Policy 450 - Use of Digital Audio Recorders (DAR) - City of Anaheim

Policy 

450 

Anaheim Police Department 

Policy Manual 

Use of Digital Audio Recorders (DAR) 

450.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE 

The Anaheim Police Department recognizes that audio and video recording of contacts 

between Department personnel and the public provides an objective record of these events, 

and that the use of a recording system complements field personnel in the performance 

of their duties by providing a digital record of enforcement and investigative field contacts 

which can enhance criminal prosecutions and limit civil liabilities. A recording of an event 

or contact also enables the delivery of timely, relevant and appropriate training to maximize 

safety for our personnel and improve the provision of services to the community. 

The Department has provided digital audio recorders (DAR) to uniformed personnel for use 

while on-duty. These recorders are intended to assist personnel in the performance of their 

duties by providing an audio record of a contact. All enforcement and investigative contacts, 

as well as all contacts specifically related to a call for service, will be recorded to ensure 

we collect the best evidence for criminal investigations. These recordings will also protect 

personnel from false accusations and will be instrumental in resolving citizen complaints. 

450.2 UNIFORMED PERSONNEL: EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES 

Prior to going into service, each uniformed employee who has been issued a recorder will 

be responsible for making sure the DAR is in proper working order. Uniformed personnel 

assigned to field and enforcement duties during regular and extra duty assignments shall 

wear the recorder in an approved holder conspicuously mounted on their utility belt unless 

an alternate carry location is otherwise approved by a supervisor. 

Each employee is responsible for maintaining his/her own recordings until the audio files 

are downloaded. Personnel will download their digital audio files by the end of each work 

shift/event unless there is a need to download the recording sooner. Recordings made at 

extra duty events will be downloaded on or prior to the employee's next work shift. 

Employees are responsible for downloading their digital audio recordings into their Mobile 

Data Computers (MDC's) from the PUMA device. When the MDC is in proximity of 

the Main Police Station, the files will automatically be transferred from the MDC to the 

Department server. Recorded audio files can also be downloaded by accessing any 

Department computer connected to the network. 

Each employee will be responsible for the use, care, and cleaning of his / her assigned 

recorder. Malfunctioning recorders should be turned in to a supervisor immediately, and a 

replacement recorder will be provided. 

450.3 NON-UNIFORMED OFFICER; OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES 

Any detective/officer/investigator assigned to a non-uniformed position may carry a 

departmentally issued audio recorder at any time the officer believes that such a device 

may be beneficial to the situation. Detectives/officers who have digital audio recorders that 

are compatible with the PUMA software system are encouraged to download their audio 

files into the digital recording database. 

Each detective/officer shall be responsible for maintaining his/her own recordings until the 

media are either full or placed into evidence/safekeeping. 

Adopted: 2013/05/13 © 1995-2013 Lexipol, LLC 

Use of Digital Audio Recorders (DAR) - 289




Field Training Officers who are wearing civilian clothing during the "shadow phase" are not 

required to wear a recorder, but may do so if they wish. However, they are still responsible 

for ensuring that their assigned trainee is recording all contacts. 

450.4 ACTIVATION OF THE AUDIO RECORDER 

All enforcement and investigative contacts, as well as all contacts specifically related to a 

call for service by uniformed personnel both sworn and non-sworn, will be recorded. This 

includes but is not limited to: all traffic stops; victim, suspect and witness interviews; and 

other citizen contacts related to calls for service. 

Penal Code § 632 prohibits an individual from surreptitiously recording a conversation in 

which any party to the conversation has a reasonable belief that the conversation is private 

or confidential, however Penal Code § 633 expressly exempts law enforcement from this 

prohibition during the course of a criminal investigation. 

(a) No member of this department may surreptitiously record a conversation of any other 

member of this department without the express knowledge and consent of all parties. 

Nothing in this section is intended to interfere with an officer's right to openly record 

any interrogation pursuant to Government Code § 3303(g). 

(b) Any member of this department may surreptitiously record any conversation during 

the course of a criminal investigation if the officer reasonably believes that such a 

recording will be beneficial to the investigation. 

1. For the purpose of this policy, any officer contacting an individual suspected of 

violating any law or during the course of any official law enforcement related 

activity shall be presumed to be engaged in a criminal investigation. This 

presumption shall not apply to contacts with other employees conducted solely 

for administrative purposes. 

At no time should a Department employee jeopardize his/her safety in order to activate a 

DAR or change the recording media. 

Employees are prohibited from utilizing department issued DARs and recording media for 

personal use. 

450.4.1 STATEMENTS AND REPORTING 

All victim, witness and suspect statements recorded and included in a report shall be 

identified as such for future use. 

(a) To assist in future retrieval of a statement in the event it is needed for prosecution 

purposes, report narratives shall include: 

1. whether a statement was recorded; 

2. whether that statement was downloaded as evidence; 

3. by whom it was recorded; and 

4. time and date of the recording. 

(b) Whenever any employee believes a particular contact may lead to a citizen complaint, 

he/she should bring the contact to the attention of his/her immediate supervisor or the 

Bureau/ Watch Commander. 






450.5 RETENTION OF RECORDING MEDIA 

Whenever a Department employee records any portion of a contact which could constitute 

evidence in a criminal case, the employee will mark the recording as evidence in the Puma 

System. The officer will also enter the related case number (GO#) along with the employee's 

current detail/assignment, and download the digital recording into the digital database. 

For those contacts which do not constitute evidence in a criminal matter, but the employee 

wishes to identify a particular contact, he or she should use the "Notes" section in Puma 

and include the date and time of the contact in question. 

Recorded media placed into Evidence shall be retained through the final disposition of the 

related criminal case. All files other than those designated as Evidence will be purged after 

two (2) years. Regardless of the date of the disposition of the criminal case, no file(s) will be 

purged sooner than two (2) years from the date of the recording. The Records Administrator 

will oversee the retention of all DAR recordings and ensure there is no pending litigation 

prior to the purging of recordings. 

450.6 REVIEW OF RECORDED MEDIA FILES 

Recorded files may be reviewed in any of the following situations and by the following 

personnel: 

(a) Except as prohibited under 450.6(i) below: 

1. By the employee(s) who originally recorded the incident. 

2. If multiple officers or employees are involved in an incident, the recording(s) of 

that incident can be made available to those officers / employees; 

(b) By a supervisor investigating specific conduct of a department employee; 

(c) By a supervisor / manager for audit/inspection purposes; 

(d) By members of the City Attorney's office in connection with pending litigation; 

(e) Upon approval by a supervisor / manager, by a Department employee who is 

conducting an official investigation such as a personnel, administrative or criminal 

investigation; 

(f) Pursuant to lawful process or by court personnel otherwise authorized to review 

evidence in a related case; 

(g) The Chief of Police or his / her authorized designee may make a recording available 

to the media; 

(h) Third party investigations: In the event a third party law enforcement agency (e.g. 

Orange County District Attorney's Office) is conducting a criminal investigation related 

to an incident involving a Department employee, recordings may be made available 

to that agency. 

(i) The Chief of Police or his / her designee may prohibit the review of any recordings by 

Department employees. 

450.7 DAR RECORDINGS STORAGE & INTEGRITY 

(a) Only authorized users may transfer or copy recordings onto any third party media 

storage device. Examples of a third party media storage device include but are 

not limited to: Compact Disc; floppy disk; portable hard drives; memory sticks; 

thumb-drives; DVD, or other electronic media device. 

(b) No files shall be transferred or sent via email. 






(c) All recordings are considered official Department records and shall not be shared with 

any person not having authorization to access the files as part of their official duties. 

Digital files may not be deleted by any person from the recording device or the archival 

storage media without the authorization of the Watch/Bureau Commander or Program 

Administrator. 

450.8 COPIES OF ORIGINAL STORAGE MEDIA 

A copy of a recording may only be released in response to a valid court order or by approval 

of the Chief of Police or his/her designee. All requests generated by the District Attorney, 

City Attorney and/or a Defense Attorney will be handled by the assigned Investigative Detail. 

Requests for recordings in civil matters will be handled by the Internal Affairs Detail. 

450.9 DAR STORAGE MEDIA AS EVIDENCE 

In exceptional circumstances, the digital recorder may be booked into evidence prior to 

any downloading of media storage. Exceptional circumstances may include a major or 

significant incident; at the direction of a Watch Commander/Bureau Commander or above; 

or in the event the data cannot be downloaded due to a mechanical or technological 

malfunction. If the storage media is booked into evidence, established booking procedures 

shall be followed and referenced in the police report.

Policy 450 - Use of Digital Audio Recorders (DAR) - City of Anaheim

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