Now that the Starke County Sheriff’s Department has body cameras in use, an ordinance was considered by the Starke County Commissioners last week that regulates requests of body camera recordings to the public.
The written request must be specific to the date, time and location of a particular incident and the name of at least one individual, other than the law enforcement officer, who was directly involved in the incident. The material will be made available to the petitioner within 21 days following the submission of the formal request.
Certain images may be redacted from the requested recording per state statute ( IC 5-14-3-4).
The fee for the recording is $150. That fee will go into a line item in the budget to be used for the purchase of equipment for use with the recording program, for training concerning law enforcement recordings, and to defray the expenses of storing, producing, and copying law enforcement recordings.
The commissioners approved the ordinance with a unanimous vote. It becomes effective 30 days after it is published.
