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Richland County approves Dayspring dash-camera and GPS policy; records-retention questions remain
Summary
The commissioners approved a Dayspring vehicle dash-camera and GPS tracking policy after staff presented costs and a draft policy; county records officials advised Dayspring to add video and GPS data to its retention schedule and offered to call a records commission meeting if needed.
The Richland County Board of Commissioners on May 29 adopted a policy to equip Dayspring vehicles with dashboard cameras and GPS tracking, but county records officials advised Dayspring to clarify how long video and location data will be retained and whether the data series is included in existing records schedules.
Michelle Swank, director of Dayspring, told the board she first requested cameras for Dayspring vehicles after a staff member raised safety concerns about driving incidents and viral social-media videos. She said the cost “was doable for Dayspring,” and that county staff drafted a policy for the cameras and GPS system which was now before the commissioners for adoption.
Kelly Christiansen (Human Resources) and Andrew (county staff) participated in drafting the policy. Laurie Betson of Job and Family Services and county records staff advised that video and GPS-route data are records that must be accounted for in Dayspring’s records-retention schedule. As records counsel warned, “If they're not presently on your RC 2, then it's permanent retention,” and the board offered to call a special records commission meeting to add the series if necessary.
Swank said the vendor stores camera footage offsite and that raw footage is accessible for 90 days; she said she would download and save any footage needed for investigations. Commissioners asked whether there is a storage cap; staff said the policy did not specify one and the county would verify storage and cost details with the vendor if necessary.
Commissioner Meares moved to adopt the dash-camera policy; the motion was seconded and carried by the commissioners present. The approved policy treats camera data as work-related records and references existing retention rules but does not itself set a distinct retention period beyond saying “per retention policy.” Records staff directed Dayspring to review its RC-2 (records-control schedule) and to submit any additions to ensure the video and GPS series are properly described.
The board’s action authorizes deployment of cameras and GPS tracking under the newly adopted policy; it does not change countywide retention rules or create a permanent additional retention category without a separate records-commission action.
