Mobile video curriculum for law enforcement 16 hour Street Officer Course
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MOBILE VIDEO CURRICULUM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 16 hour Street Officer Course The goal of this Law Enforcement Mobile Video Institute, (LEMVI) training curriculum is to have several street officers on the staff of each law enforcement agency using mobile video equipment and train all field training officers (FTO). The following described program will address the legal and procedural concerns now facing law enforcement agencies on the local, state and federal level. Law enforcement officers around the United States are using both in-car and officer body-worn mobile video equipment in their patrol vehicles without having a proper procedural or legal education on the issuing surrounding police video recording. The Law Enforcement Mobile Video Institute, Inc. (LEMVI) is the only law enforcement trainer with a developed and multi-state tested curriculum that addresses the legal, ethical and procedural use of in-car and officer body-worn mobile video equipment. This is an original curriculum developed and field-tested to address the issues confronting officers using mobile video equipment in the United States. LEMVI developed and has been teaching mobile video curriculum since l990. The training materials are currently in their eighth edition. This 2008 curriculum is designed to train Police Officers & Field Training Officers, in the 16-hour mobile video practitioners’ course on the legal and procedural use of in-car mobile video and officer-worn equipment, with emphasis on officer safety throughout the entire curriculum. The LEMVI Mobile Video course begins with an introduction of the instructors and a synopsis of the entire course which includes time, topics and expectations of the instructors. The course starts with mobile video terminology that will be used during the course. Terms such as “articulation/communication” and “arena of performance” are defined and illustrated in both lecture and by video-recorded examples. The issue of “officer safety” is stressed in all mobile video procedures through all lectures. Safety is paramount in the officer’s actions and is illustrated with various video examples throughout the class. The next common theme, officer ethics and integrity in both mobile video recording and law enforcement, is discussed. The issue of trust in videoing and testifying in court are stressed in all police enforcement actions. The officer’s credibility defines the evidentiary value of this form of evidence during trial in a criminal case. An important curriculum topic is the changes made to traditional police thinking on positioning of the police vehicle and the illumination needed to accurately record a video image. Examples of these issues are shown in class. Topics include optimum vehicle positioning for both proper video recording and officer safety. This is followed by various lighting techniques and a discussion of lights that cause problems during nighttime recording. A popular area of the course curriculum is the discussion, demonstration and operation of various styles and brands of digital video recording equipment. Different types of recording devices are addressed, both in-car and officer worn new digital recorders, each having unique policy and procedural issues. Police agencies across the nation are investigating and purchasing the new digital format for recording and storage of evidence. Mobile video recording equipment from several manufacturers is set up around the classroom for student viewing and investigation. These include existing recording systems currently installed in police vehicles and other digital recording formats. The pros and cons of both in-car and officer-worn digital equipment are discussed, including the audio components, monitors, control heads, care, and maintenance. Students and instructors discuss troubleshooting techniques and the operation of the various systems according to the systems currently used by the student in the class. This curriculum exposes officers to relevant and current case law on a variety of legal topics and issues surrounding criminal enforcement. The first legal area covered in class is the admissibility of the video recording into evidence in a criminal proceeding. The predicate or foundation questions asked of an officer offering a video recording into evidence is explained and demonstrated. This is followed by case law on a variety of problems faced by videos of either poor or less than perfect quality and how these recordings may still have probative value in court allowing their admissibility. Another and extremely important topic concerning evidence is the surreptitious recording technique of recording suspects, without their knowledge, at the scene, time of arrest, questioning, and during transportation to jail. The legal issues, as well as practical techniques, are discussed and demonstrated with video examples of good and improper techniques. Depending on the type of equipment utilized by the police agency, surreptitious recording has proven to be one of the most effective techniques since the inception of recording equipment mounted in the police vehicles. A driving while intoxicated/under the influence criminal case is used as an example of how mobile video may be used at each stage of a criminal prosecution. Since traffic stops and DUI/DWI are still the largest use of mobile video equipment, this common offense where an arrest is made is used as an example of mobile video’s value at each stage of a criminal investigation. A driving while intoxicated investigation example is reviewed from the officer’s first observation of the suspect’s vehicle through actual arrest and transportation to incarceration. This portion includes expanding the terms “arena of performance” and “articulation/communication” and discussing terminology used with in-car mobile video recording. Following this segment of instruction, officers are now ready to incorporate this knowledge into the gathering of evidence for a successful prosecution. Video examples are presented throughout that illustrate this process and technique. The class then discusses the investigation process starting with legal doctrines of reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Officers are trained to “articulate and communicate” all the facts of either reasonable suspicion or probable cause and not count on the camera to capture this evidence through the images. Progressing in mock DUI/DWI investigation, the next section of the course is the documentation of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST). Performing and capturing SFST exercises is discussed and demonstrated with video examples. Officers are not trained on how to perform these tasks but how the video may capture this evidence for later review by a judge or jury. This section relies heavily on video-illustrated examples in class. Students are shown examples of poor and proper SFST recording techniques so they comprehend concepts of suspect positioning, poor SFST administration, and how the camera will document good police work. The laws and practices of pre-arrest and post-arrest questioning are discussed, followed by video examples of each, reinforcing proper and ethical interrogation techniques. When this is accomplished, the next act is the gathering of physical evidence. This is accomplished within the laws of search and seizure. Again, the course is not designed to teach but to provide a refresher on searching and what techniques and how articulation/communication may be incorporated to illustrate for a judge the legality of the searches and any seizures conducted on the roadside. As each case is unique, requiring differing techniques, various scenarios are reviewed and discussed again using video examples. Emphasis is again placed on officer safety issues, DUI/DWI enforcement, traffic safety enforcement and police accountability in this area. Unique to the LEMVI course is a teaching tool titled “FTO/Evaluation Checklist.” This tool was designed specifically for this LEMVI course. It is an FTO training tool for the students use during the LEMVI class, and also a tool the officers may use actually in the field as an FTO trainer. This unique, but very effective learning tool incorporates the entire curriculum, to this point. The form and its use are explained in detail and an actual 11-minute mobile video arrest is shown. Students critique the arrest video in several categories of making an arrest using in-car mobile video recording equipment. Students are taught how this material may be taught using the techniques of the FTO/Trainer Program instead of traditional classroom instruction. The majority of officers attending this course have been trained, sometimes many years back, as FTOs. They are familiar with this technique and can easily relate to the benefits of this training technique for hands-on training. Students learn the benefits of reviewing the mobile video recordings of probationary officers immediately after the police/citizen encounter to reinforce positive and critique departmental policy violations and training issues. The transportation of drugs, criminal interdiction concerns, along with other officer safety issues faced by patrol officers on the roadways of the United States are discussed. As in day one, discussion moves to the terminology of criminal patrol, mobile video use for documentation of many criminal offenses. Introductory case law is reviewed, setting the stage for mobile video recording of drug and criminal interdiction. Immediately following, techniques of dealing with multiple suspects, oversized vehicles, multiple interrogations and multiple suspect articulations, expanding the concepts of day one. Several video examples are viewed in class on each of the above techniques. These differing situations require innovative mobile video techniques to capture the evidence for courtroom presentation. The next legal curriculum issue is the documentation of stop and frisk. This subject is purposefully placed at the end of the lecture lessons because of its complicated legal requirements and its importance to officer safety. This issue applies to all areas of police work and is faced by officers on a daily basis. Officers engage in adult learning games to reinforce techniques, officer safety, procedure, equipment and legal issues. Students are then given an oral examination by engaging in an adult learning game designed to cover, review and test all the major course points. This form of final examination allows the instructors to test the students’ ability to communicate the learning points both for them and the rest of the students attending the course. This long and involved testing process reinforces the importance of each section of the course. In an effort to keep students abreast of the changes in law and other legal topics within the curriculum, the Law enforcement Mobile Video Institute, Inc. maintains a web site devoted to issues surrounding in-car mobile video recording. This site, www.lemvi.com, is updated periodically allowing graduates to access case law by topic, date, and location. Additionally, the web page provides mobile video links and communication with instructors for additional help after class completion. 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