New bill to increase fee on police body-cam public records requests

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An attorney from the City of South Bend presented common council bill No. 43–25 at the council’s personnel and finance committee meeting today.

The proposed bill would change the cost of public records request involving police body and dash camera footage from around $20 for materials to $50 per hour up to $150 per recording.

The city says this proposed change is being made in order to regain costs from legal review, a process which happens for every body camera video that’s requested by a resident.

Officials say it can sometimes take up to three times the length of the body camera video to edit and review the footage.

Black Lives Matter South Bend announced their opposition to the bill Monday in a statement quote: “Taxpayers funded these cameras with the expectation that they would provide transparency, protect citizens, and help ensure justice in police encounters. Instead, Bill 43-25 threatens to turn this promise into a privilege accessible only to those who can afford it.”

The bill will have its first reading at the common council meeting Monday night and will have its second and third review on July 28th.