Footage from body cameras will also be provided to the media, police officers must not review or alter recorded content

(Patria) - The Official Gazette of the Sarajevo Canton has published the Rulebook on Amendments to the Rulebook on the Conduct of Police Officers of the Police Administration of the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton during the performance of police duties and the application of police powers, which pertains to the use of body cameras. Two new articles have been added, prescribing the duties of police officers, but also providing the possibility for the publication of footage from body cameras.

Rulebook from last year which has now been amended

The amendments to the Rulebook stipulate that a police officer who has recorded the performance of duties and tasks within their competence using a body camera shall note this action in the patrol order, and in cases involving more complex actions related to the commission of a criminal offense or a breach of public peace and order, shall prepare a special report stating the type of device used for recording, the name and surname and rank of the police officer who made the recording, the location and a brief description of the recorded action, and the storage location of the recording.

Footage made by police officers using body cameras may also be publicly released, but only in the following cases:

“The Police Commissioner or a person authorized by them may approve the publication of the footage from paragraph (1) on the Ministry’s official websites, on social networks, or provide it to the media, if this is necessary for the objective information of the public or for the performance of police duties.

In the footage submitted for publication in accordance with paragraph (2) of this article, it is necessary to conceal the appearance or other features by which the identity of police officers and other involved persons can be determined, unless publication is necessary for search measures,” it is stated.

Police officers have additional obligations after the introduction of body cameras, which are clearly specified in the rulebook. This particularly refers to the fact that they must not review the recorded material or make any alterations to the recorded material.

(1) A police officer shall check out a body camera at the beginning of their shift, and after performing official actions, they are obliged to return it to the room where they checked out the camera, place it in the charger, and turn on the body camera device if it is turned off, so that the videos are automatically transferred to the server connected to the charger, and to ensure that the camera is charging on the charger (the indicator for charging and transferring the recording is visible on the camera display). All actions taken shall be recorded in the internal records by the supervising manager.

(2) Before transferring the footage, the police officer must not review the recorded material, nor in any way alter or shorten its content, while they are obliged to transfer the recorded material to the device designated for storing recorded data before the end of their shift. If they are unable to transfer the recorded material, the transfer shall be carried out by the supervising manager.

(3) Stored recordings, in accordance with prescribed procedures, may be used in criminal and misdemeanor proceedings, when documenting the application of police powers, for analysis during the conduct of ongoing training for the improvement of police work, and in internal proceedings.

(4) Recorded data may be accessed, with the assistance of a technical expert, only by authorized persons of the Police Administration, the Ministry, namely immediate supervisors and police officers from the Professional Standards Unit, the Internal Control Department, as well as those police officers who are tasked with reviewing a specific intervention or police power in accordance with legal regulations.

(5) For the purpose of internal proceedings, a stored recording shall be used with the prior consent of the head of the Professional Standards Unit in the Police Administration, with notification to the Public Complaints Committee of the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton, while for the purpose of justifying the use of force or other applied powers, stored data may be used with the approval of the head of the basic organizational unit or the head of the Uniformed Police Sector.

If the recordings are not used in the proceedings listed above, they will be automatically deleted within six months from the date of their creation.