This report of the Body Worn Camera Workgroup (Workgroup) was prepared in accordance with Item 391.E of the 2021 Appropriation Act (2021 Spec. Sess. I Acts Ch. 552), which provides as follows:

E.1. The Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security shall continue the expanded work group established in Item 381 of Chapter 854, 2019 Acts of Assembly. The expanded work group shall examine the workload impact, as well as other fiscal and policy impacts, on the Commonwealth's public safety and judicial agencies as a whole. The Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court shall submit the recommendations of the working group to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by November 15, 2021. All state agencies and local subdivisions shall provide assistance as requested by the working group.

2. The expanded workgroup shall include representatives of the Supreme Court, the State Compensation Board, staff of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, Department of Criminal Justice Services, Commonwealth's Attorneys, local governments, and other stakeholders deemed appropriate by the Secretary.

3. Prior to the preparation of the November 15, 2021 report, each Commonwealth's Attorney's office in a locality that employs body worn cameras, in conjunction with the law enforcement agency using body worn cameras, shall report to the Compensation Board and the workgroup the following information on a quarterly basis, in a format prescribed by the Board:

a. The number of hours of body worn camera video footage received from their law enforcement agencies. The number of hours should additionally be broken down into corresponding categories of felonies, misdemeanors and traffic offenses. Any recorded event that results in charges for two or more of the above categories shall be reported in the most serious category;

b. The number of hours spent in the course of redacting videos; and

c. Any other data determined relevant and necessary by the workgroup for this analysis.

The Workgroup was tasked with studying the workload impact, as well as other fiscal and policy impacts, on the Commonwealth’s public safety and judicial agencies from the use of body worn cameras. This report represents the continuation of the work began by the State Compensation Board pursuant to Item 73.U of the 2018 Appropriation Act (2018 Spec. Sess. I Acts Ch. 2). For a comprehensive review of the background that led to the initial study of body worn cameras by the State Compensation Board and the subsequent study by the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, see the State Compensation Board’s 2018 report, Workgroup Study of the Impact of Body Worn Cameras on Workload in Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Offices.