SENATE MEMORIAL 98

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Sander Rue

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO STUDY THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INFORMATION COLLECTED WITH BODY-WORN CAMERAS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

     WHEREAS, the recent emergence of the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement has had a positive impact on policing throughout the state, and this impact will increase as more law enforcement agencies adopt this technology; and

     WHEREAS, the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers conveys the message to the public that the actions of law officers are a matter of public record and concern; and

     WHEREAS, the use of body-worn cameras can improve evidence collection, strengthen individual officer performance and accountability, enhance the overall transparency of a law enforcement agency and document encounters between the police and the public to assist in investigation and resolution of complaints and officer-involved incidents; and

     WHEREAS, the use of body-worn cameras is required by the court-approved settlement agreement between the United States department of justice and the city of Albuquerque when Albuquerque police have calls for service involving behavioral concerns; and

     WHEREAS, law enforcement officers are the de facto first responders for behavioral health calls for service in the state; and

     WHEREAS, the Albuquerque police department's real time crime center statistics show that in 2016, the Albuquerque police department and the Bernalillo county sheriff's office responded to seven thousand two hundred thirty-five behavioral health calls in Bernalillo county; and

     WHEREAS, law enforcement records are considered public records, with some exceptions; and 

     WHEREAS, New Mexico emergency medical services guidelines for November 2012 consider patients' health confidential, and providers of both mental health and physical health care are covered under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; and

     WHEREAS, Bernalillo county and the city of Albuquerque are deploying new mobile crisis teams, each of which consists of a law enforcement officer and a behavioral health clinician for behavioral health calls; and

     WHEREAS, it is unclear in the Inspection of Public Records Act whether mental health information gathered in police responses is confidential; and

     WHEREAS, the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers raises important issues of privacy of crime victims, such as domestic abuse and sexual assault victims; and

     WHEREAS, carefully crafted policies on the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers could address the use of this technology throughout the state; and

     WHEREAS, the ability of the public to know and be assured that policies for the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers are well-designed and consistent with the best practices in law enforcement and are fairly implemented is essential to develop community support for their use;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the attorney general be requested to convene a group of stakeholders to study and make recommendations for policy and legislation that would incorporate best practices in law enforcement, protect the mental and physical health information of individuals, protect the privacy of victims of crime and provide the necessary transparency to law enforcement officers to ensure community support for their actions; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the stakeholders include representatives from the New Mexico association of counties, the New Mexico municipal league, the department of health, the children, youth and families department, the aging and long-term services department, the corrections department, the veterans' services department, the behavioral health services division of the human services department, the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative, the administrative office of the district attorneys, the public defender department, the New Mexico criminal defense lawyers association, the New Mexico sheriffs and police association, the New Mexico hospital association, disability rights New Mexico, the national alliance on mental illness New Mexico, the New Mexico coalition against domestic violence, the New Mexico foundation for open government, the American civil liberties union of New Mexico, the Albuquerque police department, the Bernalillo county sheriff's office, the New Mexico state police and at least two members of Native American tribes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the attorney general be requested to report the stakeholders' findings to the appropriate interim legislative committees by December 1, 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the executive director of the New Mexico association of counties, the executive director of the New Mexico municipal league, the director of the administrative office of the district attorneys, the chief public defender, the executive director of the New Mexico foundation for open government, the executive director of the American civil liberties union of New Mexico, the Albuquerque police chief, the Bernalillo county sheriff, the executive director of the New Mexico criminal defense lawyers association, the president of the New Mexico hospital association, the chair of the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative, the executive director of disability rights New Mexico, the executive director of the national alliance on mental illness New Mexico, the executive director of the New Mexico coalition against domestic violence and the secretaries of health, public safety, aging and long-term services, corrections and children, youth and families.

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