H.B. 937
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
May 11, 2021
SESSION 2021 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH40607-NDa-140A
Short Title: Automatic Police Body Cam Analysis. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Alexander.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS OF POLICE BODY-WORN
3 CAMERA RECORDINGS TO FLAG CERTAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMPROVE OFFICER
4 TRAINING AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS.
5 Whereas, less than 0.1% of police body-worn camera data is ever reviewed despite
6 the data being rich with insights to improve policing; and
7 Whereas, the sheer volume of recorded body-worn camera footage makes it
8 impossible for humans to analyze; and
9 Whereas, making body-worn camera audio conversations searchable by utilizing
10 natural language processing will make automated review of the body-worn camera footage
11 possible; and
12 Whereas, respectfulness and de-escalation are interaction dimensions that can greatly
13 enhance community trust and help repair the damaged relations between police and communities;
14 and
15 Whereas, the automated review of body-worn camera footage audio will allow for
16 enhanced training opportunities and increased officer accountability based upon respectfulness
17 and de-escalation; and
18 Whereas, body-worn camera analytics is the product of processing audio between law
19 enforcement officers and civilians to generate respectfulness and de-escalation metrics and
20 reports; and
21 Whereas, these body-worn camera analytics reports can be used to improve
22 community policing and officer training by allowing law enforcement agencies to review the use
23 or misuse of respectfulness and de-escalation; Now, therefore,
24 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
25 SECTION 1. G.S. 132-1.4A reads as rewritten:
26 "§ 132-1.4A. Law enforcement agency recordings.
27 (a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
28 …
29 (1a) Body-worn camera analytics. – Respectfulness and de-escalation metrics and
30 reports generated from the processing of audio from body-worn camera
31 recordings between officers and civilians.
32 …
33 (4a) Flag. – A complaint, firearm discharge, death, arrest, or investigation of an
34 officer within a body-worn camera recording.
35 (4b) Flagging. – The process of a natural language processing technology
36 identifying a flag during the review of a body-worn camera recording.
*DRH40607-NDa-140A*
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021
1 (4c) Natural language processing. – A branch of artificial intelligence that helps
2 computers understand, interpret, and manipulate human language.
3 …
4 (b) Public Record and Personnel Record Classification. – Recordings are not public
5 records as defined by G.S. 132-1. Recordings are not personnel records as defined in Part 7 of
6 Chapter 126 of the General Statutes, G.S. 160A-168, or G.S. 153A-98.
7 (b1) Automatically Scan and Flag Body-Worn Camera Recordings Using Natural
8 Language Processing Technologies. – Body-worn camera recordings shall be searchable using
9 artificial intelligence in order to allow automated reviews to take place and body-worn camera
10 analytics to be created. Natural language processing technologies may be used to review
11 body-worn camera recordings, identify flags, and create body-worn camera analytics that can be
12 used to improve community policing and officer training with a focus on the misuse of
13 respectfulness and de-escalation in community interactions.
14 Following a review of body-camera recordings pursuant to this subsection, any video that is
15 flagged shall be retained by the custodial law enforcement agency for no less than two years.
16 Under no circumstances shall a flagged video be altered, hindered, obstructed, manipulated,
17 distorted, or edited in any way.
18 Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, body-worn camera analytics created
19 pursuant to this subsection shall be retained by the custodial law enforcement agency for a
20 minimum of 90 days. After 90 days, the body-worn camera analytics may be retained for training
21 purposes or destroyed.
22 No later than January 1, 2024, each law enforcement agency in the State that utilizes
23 body-worn cameras shall implement a natural language processing technology review protocol
24 that can identify flags within body-worn camera recordings. The natural language processing
25 review protocol shall, at a minimum, do each of the following:
26 (1) Transcribe and make searchable the audio component of all body-worn
27 camera recordings.
28 (2) Utilize machine learning analysis or similar technology to produce daily,
29 weekly, monthly, and yearly reports of body-worn camera analytics for each
30 law enforcement officer and each custodial law enforcement agency regarding
31 the use of respectfulness and de-escalation in all community interactions,
32 which shall be reviewed by managers of custodial law enforcement agencies.
33 (3) Send automated alerts to custodial law enforcement agency management
34 when respectfulness and de-escalation drops below the minimum threshold
35 set by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards
36 Commission, indicating high levels of law enforcement officer aggression.
37 Each law enforcement agency in the State that utilizes body-worn cameras shall provide, at
38 a minimum, quarterly training regarding incidents or behavior flagged in recordings in order to
39 address behavior that is repetitive or extreme. No later than April 1 of each year, each of these
40 law enforcement agencies shall report to the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and
41 Training Standards Commission a summary of each quarterly training it provided in the previous
42 year, any corrective action taken in the previous year to increase respectfulness and de-escalation,
43 and the number of law enforcement officer interactions in each of the previous two years that did
44 not meet the minimum standards of respectfulness and de-escalation set by the North Carolina
45 Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission pursuant to this subsection.
46 The North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission shall be
47 responsible for determining the criteria of respectfulness and de-escalation that shall be used by
48 natural language processing technology to identify flags in body-worn camera recordings
49 pursuant to this subsection. In addition, the Commission shall set the threshold for when a law
50 enforcement agency shall initiate corrective or disciplinary actions against a law enforcement
51 officer as a result of flagged recordings found pursuant to reviews under this subsection.
Page 2 DRH40607-NDa-140A
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021
1 …."
2 SECTION 2.(a) Grant Program. – There is appropriated from the General Fund to
3 the Governor's Crime Commission within the Department of Public Safety the sum of three
4 million dollars ($3,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for each year of the 2021-2023 fiscal
5 biennium to provide grants to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of purchasing natural
6 language processing technologies and developing natural language processing technology review
7 protocols to comply with the requirements of Section 1 of this act.
8 SECTION 2.(b) Maximum Amount. – A grant provided under this section shall not
9 exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
10 SECTION 2.(c) Guidelines. – The Governor's Crime Commission shall develop
11 guidelines and procedures for the administration and distribution of grants under this section.
12 SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2024, and applies to
13 body-worn camera recordings made on or after that date. Section 2 of this act becomes effective
14 July 1, 2021. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
DRH40607-NDa-140A Page 3
Statutes affected: Filed: 132-1.4A
Edition 1: 132-1.4A