The Justice Department is set to require body cameras for federal law enforcement when executing search warrants or making arrests.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco directed top brass at several agencies on Monday to draft policies on when the body-worn cameras must be deployed and under what circumstances footage may be released to the public, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner. The move stands as a reversal of a yearslong policy in which federal law enforcement didn’t use cameras due to the high presence of investigative casework.
“I am proud of the job performed by the Department’s law-enforcement agents, and I am confident that these policies will continue to engender the trust and confidence of the American people in the work of the Department of Justice,” Monaco wrote.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO DEACTIVATE BODY CAMERAS ON SCENE
The policy will only apply to preplanned events, including the apprehension of fugitives and the execution of search warrants. Heads of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Marshals Service have been notified to comply with the rule change.
Agencies are directed to “develop training for prosecutors regarding the use of camera recordings as evidence” within 90 days.
In October 2020, the DOJ announced that it was set to allow local law enforcement to wear body cameras when they took part in assisting operations with federal authorities. The policy also applied only to “serving arrest warrants, or during other planned arrest operations, and during the execution of search warrants.”
“After spending a substantial amount of time examining this issue, assessing the results of the pilot program, and taking into account the interests and priorities of all the law enforcement agencies involved, I am pleased to announce that the department will permit the use of body-worn cameras on our federal task forces in specific circumstances,” then-Attorney General William Barr said in a statement at the time. “The Department of Justice has no higher priority than ensuring the safety and security of the American people and this policy will continue to help us fulfill that mission.”
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Calls to heighten officer accountability have increased since the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. While on the campaign trail, President Joe Biden vowed to expand the power of the DOJ to investigate police misconduct and promised to “scrutinize what equipment is used by law enforcement in our communities.”
