The bill establishes the "Surveillance Accountability and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act" (SAFE Act). On and after July 1, 2027, the SAFE Act requires a law enforcement agency to use surveillance technology only for lawful purposes directly related to public safety or for an active investigation.If a law enforcement agency uses surveillance technology to collect surveillance data, the law enforcement agency must comply with certain requirements related to the collection, storage, sharing, and destruction of the data.The law enforcement agency must ensure that:Facial recognition systems are only used after a warrant is obtained or in exigent circumstances when there is an imminent threat to public safety;Traffic cameras and automated license plate readers must only be used in public spaces and for specific enforcement purposes, such as traffic violations or identifying stolen vehicles; andDrone cameras are operated in compliance with federal aviation administration regulations.A law enforcement agency may store data collected by surveillance technology only for a specified amount of time depending on the type of technology used and how the data is collected or until an active investigation is concluded.A law enforcement agency shall not sell any data that is collected from its surveillance technologies, but the law enforcement agency may share the surveillance data with another law enforcement agency if the data is related to an active investigation and the other law enforcement agency agrees to comply with the requirements of the SAFE Act. A law enforcement agency must also ensure that surveillance data is permanently destroyed at the end of an applicable retention period or once the data is no longer needed for the matter. The bill creates civil penalties for violations of these provisions.The bill also requires a law enforcement agency to make certain information related to the law enforcement agency's compliance with the SAFE Act available to residents who request it at no cost to the resident.The bill requires the attorney general to conduct an audit of a law enforcement agency every 2 years and authorizes the attorney general to bring a civil action to enforce the SAFE Act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act creates the 'Colorado Mandatory Lethality Assessment Act', which requires peace officers to conduct a lethality assessment when responding to a domestic violence incident and include the completed lethality assessment in the incident report. A peace officer is not required to administer a lethality assessment if a victim is unavailable, not at the scene, incapacitated, or if circumstances otherwise make the administration of the lethality assessment impossible or impracticable. If the lethality assessment indicates that an individual is a high-risk victim, or if the lethality assessment does not indicate a victim is high-risk but a peace officer determines an individual is a high-risk victim based on the totality of the circumstances, the peace officer is required to immediately contact a community-based victim's advocate either by phone or in person and provide the high-risk victim the opportunity to speak with the advocate. The act requires the attorney general's office, in consultation with a Colorado-based coalition that advocates for survivors of domestic violence, to develop a mandatory training for peace officers to learn how to administer the lethality assessment and provide victim referrals. No later than June 1, 2027, the attorney general is required to make the training available and offer assistance to law enforcement agencies in providing the training. Beginning July 1, 2027, the act requires each law enforcement agency to ensure that each peace officer employed by the agency has completed the mandatory training; except that a law enforcement agency that has provided training on the administration of lethality assessments prior to July 1, 2027, is not required to provide additional training. Beginning January 2028, and each January thereafter, the act requires the attorney general's office to report to the general assembly certain information related to lethality assessments conducted in the previous calendar year. No later than January 31, 2030, the domestic violence fatality review board shall evaluate the effectiveness of mandatory lethality assessments and referrals to resources and submit the evaluation to the general assembly. The act does not impose criminal, administrative, or civil liability on any person for an act or omission made in good faith related to administering a lethality assessment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
