City of Santa NIARlA

Government Code section 6252(f) allows law enforcement agencies discretion to provide citizen access to patrol vehicle audio/video recordings. City Response: The City agrees with the finding. Occasionally and at the discretion of the Police Department, law enforcement audio/video recordings of citizen contacts are made available for review to clarify and address specific citizen concerns with regard to Police conduct. An example of this would be reviewing the videotaped evidence of a vehicular traffic stop of a minor refusing to sign a citation with a parent following an arrest.

Law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara County do not provide routine citizen access to patrol vehicle audio/video recordings. City Response: The Police Department agrees with the finding. Although the Police Department maintains the discretion to allow public access to audio/video recordings on occasion, routine access is nether warranted or desirable by the Police Department. This position is based upon impacts to staff, maintaining California Evidence Code integrities and investigative imperatives. Any audio/video recording of a law enforcement contact involving a citizen that has been deemed of evidentiary value can be obtained through the discovery process. The same actions can be applied to requests made for law enforcement audio/video recordings of citizen contacts that are not of an evidentiary nature, they may be obtained by the public under the provisions afforded by the California Records Act. As aforementioned, on occasion, and at the discretion of the Police Department, audio/video recordings of citizen contacts are made available to the public to address citizen concerns; however, such releases are evaluated on a case by case basis.

Law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara County do not routinely inform the affected citizen that there is an audio/video recording being made during a patrol vehicle stop. City Response: The Police Department agrees with the finding. The Police Department maintains the position there is no duty or responsibility on the part of law enforcement to inform the public that a citizen contact is being audio/video recorded, as members of the public have no reasonable expectation of privacy during contacts with law enforcement personnel. The Police Department does require in existing policy that investigating officers ." document the use of a mobile audio/video recording system and the patrol unit number whenever a citizen contact results in a report of evidentiary value or citation being issued.

Law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara County do not routinely inform the parent/guardian that there is a patrol vehicle audio/visual recording of the agency's contact with their juvenile. City Response: The Police Department agrees with the finding. The Police Department maintains the position there is no affirmative duty or responsibility on the part of law enforcement to inform the public that a citizen contact is being audio/video recorded, as members of the public have no reasonable expectation of privacy during contacts with law enforcement personnel. As aforementioned, on occasion, and at the discretion of the Police Department, audio/video recordings of citizen contacts are made available to the public to address citizen concerns.