Suffolk County Spearheads Efforts to Overcome Inconsistencies with Reviewing, Redaction and Disclosures of Vital Information Obtained from Body Worn Camera Footage.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDA), one of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s offices, serving one of the nation’s largest counties, submits a Category 4 application.   Our Office is seeking funding for a demonstration project to enhance our ability to leverage massive amounts of digital data received from our law enforcement body-worn camera (BWC) apparatus in a timely manner, adhering to New York State’s discovery laws, to improve fairness and promote transparency in policing.  The Office endeavors, through this grant application, to responsively upscale and centralize BWC footage analysis capabilities through a planned recruitment initiative and establishment of a streamlined workflow that runs from police activity to prosecutor disclosure.  With funding, the SCDA will establish a Body Worn Camera Unit, dedicated to the sole tasks of reviewing, redacting and collecting all BWC evidence.  The remainder of the funding will be used to equip members of the BWCU with all technology needed to complete their tasks.  The BWCU will become a data collector reporting body and a bank of information to be studied by the SCDA and shared with other beneficiaries as time progresses, such as colleague prosecuting agencies, local law enforcement and beyond.  

The office is in constant communication with county government, (which will be responsible for financing sustainability), as well as county and state law enforcement agencies, which will be responsible for data supply.  Through the BWCU, the SCDA seeks to remain on track with the fast-paced criminal discovery deadlines set out under New York State law.  While the SCDA is currently able to collect BWC evidence, it lacks the ability to properly redact, study and disclose the same in a timely manner, sometimes resulting in suppression of BWC evidence.  By producing timely redacted BWC evidence, the SCDA seeks to promote transparency and increase fair and equitable outcomes to its criminal cases.