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Fees for police body camera footage lead to 'pretty steep' charges thanks to new law
Source: Arizona Mirror
By: Jerod MacDonald-Evoy - September 3, 2024
Public records advocates say an Arizona law that allows police departments to charge hourly rates to review body-worn camera footage before releasing it is leading to massive fees for the public and potentially illegal charges.
But the law’s main proponent said that’s just a sign that it’s working as intended, because the whole point was to charge enough money for the video to deter frivolous requests.
Last year, the Arizona legislature passed a measure that allows any county, city, town or political subdivision of the state to enact a one-time fee of $46 “per video-hour reviewed” for public records requests to law enforcement agencies that seek footage from body-worn cameras.
The measure, by Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh, a former New York police officer, was passed largely along party lines and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in June 2023.
But the law’s main proponent said that’s just a sign that it’s working as intended, because the whole point was to charge enough money for the video to deter frivolous requests.
Last year, the Arizona legislature passed a measure that allows any county, city, town or political subdivision of the state to enact a one-time fee of $46 “per video-hour reviewed” for public records requests to law enforcement agencies that seek footage from body-worn cameras.
The measure, by Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh, a former New York police officer, was passed largely along party lines and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in June 2023.
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The weaponization of the public records process has become a concern for many local governments, as groups have flooded them with a variety of requests, often related to culture war issues or the election, that take up a vast amount of time and money.
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