OGDEN -- Law enforcement have their eyes on citizens everywhere -- they have video cameras in the back seat of police cruisers, surveillance cameras set up in cities, and Ogden Police Department are in talks to purchase a blimp with video recording devices that can monitor the city.
But, with their eyes on you, can you put your eyes on them?
Several arrests have been reported nationwide of people taking a video recording of police officers, only to met with handcuffs for their actions.
Their crime? Wiretapping.
In 12 states, laws prohibit audio recording unless both parties give consent to the recording. This law has justified the wiretapping charges, according to those law enforcement agencies pursuing charges against the video recorders.
In Utah, however, consent of both parties is not legally required for a recording.
Local law enforcement reiterated that, as long as the person using the recorder isn't interfering with police work, it's perfectly legal to video tape officers on the job.
"We don't have a standard one way or another," Ogden Police Lt. Tony Fox said. "As long as you're not getting in the way of investigating, and you don't put yourself at risk."
Weber County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Klint Anderson said many of the deputies he works with encounter people who are connected to entire organizations dedicated to recording law enforcement at work.
"My guys know that (videotaping) is expected," he said. "They just know it's happening even if they can't tell."
Anderson said many of the deputies with the sheriff's office have begun to carry video recorders with them in their cars as well, in case they ever want to record a scene while they are responding.
But having a camera doesn't make members of the public untouchable.
Anderson said once a recorder puts themselves into an investigation or disrupts a crime scene, they can still be arrested and charged.
"If they try to assert themselves into the situation, that could be disorderly conduct," he said.
But citizens staying at a distance, recording events as they unfold, does not warrant any criminal charges.
"Our policy is that (if they're) simply observing outside the area of the problem, we leave them alone," Anderson said.
Comments