TRULEO recognizes that civilians who are not targets of law enforcement investigations will inevitably be recorded on BWC video. These individuals have a fundamental right to privacy which must be respected and protected. As such, the failure to address the presence of personal identifiable information, and civilian privacy concerns in general, can have far reaching consequences for both the public and the department. To mitigate these risks, the TRULEO application protects civilian privacy by not conducting facial recognition, object identification, motion detection, or voice identification on civilians. Moreover, the TRULEO application employs the following efficient and effective solutions for safeguarding civilian privacy while maintaining the utility of BWC video.
- Automated redaction - Advanced algorithms identify and obscure personal identifiable information in BWC video. This tool blurs faces and license plates, redacts information from transcripts and summaries, and conceals other identifiable data, ensuring that sensitive information is not inadvertently exposed.
- Access and monitoring controls - Strict access controls limit who can view, edit, copy, store, or share sensitive information. The department’s BWC video management system, the TRULEO application, and other department computer systems maintain an audit trail of all logins and transactions conducted to ensure full compliance with these guidelines.
- Data encryption - Strong encryption protocols are utilized during data transfers and within the application to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information.
- Data minimization - By limiting the amount of data collected and the duration of its storage, the risk of unauthorized access or disclosure of sensitive information is significantly reduced.
- Restricted search capabilities - Restricting smart search functionality to a single call transcript provides a safeguard against biased-based policing or other discriminatory practices such as the profiling, surveillance, targeting, or harassment of an individual or group. It also prevents the aggregation of sensitive information which can be used to establish patterns or practices in civilian behaviors.