text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Police Creating Accountability by 
  Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2015'' or the ``Police 
  CAMERA Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS.
  
      Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
  (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
  
  ``PART LL--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS
  
  ``SEC. 3021. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
  
      ``(a) In General.--The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of 
  Justice Programs (in this section referred to as the `Assistant 
  Attorney General') may make grants to States, units of local 
  government, and Indian tribes to purchase or lease body-worn cameras 
  for use by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers (as 
  defined in section 2503) and expenses related to the implementation of 
  a body-worn camera program in order to deter excessive force, improve 
  accountability and transparency of use of force by law enforcement 
  officers, assist in responding to complaints against law enforcement 
  officers, and improve evidence collection.
      ``(b) Duration of Grants.--
              ``(1) In general.--Grants awarded under this part shall be 
          2 years in duration.
              ``(2) Disbursement of grant amount.--In disbursing a grant 
          awarded to an entity under this section--
                      ``(A) upon awarding the grant to the entity, the 
                  Assistant Attorney General shall disburse 50 percent of 
                  the total grant amount to the entity; and
                      ``(B) upon demonstration by the entity of 
                  completion of the requirements in subsection (d)(1), 
                  the Assistant Attorney General shall disburse the 
                  remaining 50 percent of the total grant amount to the 
                  entity.
      ``(c) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be--
              ``(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
          government, or Indian tribe; and
              ``(2) used for--
                      ``(A) the purchase or lease of body-worn cameras 
                  for law enforcement officers on patrol in the 
                  jurisdiction of the grantee;
                      ``(B) any costs relating to the implementation of a 
                  body-worn camera program, including law enforcement 
                  officer training or the storage or maintenance of data 
                  collected under a body-worn camera program; or
                      ``(C) implementing policies or procedures to comply 
                  with the requirements described in subsection (d).
      ``(d) Requirements.--
              ``(1) In general.--The Assistant Attorney General shall 
          award a grant under this section to a State, unit of local 
          government, or Indian tribe requesting the grant that commits 
          to--
                      ``(A) establishing policies and procedures in 
                  accordance with the requirements described in paragraph 
                  (2) before law enforcement officers use of body-worn 
                  cameras;
                      ``(B) adopting data collection and retention 
                  protocols as described in paragraph (3) before law 
                  enforcement officers use of body-worn cameras;
                      ``(C) making the policies and protocols described 
                  in subparagraphs (A) and (B) available to the public; 
                  and
                      ``(D) complying with the requirements for use of 
                  data under paragraph (4).
              ``(2) Required policies and procedures.--An entity 
          receiving a grant under this section shall--
                      ``(A) develop with community input and publish for 
                  public view policies and protocols for--
                              ``(i) the safe and effective use of body-
                          worn cameras;
                              ``(ii) the secure storage, handling, and 
                          destruction of data collected by body-worn 
                          cameras;
                              ``(iii) protecting the privacy rights of 
                          any individual who may be recorded by a body-
                          worn camera; and
                              ``(iv) the release of any data collected by 
                          a body-worn camera in accordance with the open 
                          records laws, if any, of the State; and
                      ``(B) conduct periodic evaluations of the security 
                  of the storage and handling of the body-worn camera 
                  data.
              ``(3) Data collection and retention protocol.--The data 
          collection and retention protocol described in this paragraph 
          is a protocol that--
                      ``(A) requires--
                              ``(i) a law enforcement officer who is 
                          wearing a body-mounted camera to provide an 
                          explanation if an activity that is required to 
                          be recorded by the body-mounted camera is not 
                          recorded;
                              ``(ii) a law enforcement officer who is 
                          wearing a body-mounted camera to obtain consent 
                          to be recorded from a crime victim or witness 
                          before interviewing the victim or witness;
                              ``(iii) the collection of data unrelated to 
                          a legitimate law enforcement purpose be 
                          minimized to the greatest extent practicable;
                              ``(iv) the system used to store data 
                          collected by body-worn cameras shall log all 
                          viewing, modification, or deletion of stored 
                          data and shall prevent, to the greatest extent 
                          practicable, the unauthorized access or 
                          disclosure of stored data;
                              ``(v) any law enforcement officer be 
                          prohibited from accessing the stored data 
                          without an authorized purpose; and
                              ``(vi) the law enforcement agency to 
                          collect and report data on--
                                      ``(I) incidences of use of force, 
                                  disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 
                                  gender, and age of the victim;
                                      ``(II) the number of complaints 
                                  filed against law enforcement officers;
                                      ``(III) the disposition of 
                                  complaints filed against law 
                                  enforcement officers; and
                                      ``(IV) the number of times camera 
                                  footage is used for evidence collection 
                                  in investigations of crimes;
                      ``(B) allows an individual to file a complaint with 
                  a law enforcement agency relating to the improper use 
                  of body-worn cameras; and
                      ``(C) complies with any other requirements 
                  established by the Assistant Attorney General.
              ``(4) Use or transfer of data.--
                      ``(A) In general.--Data collected by an entity 
                  receiving a grant under this section from a body-
                  mounted camera shall be used only in internal and 
                  external investigations of misconduct by a law 
                  enforcement agency or officer, if there is reasonable 
                  suspicion that a recording contains evidence of a 
                  crime, or for limited training purposes. The Assistant 
                  Attorney General shall establish rules to ensure that 
                  the data is used only for the purposes described in 
                  this subparagraph.
                      ``(B) Prohibition on transfer.--Except as provided 
                  in subparagraph (B), an entity receiving a grant under 
                  this section may not transfer any data collected by the 
                  entity from a body-mounted camera to another law 
                  enforcement or intelligence agency.
                      ``(C) Exceptions.--
                              ``(i) Criminal investigation.--An entity 
                          receiving a grant under this section may 
                          transfer data collected by the entity from a 
                          body-mounted camera to another law enforcement 
                          agency or intelligence agency for use in a 
                          criminal investigation if the requesting law 
                          enforcement or intelligence agency has 
                          reasonable suspicion that the requested data 
                          contains evidence relating to the crime being 
                          investigated.
                              ``(ii) Civil rights claims.--An entity 
                          receiving a grant under this section may 
                          transfer data collected by the law enforcement 
                          agency from a body-mounted camera to another 
                          law enforcement agency for use in an 
                          investigation of any right, privilege, or 
                          immunity secured or protected by the 
                          Constitution or laws of the United States.
      ``(e) Matching Funds.--
              ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 
          Federal share of the cost of a program carried out using a 
          grant under this part may not exceed 75 percent of the total 
          cost of the program.
              ``(2) Indian assistance.--Any funds appropriated by 
          Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal 
          government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law 
          enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to 
          provide the non-Federal share of the matching requirement 
          described in paragraph (1).
              ``(3) Waiver.--The Assistant Attorney General may waive, in 
          whole or in part, the matching requirement described in 
          paragraph (1) in the case of fiscal hardship, as determined by 
          the Assistant Attorney General.
      ``(f) Allocation of Funds.--For fiscal years 2015 and 2016, of the 
  amounts appropriated to the Office of Justice Programs, $10,000,000 
  shall be used to carry out this part.
  
  ``SEC. 3022. APPLICATIONS.
  
      ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the chief 
  executive of a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe shall 
  submit an application to the Assistant Attorney General in such form 
  and containing such information as the Assistant Attorney General may 
  reasonably require.
      ``(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
  enactment of this part, the Assistant Attorney General shall promulgate 
  regulations to implement this part, including the information that 
  shall be included and the requirements that the States, units of local 
  government, and Indian tribes must meet in submitting the applications 
  required under this section.
  
  ``SEC. 3023. STUDY.
  
      ``(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
  all grants are awarded under this part, the Assistant Attorney General 
  shall conduct a study on--
              ``(1) the efficacy of body-worn cameras in deterring 
          excessive force by law enforcement officers;
              ``(2) the impact of body-worn cameras on the accountability 
          and transparency of the use of force by law enforcement 
          officers;
              ``(3) the impact of body-worn cameras on responses to and 
          adjudications of complaints of excessive force;
              ``(4) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on the 
          safety of law enforcement officers on patrol;
              ``(5) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on public 
          safety;
              ``(6) the impact of body-worn cameras on evidence 
          collection for criminal investigations;
              ``(7) issues relating to the secure storage and handling of 
          data from the body-worn cameras;
              ``(8) issues relating to the privacy of citizens and 
          officers recorded on body-worn cameras;
              ``(9) issues relating to the public's access to body-worn 
          camera footage;
              ``(10) the need for proper training of law enforcement 
          officers that use body-worn cameras;
              ``(11) best practices in the development of protocols for 
          the safe and effective use of body-worn cameras; and
              ``(12) any other factors that the Assistant Attorney 
          General determines are relevant in evaluating the efficacy of 
          body-worn cameras.
      ``(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
  study required under subsection (a) is completed, the Assistant 
  Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the study.''.
target: Police Creating Accountability by Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2015 or the Police CAMERA Act Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to make grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to purchase or lease body-worn cameras for use by law enforcement officers, and for expenses related to the implementation of a body-worn camera program, in order to deter excessive force, improve accountability and transparency of use of force by law enforcement officers, assist in responding to complaints against officers, and improve evidence collection.  Requires a grantee to: (1) develop, with community input, policies for the safe and effective use of body-worn cameras, for the secure storage, handling, and destruction of data collected, for protecting the privacy rights of any individual who may be recorded, and for the release of any data collected in accordance with the open records laws of the state; and (2) conduct periodic evaluations of the security of the storage and handling of the body-worn camera data.  Requires a grantee to adopt data collection and retention protocols that:   require an officer wearing a camera to provide an explanation if an activity that is required to be recorded is not recorded and to obtain a crime victim's or witness's consent to be recorded before interviewing him or her; minimize the collection of data unrelated to a legitimate law enforcement purpose;  require the system used to store collected data to log all viewing, modification, or deletion of such data and to prevent its unauthorized access or disclosure; prohibit any law enforcement officer from accessing the stored data without an authorized purpose;  require the law enforcement agency to collect and report data on incidences of use of force, the number of complaints filed against officers, the disposition of such complaints, and the number of times camera footage is used for evidence collection in investigations of crimes; and allow an individual to file a complaint with a law enforcement agency relating to the improper use of such cameras.  Allows data collected by a grantee to be used only in internal and external investigations of misconduct by a law enforcement agency or officer, if there is reasonable suspicion that a recording contains evidence of a crime, or for limited training purposes. Prohibits a grantee from transferring any collected data to another law enforcement or intelligence agency, with specified exceptions for investigations of crimes and civil rights violations.  Directs the Assistant Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the efficacy of body-worn cameras. 
feat_title: Police CAMERA Act