N.Y. COR Law § 135 — New York Code / Act COR / Article 6 / Section 135
New York state department of corrections and community supervision body-worn cameras program
Status: in_force

§ 135. New York state department of corrections and community\nsupervision body-worn cameras program. 1. There is hereby created within\nthe department a body-worn cameras program. The purpose of such program\nis to increase accountability and evidence for departmental and law\nenforcement purposes, department staff, residents of the state, and\nthose under the department's care by providing body-worn cameras to all\ncorrection officers, security supervisors, and any civilian staff as\nidentified by the commissioner.\n  2. The department shall provide body-worn cameras that will be powered\non and worn by correction officers and security supervisors at all\ntimes, while on duty. Incidents and activities that require staff to\nmanually activate their body-worn cameras, regardless of the presence of\nfixed cameras, include but are not limited to:\n  (a) during any interaction with an incarcerated individual or visitor,\nin any location. This paragraph shall not apply when the office of\nspecial investigations or crisis intervention unit is conducting an\ninterview with an incarcerated individual providing confidential\ninformation where a record of interview is completed;\n  (b) when staff observe unauthorized activity by an incarcerated\nindividual, a department employee or any other person in the facility;\n  (c) during general movement of incarcerated individuals;\n  (d) when staff is responding to an emergency call for assistance;\n  (e) during all incarcerated individual escorts;\n  (f) during incarcerated individual transports, as directed by the\nfacility watch commander or higher-ranking supervisor. When an employee\nenters a non-department facility, the employee will comply with the\nfacility local policy on wearing the camera and recording. If a local\npolicy does not exist, the employee shall default to department policy;\n  (g) when a firearm, oleoresin capsicum spray, or a baton is removed\nfrom its holster or holder;\n  (h) any instance where department staff feels there is an imminent\nthreat or the need to document their time on duty;\n  (i) during all uses of force, including any physical aggression or use\nof a non-lethal or lethal weapon;\n  (j) during a disciplinary hearing when fixed video monitoring systems\nare not available where the disciplinary hearing is conducted. Such\nrecordings will be securely preserved as part of the official hearing\nrecord for all Tier II and Tier III hearings pursuant to section 270.3\nof the New York codes, rules and regulations. Audio recordings of all\nhearings will continue to be made regardless of whether the video\nmonitoring system captures audio;\n  (k) as directed by the deputy commissioner or chief of investigations\nfor the office of special investigations, or such deputy commissioner's\nor chief of investigations' designee, office of special investigations\ninvestigators may utilize body-worn camera systems pursuant to the\noffice of special investigations policy. The use of such cameras by the\noffice of special investigations investigators may include but is not\nlimited to absconder/fugitive operations, facility inspections,\nmonitoring of frisks, canine operations, high-risk in-state transports\nof incarcerated individuals or releasees, and investigative activities\nwhich are deemed appropriate to record;\n  (l) in congregate shower areas; provided, however, that staff shall\nprovide a verbal announcement that a body-worn camera is in use and\navoid intentional recording of an incarcerated individual in a state of\nundress unless they are required to do so as part of the performance of\ntheir duties;\n  (m) during all correctional emergency response team activations; and\n  (n) during a strip search or strip frisk; provided, however, that\nincarcerated individuals shall be given verbal notice that they are\nbeing recorded, and the following rules apply:\n  (i) The wearer of the body-worn camera shall be of the same gender as\nthe gender designation of the facility. Video recordings of strip frisks\nor strip searches shall not be viewed by anyone, except as expressly\nauthorized in writing by the facility's deputy superintendent for\nsecurity or higher authority. If the recording is approved for review,\nthe deputy superintendent for security shall assure this fact is\ndocumented to include date, time, authorization, reviewer name,\nexplanation of why the review is necessary, and the result of such\nreview.\n  (ii) A body-worn camera recording of any strip search or strip frisk\nshall immediately be turned over to an officer assigned to upload,\ncharge, and issue such cameras to assigned staff for uploading and\nstorage.\n  (iii) The video footage of a strip frisk or other incident depicting\nan incarcerated individual in a state of complete undress shall only be\nviewed by department staff who are of the same gender as the gender\ndesignation of the facility.\n  3. The commissioner shall have the authority to require civilian staff\nassigned to a correctional facility to wear body-worn cameras while on\nduty where the civilian employee has direct supervision of an\nincarcerated individual with only intermittent security supervision. In\ninstances where the commissioner has required a civilian to wear a\nbody-worn camera while on duty, such cameras shall be activated and\nshall record:\n  (a) while interacting with an incarcerated individual, regardless of\nthe existence of fixed-video monitoring; and\n  (b) while such employee is in the area of a use of force incident,\nincluding any physical aggression or use of a non-lethal or lethal\nweapon.\n  4. The department shall preserve recordings of such body-worn cameras\nfor at least ninety days.\n  5. The department shall perform all necessary maintenance on the\nequipment used in such body-worn camera program established pursuant to\nthis section.\n  6. The commissioner of the department shall solely determine the\ntiming and appropriateness of any review or provision of body-worn\ncamera footage to an employee prior to that employee being required to\nanswer questions subject to paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section\ntwo hundred nine-a of the civil service law, or prior to an employment\ndisciplinary hearing regarding the potential misconduct of such\nemployee.\n