation by at least one police labor union over a lack of policies governing body-worn camera use, a proposed law purports to address such omissions. Senate Bill 175 by Sen. Bob Huff (R-Anaheim) would require each department or agency that employs peace officers, and elects to require those peace officers to wear body-worn cameras, to develop a policy relating to the use of body-worn cameras.
If passed, the bill would amend the Penal Code and “would require the policy to be developed in collaboration with nonsupervisory officers and to include certain provisions, including, among others, the duration, time, and place when body-worn cameras shall be worn and operational. The bill would also require the policy to be provided to each officer required to wear a body-worn camera.”