| 1 | 1 | | 84R13150 RMA-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Wu H.R. No. 1349 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Across the nation, law enforcement agencies are |
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| 7 | 7 | | employing body-worn camera systems to promote even greater |
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| 8 | 8 | | transparency in the interactions between police officers and the |
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| 9 | 9 | | public and to ensure procedural justice; in many cases, however, |
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| 10 | 10 | | guidelines have not been fully developed to consider privacy and |
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| 11 | 11 | | security concerns caused by the use of cameras; and |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Body cameras have been shown to enhance officer |
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| 13 | 13 | | professionalism and to dramatically decrease use-of-force |
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| 14 | 14 | | incidents; moreover, the technology has helped agencies in |
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| 15 | 15 | | evaluating officer performance and in developing training tools for |
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| 16 | 16 | | tactics, communication, and customer service, resulting in fewer |
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| 17 | 17 | | public complaints filed against police departments; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, In addition to advancing policing practices, body |
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| 19 | 19 | | cameras have proven to be invaluable resources in investigations |
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| 20 | 20 | | and court proceedings by providing video evidence of unlawful |
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| 21 | 21 | | activity and crime scenes and footage of victim statements; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, While body cameras benefit myriad aspects of our |
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| 23 | 23 | | justice system, it is incumbent on law enforcement agencies to |
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| 24 | 24 | | implement policies that safeguard the rights of officers and |
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| 25 | 25 | | citizens alike; now, therefore, be it |
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| 26 | 26 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 27 | 27 | | Legislature hereby request the speaker of the house to create an |
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| 28 | 28 | | interim committee to study issues relating to police body camera |
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| 29 | 29 | | equipment, including network and equipment security, records |
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| 30 | 30 | | retention, preservation, and privacy rights; and, be it further |
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| 31 | 31 | | RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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| 32 | 32 | | its findings and recommendations, to the House of Representatives |
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| 33 | 33 | | of the 85th Texas Legislature before it convenes in January 2017. |
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