According to most state laws police camera footage can be obtained upon request, provided that suspected crimes are not part of an active investigation.
The biggest recent changes to video footage laws relate to the widespread introduction of police officer body cameras. Both dashboard cameras and body worn cameras can be used in trials, helping develop a case against suspected criminals, or proving their innocence.
After a recorded incident, state law considers dash cam videos beneficial for a criminal investigation. However, the time it takes to obtain police dash cam footage varies from state to state.
Related Article: Are Dash Cams Legal? – Dash Cam Laws By State
How Long Do Police Keep Video Evidence?
In the United States, police departments generally keep dash cam video for 30 to 180 days before they are deleted. However, some states have laws surrounding dash cam videos that extend up to 36 months, or 3 years.
This happens because most dash cams are only used for traffic violations, and these investigations are typically closed within two months. Even if law restricts the length of time police officers may store dash cameras, they may be able to obtain exemptions for cases that take longer than usual to handle.
If you want to know how long your local police agency will store dash cam videos, you’ll need to contact them or your local governing municipality. Police staff can also address inquiries about individual recordings.
Regulations concerning the duration law enforcement agencies can keep video evidence varies between jurisdiction. It also depends on the severity of the criminal investigation.
Dash Cam Video Laws Vary By Jurisdiction
Various states have complex regulations and strict written informational law regarding dash cam data, such as law enforcement agencies that consider dash cams the same as body cams. Some states even require their police departments to store dash cam data and delete it after a specific duration.
Many police agencies store dash cam video for at least 30 months if they have a legitimate cause. This allows them to bring it trial, get a judgement from the court, and resolve any appeals.
In the event of difficult or exceptional cases that might take years to resolve, police may hold footage indefinitely until trial. In other situations, you can ask the court to erase any video data that you have that was taken in patrol cars to get the video deleted sooner.
Typical Timeline for Video Storage
Common ranges: Police departments typically delete camera videos within 30 to 40 days. However, most officers with an arrest caught on camera, will keep dash cam videos for criminal cases.
The common time range of police dashcams is generally between 1 and 6 months. In most cases officers involved won’t keep the entire video and instead only save a portion, such as an arrest or camera proof of someone breaking the law.
Instead, they saved the block of time that an incident occurred and delete the rest. The average length is usually around 15 minutes.
FAQs
Who Can Legally Access Dash Camera Footage?
In the U.S. dash cam footage governed by state privacy laws determine exactly whom can watch and view the footage. Some police dash cam videos collected are exclusively accessible to police departments and the person who was filmed.
Almost everyone believes in public access and transparency for promoting fair police operations. Some police dash cam work never comes under state open record laws, especially if they aren’t being utilized in a lawsuit. Therefore, you wouldn’t be able to acquire or access them unless you have a compelling reason.
What’s A Compelling Reason to Access Police Dash Cam Videos?
For a member of the general public, the reason would relate to being involved in a relevant court case. For example, if law enforcement officers file a claim against you and you suspect they recorded dash cam footage of the event, you (or the attorney representing you) can request that video from the police department. Check out our step by step guide on how to request dash cam footage if you haven’t already.
There isn’t currently a federal law in place defining ‘good cause’ for requesting dash cam video. One police department may keep dash cam videos forever and require acceptance of disclosure policies before the ability to view the video, while another lets you view the footage freely.
Why Don’t Police Keep Camera Evidence Forever?
Storing 8 to 12 hours of footage for every member of the police force is expensive. Police Body Cameras are extremely common, in fact, 47% of general-purpose law enforcement agencies had acquired body-worn cameras; for large police departments, that number is 80%.
While most officers are not in a car with the dash cam recording every second of their shifts, they still work a 40-hour week and record a lot of dash cam videos.
Typically a video is deleted when the time has passed and then deleted as long as there are not enough reasons to continue an investigation.
The ACLU has urged the police force to remove all video clips for 30 days from their systems if necessary. This allows States to decide on their own rules,
What’s The Cost To Store Dash Cam Footage?
The costs associated with recording dash cam footage vary widely depending on the amount of footage stored. According to estimates a typical police officer in the United States is capturing around 6GB per hour (1080p) or 48GB daily from dashboard cameras, even with loop recording saving storage space.
Let’s assume police departments are using cloud storage instead of SD cards since that’s the cheaper option. Based on Google Cloud monthly pricing, 1 GB costs $0.020 (Dallas), meaning a police officer working 40 hours per week records 1,440GB, which cost police $28.80 per month. Depending on the size of the law enforcement agency, departments could be spending ten’s of thousands of dollars per month just to store one month worth of video footage.
Potentially costing millions annually, and even more if there’s court orders or a criminal charge pending. It’s even crazier to think that most states employ over a million officers so the cost at the state level is massive. The icing on the cake is realizing that this is only dash cams, body worn cameras record even longer. Most law enforcement officers use both. You can see why the legality is dependent on the ongoing investigation and criminal cases at hand, as well as local legislation and information laws.
With so many departments using dash cams on a regular basis, you can see why different states have implemented different laws around the storage of file size data from dash cams.
Why Do Officers Need Dash Camera Footage?
Dashcam footage is important for police departments as well as individuals. Such footage is necessary since it’s becoming harder to monitor police behavior. Dash cams can be used to monitor police officers activities. If an officer told their superior one story but the camera tells a different one, there will undoubtedly be an ongoing investigation.
Cameras have helped for years, as a way of recording traffic stops and other events which could be controversial. Camera evidence have been used to prove police misconduct for years before being accepted by officers.
Why Does The Public Need Dash Camera Evidence?
Unless you were arrested or pulled over, you are unlikely to require police dash cam footage. If you are pulled over but think you did nothing wrong, the evidence can assist you in proving your innocence.
Before stopping, an officer will usually follow at a distance. If you broke a law, this film would give the court proof via dash cam.
Summary – How Long Do Police Keep Dash Cam Videos?
There’s currently no over-arching federal law for officers dash cam footage, so each individual states law differ greatly. In one jurisdiction, they’re keeping videos for however long police want, while some have video deleted immediately. Others have restrictions on how long an officer can keep specific videos, unless it’s arrest evidence used in a criminal charge.
The general public’s use of local police department dash cam videos is controversial worldwide. In other countries, police keep dash cam videos completely private.
Thanks for reading our article about how long do police keep dash cam videos. As annoying as it sounds, the legislation surrounding police video data in certain circumstances isn’t set in stone. Instead it is dependent on the active investigation and evidence at hand!
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