Police CAMERA Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1338 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Police Creating Accountability by Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2021 or the Police CAMERA Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Department of Justice to make grants for states, local governments, and Indian tribes to purchase or lease body-worn cameras for use by law enforcement officers and to implement body-worn camera programs.


To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
  authorize a grant program to assist State and local law enforcement 
   agencies in purchasing body-worn cameras and securely storing and 
        maintaining recorded data for law enforcement officers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Police Creating Accountability by 
Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2021'' or the ``Police 
CAMERA Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``PART MM--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS 
                           AND RECORDED DATA

``SEC. 3031. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
(in this section referred to as the `Director') may make grants to 
States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to purchase or 
lease body-worn cameras for use by State, local, and tribal law 
enforcement officers (as defined in section 2503) and expenses related 
to the implementation of a body-worn camera program in order to deter 
excessive force, improve accountability and transparency of use of 
force by law enforcement officers, assist in responding to complaints 
against law enforcement officers, and improve evidence collection.
    ``(b) Duration of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Grants awarded under this part shall be 
        2 years in duration.
            ``(2) Disbursement of grant amount.--In disbursing a grant 
        awarded to an entity under this section--
                    ``(A) upon awarding the grant to the entity, the 
                Director shall disburse 50 percent of the total grant 
                amount to the entity; and
                    ``(B) upon demonstration by the entity of 
                completion of the requirements in subsection (d)(1), 
                the Director shall disburse the remaining 50 percent of 
                the total grant amount to the entity.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be--
            ``(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
        government, or Indian tribe; and
            ``(2) used for--
                    ``(A) the purchase or lease of body-worn cameras 
                for law enforcement officers on patrol in the 
                jurisdiction of the grantee;
                    ``(B) any costs relating to the implementation of a 
                body-worn camera program, including law enforcement 
                officer training or the storage, maintenance, or 
                security of recorded data collected under a body-worn 
                camera program; or
                    ``(C) implementing policies or procedures to comply 
                with the requirements described in subsection (d).
    ``(d) Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director shall award a grant under 
        this section to a State, unit of local government, or Indian 
        tribe requesting the grant that commits to--
                    ``(A) establishing policies and procedures in 
                accordance with the requirements described in paragraph 
                (2) before law enforcement officers use of body-worn 
                cameras;
                    ``(B) adopting recorded data collection and 
                retention protocols as described in paragraph (3) 
                before law enforcement officers use of body-worn 
                cameras;
                    ``(C) making the policies and protocols described 
                in subparagraphs (A) and (B) available to the public; 
                and
                    ``(D) complying with the requirements for use of 
                recorded data under paragraph (5).
            ``(2) Required policies and procedures.--An entity 
        receiving a grant under this section shall--
                    ``(A) develop with community input and publish for 
                public view policies and protocols for--
                            ``(i) the safe and effective use of body-
                        worn cameras;
                            ``(ii) the secure storage, handling, and 
                        destruction of recorded data collected by body-
                        worn cameras;
                            ``(iii) protecting the privacy rights of 
                        any individual who may be recorded by a body-
                        worn camera;
                            ``(iv) protecting the constitutional rights 
                        of any individual on whom facial recognition 
                        technology is used;
                            ``(v) limitations on the use of body-worn 
                        cameras in conjunction with facial recognition 
                        technology for instances, including--
                                    ``(I) the use of facial recognition 
                                technology only with judicial 
                                authorization;
                                    ``(II) the use of facial 
                                recognition technology only for 
                                imminent threats or serious crimes; and
                                    ``(III) the use of facial 
                                recognition technology with double 
                                verification of identified faces;
                            ``(vi) the release of any recorded data 
                        collected by a body-worn camera in accordance 
                        with the open records laws, if any, of the 
                        State; and
                            ``(vii) making recorded data available to 
                        prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other 
                        officers of the court in accordance with 
                        paragraph (5); and
                    ``(B) conduct periodic evaluations of the security 
                of the storage and handling of the body-worn camera 
                data.
            ``(3) Recorded data collection and retention protocol.--The 
        recorded data collection and retention protocol described in 
        this paragraph is a protocol that--
                    ``(A) requires--
                            ``(i) a law enforcement officer who is 
                        wearing a body-mounted camera to provide an 
                        explanation if an activity that is required to 
                        be recorded by the body-mounted camera is not 
                        recorded;
                            ``(ii) a law enforcement officer who is 
                        wearing a body-mounted camera to obtain consent 
                        to be recorded from a crime victim or witness 
                        before interviewing the victim or witness;
                            ``(iii) the collection of recorded data 
                        unrelated to a legitimate law enforcement 
                        purpose be minimized to the greatest extent 
                        practicable;
                            ``(iv) the system used to store recorded 
                        data collected by body-worn cameras shall log 
                        all viewing, modification, or deletion of 
                        stored recorded data and shall prevent, to the 
                        greatest extent practicable, the unauthorized 
                        access or disclosure of stored recorded data;
                            ``(v) any law enforcement officer be 
                        prohibited from accessing the stored data 
                        without an authorized purpose; and
                            ``(vi) the law enforcement agency to 
                        collect and report statistical data on--
                                    ``(I) incidences of use of force, 
                                disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 
                                gender, and age of the victim;
                                    ``(II) the number of complaints 
                                filed against law enforcement officers;
                                    ``(III) the disposition of 
                                complaints filed against law 
                                enforcement officers;
                                    ``(IV) the number of times camera 
                                footage is used for evidence collection 
                                in investigations of crimes; and
                                    ``(V) any other additional 
                                statistical data that the Director 
                                determines should be collected and 
                                reported;
                    ``(B) allows an individual to file a complaint with 
                a law enforcement agency relating to the improper use 
                of body-worn cameras; and
                    ``(C) complies with any other requirements 
                established by the Director.
            ``(4) Reporting.--Statistical data required to be collected 
        under paragraph (3)(A)(vi) shall be reported to the Director, 
        who shall--
                    ``(A) establish a standardized reporting system for 
                statistical data collected under this program; and
                    ``(B) establish a national database of statistical 
                data recorded under this program.
            ``(5) Use or transfer of recorded data.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Recorded data collected by an 
                entity receiving a grant under this section from a 
                body-mounted camera shall be used only in internal and 
                external investigations of misconduct by a law 
                enforcement agency or officer, if there is reasonable 
                suspicion that a recording contains evidence of a 
                crime, or for limited training purposes. The Director 
                shall establish rules to ensure that the recorded data 
                is used only for the purposes described in this 
                subparagraph.
                    ``(B) Prohibition on transfer.--Except as provided 
                in subparagraph (C), an entity receiving a grant under 
                this section may not transfer any recorded data 
                collected by the entity from a body-mounted camera to 
                another law enforcement or intelligence agency.
                    ``(C) Exceptions.--
                            ``(i) Criminal investigation.--An entity 
                        receiving a grant under this section may 
                        transfer recorded data collected by the entity 
                        from a body-mounted camera to another law 
                        enforcement agency or intelligence agency for 
                        use in a criminal investigation if the 
                        requesting law enforcement or intelligence 
                        agency has reasonable suspicion that the 
                        requested data contains evidence relating to 
                        the crime being investigated.
                            ``(ii) Civil rights claims.--An entity 
                        receiving a grant under this section may 
                        transfer recorded data collected by the law 
                        enforcement agency from a body-mounted camera 
                        to another law enforcement agency for use in an 
                        investigation of any right, privilege, or 
                        immunity secured or protected by the 
                        Constitution or laws of the United States.
    ``(e) Matching Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 
        Federal share of the cost of a program carried out using a 
        grant under this part may not exceed 75 percent of the total 
        cost of the program.
            ``(2) Indian assistance.--Any funds appropriated by 
        Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal 
        government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law 
        enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to 
        provide the non-Federal share of the matching requirement 
        described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Waiver.--The Director may waive, in whole or in part, 
        the matching requirement described in paragraph (1) in the case 
        of fiscal hardship, as determined by the Director.
    ``(f) Allocation of Funds.--For fiscal years 2021 and 2023, of the 
amounts appropriated to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, $30,000,000 
shall be used to carry out this part.
    ``(g) Audit and Assessment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this part, the Director of the Office of Audit, 
        Assessment, and Management shall perform an assessment of the 
        grant program and the policies and protocols of the grantees.
            ``(2) Reports.--Not later than September 1 of each year, 
        beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this part, 
        each recipient of a grant under this part shall submit to the 
        Director of the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management a 
        report that--
                    ``(A) describes the progress of the body-worn 
                camera program; and
                    ``(B) contains recommendations on ways in which the 
                Federal Government, States, and units of local 
                government can further support the implementation of 
                the program.
            ``(3) Review.--The Director of the Office of Audit, 
        Assessment, and Management shall evaluate the policies and 
        protocols of the grantees and take such steps as the Director 
        of the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management determines 
        necessary to ensure compliance with the program.

``SEC. 3032. BODY-WORN CAMERA TRAINING TOOLKIT.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director shall establish and maintain a 
toolkit for law enforcement agencies, academia, and other relevant 
entities to provide training and technical assistance, including best 
practices for implementation, model policies and procedures, and 
research materials.
    ``(b) Mechanism.--In establishing the toolkit required to under 
subsection (a), the Director may consolidate research, practices, 
templates, and tools that been developed by expert and law enforcement 
agencies across the country.

``SEC. 3033. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the chief 
executive of a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe shall 
submit an application to the Director in a form and containing 
information as the Director may reasonably require.
    ``(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this part, the Director shall promulgate regulations to 
implement this part, including the information that shall be included 
and the requirements that the States, units of local government, and 
Indian tribes must meet in submitting the applications required under 
this section.

``SEC. 3034. STUDY.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
all grants are awarded under this part, the Director shall conduct a 
study on--
            ``(1) the efficacy of body-worn cameras in deterring 
        excessive force by law enforcement officers;
            ``(2) the impact of body-worn cameras on the accountability 
        and transparency of the use of force by law enforcement 
        officers;
            ``(3) the impact of body-worn cameras on responses to and 
        adjudications of complaints of excessive force;
            ``(4) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on the 
        safety of law enforcement officers on patrol;
            ``(5) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on public 
        safety;
            ``(6) the impact of body-worn cameras on evidence 
        collection for criminal investigations;
            ``(7) issues relating to the secure storage and handling of 
        recorded data from the body-worn cameras;
            ``(8) issues relating to the privacy of citizens and 
        officers recorded on body-worn cameras;
            ``(9) issues relating to the constitutional rights of 
        individuals on whom facial recognition technology is used;
            ``(10) issues relating to limitations on the use of facial 
        recognition technology;
            ``(11) issues relating to the public's access to body-worn 
        camera footage;
            ``(12) the need for proper training of law enforcement 
        officers that use body-worn cameras;
            ``(13) best practices in the development of protocols for 
        the safe and effective use of body-worn cameras;
            ``(14) a review of law enforcement agencies that found 
        body-worn cameras to be unhelpful in the operations of the 
        agencies; and
            ``(15) any other factors that the Director determines are 
        relevant in evaluating the efficacy of body-worn cameras.
    ``(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
study required under subsection (a) is completed, the Director shall 
submit to Congress a report on the study, which shall include any 
policy recommendations that the Director considers appropriate.''.
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