A new report argues the police body-camera policies in Arizona could be doing more to protect the civil rights of residents.
The scorecard reviewed the policies of 50 departments across the country, including Mesa, Phoenix and Tucson. It was released by the leadership Conference on Civil and Human rights and a technology focused consultant group known as Upturn.
Harlan Yu, an Upturn spokesman, said there needs to be stricter limits on what can be done with the technology.
"More departments needs to be looking across the country at their peer departments to bring their policies to a degree that civil rights are more adequately protected," said Yu.
In Arizona, departments were docked for lacking specific language on when an officer can review footage and for not requiring specific limits on the use of biometric technology.
The Phoenix Police Department has significant room for improvement when it comes to its body-worn camera policies, according to the report. Phoenix fell short in six of the eight areas studied such as how accessible the policy is to the public and whether or not it prevents an officer from reviewing footage until after a report is submitted.
The department’s policy did get partial credit in areas such as limiting an officer’s discretion on when to record.
"Often times when communities accept these technologies onto their streets the promise is just about police accountability and transparency," said Yu. "They’re not aware that this may turn into a surveillance system that is basically a massive evidence gathering system."
The Phoenix Police Department has not yet returned a request for comment.
