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Police filming and audio recording of operations and
events
This chapter contains the following topics:
• Summary
• Recording equipment must be Police-issued and approved
• Benefits for Police of recording operations and events
- Media filming of Police operations and activities
• Approval required for wearing body worn cameras or recording devices
- Covert body worn cameras and other video recording devices
- Open and observable use of body worn cameras and recording devices
- Fitting devices to vehicles
• Use of Police-issued smartphones and tablets
• Use of TASER cameras (Tasercam)
• Privately owned mobile telephones and cameras should not be used
• What can be recorded or filmed?
• Audio recording of interactions with the public
• Securing images taken on smartphones, tablets or personal cell phones
- Procedures for downloading and securing images
• Public photographs of Police activities
Summary
This chapter outlines:
• Police policies relating to covert and open and observable video and audio recording
by Police of Police operations and events
• approval requirements before operations and events may be recorded, including the
need for approved equipment to be used
• the circumstances in which privately owned mobile phone recording applications and
cameras may be used for Police purposes
• the circumstances in which Police-issued smartphones or tablets may be used to
record photographic and video images
• requirements for ensuring any images taken will be accepted by the court as reliable
evidence.
This chapter should be read in conjuction with the Search and Surveilance Act 2012 and
the ‘Search’ chapters of the Police Manual.
Recording equipment must be Police-issued and approved
Where visual or audio recording is approved for particular operations or events, (see
Covert body worn cameras and video recording devices and Open and observable use of
cameras and recording devices above), it should only be carried out using
Police issued
and approved equipment following standard purchasing practices.
All covert recording equipment must be supplied and approved by the TSU. Except for
cameras used by Police photographers and investigators for forensic or investigative
purposes, any other equipment to be used to record Police operations and events must
be approved by the National Manager: Response and Operations.
The requirements outlined in this chapter do not affect existing policies around the
approval and use of cameras and recording equipment by specialist groups such as
Police photographers, CIB, STG, or Road Policing for authorised purposes.
Benefits for Police of recording operations and events
Police routinely use cameras and video recordings in watchhouses, front counters, for
investigations and in public places for road policing purposes. It is also normal practice
for Police to record calls to its’ Communications Centres.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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Photographs, video and audio recordings of Police operations and events can also be
valuable resources for briefings, orders groups, debriefings and subsequent enquiries.
Video recordings are particularly useful for recording instructions or 'cease and desist'
orders by operation commanders to counter subsequent complaints against Police
employees.
Police photographers using still or video cameras may also be approved for deployment
by the operation commander at demonstrations in some situations. (See the ‘Operation
commander’ section in the ‘Demonstrations’ chapter for more information).
Media filming of Police operations and activities
See the ‘Media filming of Police operations’ Police Manual chapter for information about
when media accompanying Police may film Police operations or policing activities.
Approval required for wearing body worn cameras or recording devices
You must have approval before:
• using any body worn camera or recording device (see the sections on covert and open
and observable use below)
• fitting any video recording devices to Police vehicles.
Covert body worn cameras and other video recording devices
Covert body worn cameras, or other covert video recording devices or equipment can
only be used to record policing activities with the prior approval of the Manager: Covert
Operations Group at PNHQ.
Improper or unauthorised use of any covert recording equipment may compromise the
effectiveness of other operations and the safety of Police involved in authorised covert
policing activities. (See ‘Covert backstopping’ in the Police Manual for more information
about using covert resources).
Specialist units such as the STG and AOS have authority to obtain and use covert
equipment specific to their area of policing.
Open and observable use of body worn cameras and recording devices
Employees must not be overtly equipped with or use body worn cameras or other video
recording devices (which may also include audio) to record policing activities without
prior authorisation from the National Manager: Response and Operations.
Authorisation may only be given if the National Manager: Response and Operations is
satisfied that the use of the camera or recording device is for a legitimate policing
purpose and that there are strict controls and adequate safeguards in place to avoid
breaching the Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1993, the New Zealand
Bill of Rights Act 1990, Search and Surveillance Act 2012 and other relevant legislation.
It is expected that any authorisation given will be an individual exception and for a
strictly limited period. This includes projects, trials and evaluations.
(See also Equipment used is to be Police-issued and approved below).
Fitting devices to vehicles
Fitting of overt or covert video recording devices (which may also include audio) or other
equipment to Police vehicles requires additional written approval (to that of the National
Manager: Response and Operations) from the National Advisor: Operational Policy and
Standards, Road Policing Support, PNHQ.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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Use of Police-issued smartphones and tablets
Police-approved smartphones and tablets are being increasingly issued and used for
Police purposes as part of the Policing Excellence Mobility initiative. This chapter does
not impose any additional approval requirements for their issue. However, the guidance
in this chapter for the use of the phone's or tablet’s recording applications applies.
While Smartphones and tablets have photographic, video and voice recording
applications, your first option for the collection of photographic or video evidence should
always be the standard Police procedures, i.e.
using the Police photographer or a
Police-issued digital camera. However, if there is an urgent and identifiable need to
record the evidence and a photographer or Police-issued camera is not available, images
may be recorded on the smartphone tablet using the camera App within the secure
environment.
Follow the procedures for Securing images taken on smartphones, tablets or personal
cell phones if you take any images on a smartphone or tablet. Note however, that there
may be limitations on using these images for evidential purposes later because of the
difficulty of maintaining their original format during the process of downloading/ securing
them.
Use of TASER cameras (Tasercam)
The Electronic Control Device approved for use by the New Zealand Police is the “TASER”
X26 and the “TASER” X2 and their Tasercam records video and audio.
Under no circumstances must the TASER and Tasercam be employed or used in
situations where the sole purpose of the deployment is the gathering of digital video and
audio evidence. (See the ‘TASER (Electronic Control Devices)’ Police Manual chapter for
more information).
Privately owned mobile telephones and cameras should not be used
Images should
not be taken for Police purposes using non-Police issued equipment,
unless there is an urgent and identifiable need to do so, e.g. where vital evidence would
be lost or inclement weather would intervene before a Police owned camera or other
recording device would be available.
Follow the procedures for Securing images taken on smartphones, tablets or personal
cell phones if any images are taken on privately owned devices.
Note however, that there may be limitations on using these images later for evidential
purposes because of the difficulty of maintaining their original format during the process
of downloading/ securing them.
What can be recorded or filmed?
Where approval is given, it is permissible to video record (may include audio) everything
in a public place, or on private property when lawfully present, so long as the employee
records only what they personally see and hear (i.e. you can not leave a camera
recording while you move to another place on private premises out of sight or hearing of
the camera). The video recording may be done overtly or covertly, and with or without
the other party's permission.
Audio recording of interactions with the public
As a general principle, employees should not make audio / voice recordings of
interactions with the public in a public place, however one off exceptional circumstances
may exist to do so, and should only be done if authorised by their District Commander,
National Manager or the National Manager: Response and Operations.
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The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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An example may be where it is necessary to visit a person who is a recidivist
complainant about Police who often distorts what is said. In this circumstance the person
should be advised that the conversation will be recorded to ensure that an accurate
record is kept.
It is permissible to lawfully make audio recordings without warrant, so long as one party
consents. (This is normal permissible practice for the Police Communications Centres and
the like).
Securing images taken on smartphones, tablets or personal cell phones
Images / recordings taken as evidence on Police smartphones, tablets or personal cell
phones are subject to disclosure. It is therefore critical that all images / recordings taken
are downloaded and secured as soon as possible in accordance with the Police Manual
chapter ‘Photography (Forensic imaging)’.
This is to ensure the images / recordings:
• are associated with the appropriate case file and will be disposed of when no longer
required for legitimate policing purposes
• will be accepted by courts as reliable evidence and to minimise the risk of legal
challenges around whether they could have been compromised.
Evidential images / recordings must not be retained on Police smartphones and tablets
or personal cell phones or used for purposes other than for what they were intended.
Procedures for downloading and securing images
Step Action
1
Record details (date, time and location) of the images / recordings in your
notebook.
2
Email or download all images / recordings to a Police computer as soon as
possible after being taken. Ensure the images are saved according to your
local standard operating procedures.
Do not email or download images / recordings taken as evidence to a
personal computer.
The way in which the image should be downloaded will vary depending on the
type of device. Follow the guidance on downloading and securing captured
images to computer in the ‘Digital imaging guidelines’ section of the
‘Photography (Forensic imaging)’ chapter where applicable. However, be
aware that generally, downloading from smartphones, tablets or cell phones
will alter the format and resolution of the image. These issues relating to
evidential quality and reliability may limit the later use of the image for
evidential purposes.
If you are unsure of what to do in any case, seek advice immediately from
your local Photography section.
3
Delete the images from the Police issued smartphone or tablet or privately-
owned cell phone or recording device once they have been downloaded to a
Police computer.
4
Any evidential images taken that are no longer required for legitimate policing
purposes must be disposed of as soon as practicable. The standard retention
and disposal periods apply in cases where the images are retained as part of
Police files.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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Public photographs of Police activities
Occasionally, members of the public film or take photographs of Police employees
carrying out their duties. This is not an offence and you have no power to prevent the
photographs being taken or to seize the camera or digital storage media.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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