New York City's police department has consistently failed to meet its own deadlines for releasing body-worn camera footage of police encounters. An audit by the comptroller's office found that the department was slow to respond to requests, often only turning over footage after an appeal from the requester.
The audit, which covered requests made between 2020 and 2024 under New York's freedom of information law, revealed that in many cases, the department took months to comply with requests. In some instances, it didn't even meet its own internal deadline of 95 business days.
Comptroller Brad Lander said that the lack of transparency undermines the purpose of body-worn cameras, which are meant to increase accountability and improve policing practices. "With proper oversight, body-worn cameras are a tool for gathering evidence, strengthening accountability, improving policing practices, and building trust," he said. "Without proper oversight, it's just a hunk of metal."
The audit also found that the department wasn't regularly checking whether officers were activating their cameras as required. The review suggested that this was a major oversight, with investigators finding that in nearly all cases where footage was denied, it was later granted after an appeal.
In response to the audit, the NYPD agreed to several recommendations aimed at improving transparency and oversight of body-worn camera footage. However, the department's deputy commissioner, Kristine M. Ryan, took issue with the audit's methodology and conclusions, arguing that using 2020 data as a reference was methodologically flawed.
The audit also found that the department didn't accurately track the number of times officers were activating their cameras correctly or incorrectly. It estimated that in around 18% of cases, officers weren't following the correct procedure for videotaping encounters.
Despite these findings, the NYPD has made some improvements, including agreeing to increase staffing at its Legal Bureau and investigating lower activation rates at certain precincts. However, more work remains to be done to ensure that body-worn camera footage is turned over in a timely and transparent manner.
The audit, which covered requests made between 2020 and 2024 under New York's freedom of information law, revealed that in many cases, the department took months to comply with requests. In some instances, it didn't even meet its own internal deadline of 95 business days.
Comptroller Brad Lander said that the lack of transparency undermines the purpose of body-worn cameras, which are meant to increase accountability and improve policing practices. "With proper oversight, body-worn cameras are a tool for gathering evidence, strengthening accountability, improving policing practices, and building trust," he said. "Without proper oversight, it's just a hunk of metal."
The audit also found that the department wasn't regularly checking whether officers were activating their cameras as required. The review suggested that this was a major oversight, with investigators finding that in nearly all cases where footage was denied, it was later granted after an appeal.
In response to the audit, the NYPD agreed to several recommendations aimed at improving transparency and oversight of body-worn camera footage. However, the department's deputy commissioner, Kristine M. Ryan, took issue with the audit's methodology and conclusions, arguing that using 2020 data as a reference was methodologically flawed.
The audit also found that the department didn't accurately track the number of times officers were activating their cameras correctly or incorrectly. It estimated that in around 18% of cases, officers weren't following the correct procedure for videotaping encounters.
Despite these findings, the NYPD has made some improvements, including agreeing to increase staffing at its Legal Bureau and investigating lower activation rates at certain precincts. However, more work remains to be done to ensure that body-worn camera footage is turned over in a timely and transparent manner.
, you know? the police are supposed to be held accountable for their actions, but it's hard to trust them when they can't even get that right themselves 
. i mean, 18% of cases where officers aren't following procedure is still too high, in my opinion... it's like they're not taking this stuff seriously enough 
. and don't even get me started on the lack of transparency - it's like they're hiding something 
. i guess some improvement is better than nothing, but it's still a long way off from where we need to be 
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. They're supposed to be using these body-worn cameras to make policing better, but instead they're just stonewalling people for months 
. The comptroller is right, this lack of transparency is a major issue 
. And to think that they didn't even meet their own internal deadline in some cases 
! 18% of officers weren't following procedure for activating cameras... that's just not good enough 
. Can we get more details on what changes the NYPD plans to make? 
. The fact that they're only doing it after an appeal says something about trust between law enforcement and the public 
. We need to ask ourselves, what does this say about our system of checks and balances? Shouldn't we be seeing more transparency from the start? 
This whole thing feels like a classic case of "who's on first?" - who's responsible for releasing footage, is it the NYPD or the public? 
they're supposed to be helping us build trust between cops & citizens but instead it feels like they're just messing with us 
. and now they're saying that using 2020 data was flawed? 
what's wrong with using the past to learn from mistakes?! 
. and another thing, why wasn't this audit done sooner? 
shouldn't this be a priority for the comptroller's office?! 
but it feels like they're just scratching the surface 
. we need more action on this ASAP 
!
. comptroller's audit is like "duh, we gotta have 2dayz on body cams" 
. dey found out dey weren't checkin if officers r turnin on their cams, and dat's a BIG deal! 
thats unacceptable! nyc should be more transparent, like nvr late wen u request vids 
. but at least they agreed to make some changes 
. can't wait 2 see more progress 
. It's like they thought the law didn't apply to them 
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. They need to get their act together and make sure these cameras are being used correctly. It's not just about transparency; it's also about making sure officers are following procedure 
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. But at the same time, I guess it's not all bad news? They're trying to make changes now, and they've agreed to stuff like increasing staffing at their Legal Bureau 
. Maybe this means that officers are getting more training on using body cameras properly, which would be super helpful 
. And hey, even if the audit said 18% of cases aren't following procedure (which sounds like a lot), maybe it's not as bad as it seems? We should give them a chance to fix their stuff 
. I mean, think about it, it's a huge step forward that the NYPD is acknowledging some of these issues and making changes. It shows they're willing to listen and adapt to make things better. And yeah, maybe the methodology used in the audit wasn't perfect, but I don't think that's gonna derail all their progress. Plus, 18% of officers not following procedure might sound like a lot, but it could also be a huge opportunity for them to train and improve. And let's be real, more accountability is always a good thing! 
. It's like they're trying to keep secrets from the public or something 
. We need systemic changes to ensure that body-worn camera footage is released in a timely manner and that there are consequences for not following procedure 
.
. Can't we agree to disagree on that one? 
The city needs more transparency and accountability, not less. It's up to them to show that these cameras are being used properly and for good, not just as an excuse for cover-ups. They need to get their act together and make sure we have access to that footage in a timely manner. 80% of the cases didn't even follow procedure? That's unacceptable! 
. I mean, have you ever seen a sparrow do that? Anyway, what really got me thinking is how some of these tiny cameras can be so hard to manage 
. I wonder if they're doing anything like this with those new smart speakers... always wondering about the tech behind them 
, it's like a whole different world 
.
. Comptroller Brad Lander's right on point - without proper oversight, these cameras are just a waste of time and resources 
. It's not rocket science, but I guess it's hard when you're stuck in bureaucracy