HB 5381 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF POLICE BODY-WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT.

House ofBill Representatives General Assembly File No.

5135381 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2024 House Bill No.

538124-15 HouseAN ofACT Representatives,CONCERNING AprilTHE 16,USE 2024OF ThePOLICE CommitteeBODY-WORN onRECORDING JudiciaryEQUIPMENT. reported through REP.

STAFSTROM of the 129th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF POLICE BODY-WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT.

As used in this section, "implicit bias training" means training on how to recognize and mitigate unconscious biases against a particular segment of the population that might influence a HB5381police /officer's Filejudgments No.and decisions when interacting with a member of such segment of the population.

513House 1Bill HB5381 File No.

5135381 policeSec. officer's judgments and decisions when interacting with a member of such segment of the population.

Sec.

ThisApproved actMay shall14, take2024 effectPublic asAct followsNo. and shall amend the following sections:

Section24-15 12 Octoberof 1,2 2024 7-294s Sec.

2 from passage 29-6d(j) JUD Joint Favorable HB5381 / File No.

513 2 HB5381 File No.

513 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in no fiscal impact to the state or municipalities because the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, and municipal police departments have the expertise to (1) update state guidelines on the use ofpolice body cameras to include provisionsonthecircumstances when officersmust not pause recording withsuchcamerasand(2)incorporate such provisions into basic and review training programs.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None HB5381 / File No.

513 3 HB5381 File No.

513 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5381 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF POLICE BODY-WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT.

SUMMARY Thisbillspecificallyrequiresthestate’sguidelinesontheuseofpolice body cameras, starting October 1, 2024, to include provisions on the circumstances when officers must not pause recording with the cameras.

The bill similarly requires these circumstances to be included in police basic and review training programs on body camera use.

By law, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection commissioner and the Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) must jointly maintain body and dashboard camera guidelines, and law enforcement units and police officers must follow them (see BACKGROUND).Police basicand reviewtraining programsconducted or administered by the State Police, POST, or municipal police departments must include training on, among other things, using body cameras.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Upon passage, except the provision on police training programs takes effect October 1, 2024.

BACKGROUND Law Enforcement Units and Police Officers By law, a “law enforcement unit” is any state or municipal agency or department (or tribal agency or department created and governed under a memorandum of agreement) whose primary functions include enforcing criminal or traffic laws;

preserving public order;

protecting life and property;

or preventing, detecting, or investigating crime (CGS § 7-294a(8)).

HB5381 / File No.

513 4 HB5381 File No.

513 Under the body camera law, a “police officer” is a sworn member of a law enforcement unit or any member of a law enforcement unit who performs police duties (CGS § 29-6d(a)).

Model Policy Under the state’s existing model policy on the use of body cameras and dashboard cameras (last revised in March 2024), police officers generally must (1) activate body cameras while interacting with the public in a law enforcement capacity and (2) keep the cameras activated until the interaction has concluded.

The policy allows officers to deactivate the cameras if they determine that under the circumstances, the investigation could be significantly hampered by continuing to record.

Under the policy, whenever possible, officers should consult with supervisors before making the decision to deactivate the cameras.

COMMITTEE ACTION Judiciary Committee Joint Favorable Yea 36 Nay 0 (03/28/2024) HB5381 / File No.