102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1877

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Brian W. Stewart

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 706/10-10
50 ILCS 706/10-20
50 ILCS 706/10-25

    Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act concerning procedures for the use of officer-worn body cameras. Effective January 1, 2022.


LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1877LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

1    AN ACT concerning law enforcement.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera
5Act is amended by changing Sections 10-10, 10-20, and 10-25 as
6follows:
 
7    (50 ILCS 706/10-10)
8    Sec. 10-10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
9    "Badge" means an officer's department issued
10identification number associated with his or her position as a
11police officer with that department.
12    "Board" means the Illinois Law Enforcement Training
13Standards Board created by the Illinois Police Training Act.
14    "Business offense" means a petty offense for which the
15fine is in excess of $1,000.
16    "Community engagement caretaking function" means a task
17undertaken by a law enforcement officer in which the officer
18is performing an articulable act unrelated to the
19investigation of a crime. "Community engagement caretaking
20function" may include includes, but is not limited to,
21participating in town halls or other community outreach
22programs, helping a child find his or her parents, providing
23death notifications, and performing in-home or hospital

 

 

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1well-being checks on the sick, elderly, or persons presumed
2missing.
3    "Fund" means the Law Enforcement Camera Grant Fund.
4    "In uniform" means a law enforcement officer who is
5wearing any officially authorized uniform designated by a law
6enforcement agency, or a law enforcement officer who is
7visibly wearing articles of clothing, a badge, tactical gear,
8gun belt, a patch, or other insignia that he or she is a law
9enforcement officer acting in the course of his or her duties.
10    "Law enforcement officer" or "officer" means any person
11employed by a State, county, municipality, special district,
12college, unit of government, or any other entity authorized by
13law to employ peace officers or exercise police authority and
14who is primarily responsible for the prevention or detection
15of crime and the enforcement of the laws of this State.
16    "Law enforcement agency" means all State agencies with law
17enforcement officers, county sheriff's offices, municipal,
18special district, college, or unit of local government police
19departments.
20    "Law enforcement-related encounters or activities"
21include, but are not limited to, traffic stops, pedestrian
22stops, arrests, searches, interrogations, investigations,
23pursuits, crowd control, traffic control, non-community
24engagement caretaking interactions with an individual while on
25patrol, or any other instance in which the officer is
26enforcing the laws of the municipality, county, or State. "Law

 

 

SB1877- 3 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

1enforcement-related encounter or activities" does not include
2when the officer is completing paperwork alone or only in the
3presence of another law enforcement officer.
4    "Minor traffic offense" means a petty offense, business
5offense, or Class C misdemeanor under the Illinois Vehicle
6Code or a similar provision of a municipal or local ordinance.
7    "Officer-worn body camera" means an electronic camera
8system for creating, generating, sending, receiving, storing,
9displaying, and processing audiovisual recordings that may be
10worn about the person of a law enforcement officer.
11    "Peace officer" has the meaning provided in Section 2-13
12of the Criminal Code of 2012.
13    "Petty offense" means any offense for which a sentence of
14imprisonment is not an authorized disposition.
15    "Recording" means the process of capturing data or
16information stored on a recording medium as required under
17this Act.
18    "Recording medium" means any recording medium authorized
19by the Board for the retention and playback of recorded audio
20and video including, but not limited to, VHS, DVD, hard drive,
21cloud storage, solid state, digital, flash memory technology,
22or any other electronic medium.
23(Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
24    (50 ILCS 706/10-20)
25    Sec. 10-20. Requirements.

 

 

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1    (a) The Board shall develop basic guidelines for the use
2of officer-worn body cameras by law enforcement agencies. The
3guidelines developed by the Board shall be the basis for the
4written policy which must be adopted by each law enforcement
5agency which employs the use of officer-worn body cameras. The
6written policy adopted by the law enforcement agency must
7include, 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

 

 

SB1877- 5 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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
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:
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
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

 

 

SB1877- 6 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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

 

 

SB1877- 7 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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.
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:
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;
23                (iii) death or great bodily harm occurred to
24            any person in the recording;
25                (iv) the encounter resulted in a detention or
26            an arrest, excluding traffic stops which resulted

 

 

SB1877- 8 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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;
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

 

 

SB1877- 9 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

1    instruction, training, or ensuring compliance with agency
2    policies.
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

 

 

SB1877- 10 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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
14camera are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
15Information 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

 

 

SB1877- 11 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

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),
14the subject of the encounter does not have a reasonable
15expectation of privacy if the subject was arrested as a result
16of the encounter. For purposes of subparagraph (A) of
17paragraph (1) of this subsection (b), "witness" does not
18include a person who is a victim or who was arrested as a
19result of the encounter.
20    Only recordings or portions of recordings responsive to
21the request shall be available for inspection or reproduction.
22Any recording disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act
23shall be redacted to remove identification of any person that
24appears on the recording and is not the officer, a subject of
25the encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Nothing
26in this subsection (b) shall require the disclosure of any

 

 

SB1877- 12 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

1recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt
2from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
3    (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit access to a camera
4recording for the purposes of complying with Supreme Court
5rules or the rules of evidence.
6(Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
7    (50 ILCS 706/10-25)
8    Sec. 10-25. Reporting.
9    (a) Each law enforcement agency which employs the use of
10officer-worn body cameras must provide an annual report to the
11Board, on or before May 1 of the year. The report shall
12include:
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
23provided by officer-worn body cameras must provide an annual
24report to the board, on or before May 1 of the year. The report
25shall include for each recording used in prosecutions of

 

 

SB1877- 13 -LRB102 14020 RLC 19372 b

1conservation, criminal, or traffic offenses or municipal
2ordinance violations:
3(5) for each recording used in prosecutions of conservation,
4criminal, or traffic offenses or municipal ordinance
5violations:
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
13analyze the law enforcement agency reports and provide an
14annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor.
15(Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
171, 2022.