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Audit of body camera footage shows limited oversight. APD says they're implementing changes

Austin police rolled out their body camera program fully eight months ago. But after an audit shows places to improve, the APD says they're making changes.

AUSTIN, Texas — Police body cameras give us a glimpse of what officers go through every day, like water rescues. They also help hold our officers accountable but, in many cases, no one's ever looking at the video, according to a draft of an audit done by the City.

The draft was presented at Austin's audit and finance committee meeting Tuesday. The audit looked at 151 videos, a small sample taken by the body cameras every APD officer wears over a six-month period.

"I'm proud of the results that were presented today," said Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon.

Here are some of the results he's talking about:

Credit: TEGNA

Of the 151 videos, all had the camera in the correct spot and worked no matter what the weather was. All but one recorded the correct audio as well.

This means APD, if needed, could go back and see what happened in these instances. But there were also some less-than-ideal results.

Credit: TEGNA

A total of 4% of the videos had the lens blocked for an extended time. This does not count the minor blockages from moving hands. This 4% represents six videos, Chacon said. Five of those had to deal with a clothing issue involving outer coats or safety vests. Both of those issues have resulted in changes. 

The last was because of how an officer was writing a ticket. This led to a teaching moment, Chacon said.

The audit also showed 11% of the 151 did not have a 30-second pre-record required by the program. And 3% started late while 4% ended before the event was over.

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"You know, we do the very best that we can," said Chacon. "These are human officers moving around and stuff and we've been very good about capturing good video."

But one of the major issues that the audit found had nothing to do with the videos themselves, rather the oversight APD has on the footage.

Credit: TEGNA

Of the 151 videos, only one had ever been checked by a supervisor, even though they're supposed to review footage with officers once a quarter. This has led Chacon to implement a new group, which will better oversee the changes needed for the body camera program. Also, the quarterly review has changed for officers and now involves the checking of clips.

"There were problems that were found in the audit that were rightfully found," said Chacon. "We have instituted processes since to ensure that all of those supervisors are conducting those audits."

The audit also suggested that APD keeps a better record of when this footage is requested by media, which Chacon said was implemented directly after the meeting on Tuesday.

The department has also made every change described in the draft of the audit.

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