Laserfiche WebLink
REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City_Ma_n ger <br />November 21, 2016 <br />SUBJECT <br />Staff report on the implementation plan of police body worn camera systems as directed <br />in Council's response on July 26, 2016, to the May 24, 2016, Grand Jury report entitled <br />"Body Cameras — The Reel Truth." <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Accept the staff report on police body worn camera implementation plan <br />BACKGROUND <br />On July 26, 2016, the City Council and City of Redwood City responded to the Civil <br />Grand Jury Report published on May 24, 2016, entitled "Body Cameras— The Reel <br />Truth." Within the City's response was an agreement to provide a body -worn camera <br />implementation plan by November 30, 2016, as detailed in Recommendation R1 of the <br />report. <br />Recommendation R1 <br />"The Grand Jury recommends that the councils of those cities/town that <br />have not adopted body -worn cameras direct their respective chiefs of <br />police to develop an appropriate body -worn camera implementation plan <br />and advise the public of their plan by November 30, 2096." <br />Redwood City Response: Agree <br />"A report on body -worn cameras will be prepared for City Council and <br />public review within the stipulated timeframe." <br />Additionally, Recommendation R3 of the Grand Jury report provided a timeline for <br />deployment which the City was not in full agreement. <br />Recommendation R3 <br />"The Grand Jury recommends that the police department of those cities, <br />town, and the Broadmoor Police Protection District that have not adopted <br />body -worn cameras implement a body -worn camera system as soon as <br />possible but, in any case, no later that October 39, 2097." <br />Redwood City Response: Partially Agree <br />"The City agrees with the basic premise that body -worn cameras are an <br />important technological enhancement in the current era of modern <br />policing. The City recognizes the inherent benefit that body camera <br />evidence provides for transparent reviews of officer performance, the <br />value of decreasing false claims against officers, lessening civil liabilities, <br />along with increasing the speed at which criminal prosecutions conclude. <br />However, the City believes that the timetable of October 39, 2097, <br />recommended by the Grand Jury for implementation of a body -worn <br />camera system may not be feasible. The City is in the process of <br />determining the long-term financial commitment this endeavor will <br />119 <br />