NC Troopers and Sheriffs Associations Praise Law Enforcement Bill Providing Uniform Guidelines and Transparency | Eastern NC Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     The North Carolina Troopers Association and the North Carolina Sheriffs Association are applauding bipartisan legislation recently signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory that sets uniform guidelines to promote transparency while protecting law enforcement officers, victims and the community.

• The North Carolina Troopers Association extends its appreciation and thanks to Governor McCrory for once again supporting law enforcement for establishing guidelines related to the release of dash and body camera footage. This bipartisan piece of legislation sets an appropriate framework for the disclosure of law enforcement footage while creating improved transparency and trust.
• We also thank the Governor for his investments providing funding for dash and body cams to law enforcement. This Association firmly believes that despite the law's detractors, this framework provides a fair opportunity for those wishing to obtain footage and a balance for disclosure. These rules establish clear guidelines and provides more disclosure than current law.
• We thank Governor McCrory and those in the General Assembly who worked with law enforcement agencies across the state to construct this legislation. North Carolina is a safer and more secure place to live because of Governor McCrory and his leadership.

• [Prior] provisions of law were dispersed in the General Statutes, were difficult to interpret and difficult to apply, often being subject to multiple and conflicting interpretations.
• [House Bill 972] places all of the applicable law into one statute, that is written in easy to understand and easy to implement language, that provides far more disclosure than under the prior law. The new law also provides a simple procedure for viewing or obtaining a copy of a video in appropriate circumstances. If a difference of opinion exists about whether or not release of a particular video is appropriate, then the decision gets made by a "neutral and detached" judicial official (i.e. a judge) based on specific criteria clearly listed in the new law. The new law enables the judge to consider the reasons that support the release of the video and to also consider the personal privacy of individuals depicted in the video, the need to not jeopardize a criminal investigation and other factors of importance to the decision.
• House Bill 972 strikes the appropriate balance between the public's desire for access to recordings, the privacy rights of the persons depicted in the videos and law enforcement's responsibility to maintain public safety in order to keep our citizens and residents safe. For these reasons, the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association supported as a high priority the enactment into law of House Bill 972.

    This week the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association also expressed support for the legislation for providing "important and uniform guidelines that will provide transparency and accountability while ensuring the protection of witnesses, victims, suspects and all citizens as required pursuant to the rule of law." You can read the entire NCPBA press release here.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov