# Van Buren Body-Worn and Mobile Video Policies Two produced policies govern Van Buren's recording system. Policy 2.34 is the WatchGuard-specific BWC policy implemented 2021-06-30 and revised/reviewed 2025-08-21. Policy 4.04 is the broader MVR policy implemented 2017-02-01, revised 2022-09-15, and reviewed 2025-06-17. Both editions name Chief [[Jonathan Wear]] as authority. ## WatchGuard architecture and activation Policy 2.34 defines WatchGuard as the vendor providing body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, and data storage. It says: > `"WatchGuard BWCs do not automatically activate. Officers must intentionally start the recording unless triggered by the ICC camera or nearby BWC activation."` Trigger events include emergency lights or siren, a preset vehicle speed, a crash, or manual activation. The system retains one minute of pre-event video, with no audio before the trigger (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 2). The policy defines Evidence Library as a dedicated server owned by Van Buren Police Department, while the same page separately describes WatchGuard as providing data storage (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 2). The production does not reconcile local-server ownership with the VideoManager EL storage locations shown elsewhere. ## Record After the Fact Policy 2.34 describes [[Record After the Fact (RAF)]] as a proprietary WatchGuard capability that lets a master administrator retrieve audio/video even when the camera was not in active mode (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, pp. 2, 8). It limits access to the Master System Administrator after chief approval, requires a written justification and follow-up memo, requires notice to officers whose image or voice was included, and requires a semiannual chief's audit of RAF accesses (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 8). ## Supervision and deletion - Lieutenants must conduct at least one administrative BWC review per officer each quarter and document it in BlueTeam (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 8). - An officer may request deletion of an unintentional non-enforcement recording; approval requires a memo and two-party authorization, and deletion documentation must be stored in BlueTeam (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, pp. 8-9). - Supervisors may not review recordings without cause or solely to search for unrelated policy violations (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 9). ## Retention schedules Policy 2.34 says recordings will be archived for at least thirty days, with category periods ranging from seven days to three years (`Policy 2.34 Body Worn Cameras.pdf`, p. 10). Policy 4.04 defines its scope as: > `"all departmental Mobile Video Recording (MVR) equipment and data including but not limited to vehicle devices, body worn devices and independently held devices"` and then requires MVR data to: > `"Be stored for a minimum of 10 years."` Recordings concerning rape or sexual crimes are retained twenty-five years; homicide and violent-crime recordings are retained indefinitely (`Policy 4.04 Mobile Video Recording.pdf`, pp. 1-2). > [!contradiction] Overlapping scopes and different minimums > The broad MVR policy expressly reaches body-worn devices and sets a ten-year minimum, while the later BWC policy and the selected `Online Video` configuration use substantially shorter categories. The records do not state that one policy supersedes the other or show whether `Offline archive` implements the longer rule. See [[T045 - Van Buren Ten-Year MVR Policy vs Shorter VideoManager Retention Rules]]. ## Open questions - Which policy controls each device, category, storage tier, and legal hold. - RAF access requests, approvals, notices, and semiannual audit records. - Quarterly BlueTeam administrative-review records and deletion requests/approvals. - Full storage topology, retention configuration, purge logs, and offline-archive rules.