SPRINGFIELD –  State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. is expanding upon his work to make the criminal justice system more fair, transparent and equitable by requiring police dashboard camera recordings to be retained for a longer period of time.

"Dashboard camera footage is an objective witness that protects both officers and citizens,” said Sims (D-Chicago). “When we limit how long these records are kept, we risk losing crucial evidence that could either exonerate the innocent or hold the guilty accountable.”

Sims’ law will require recordings from cameras in law enforcement patrol vehicles to be retained for 90 days – putting the retention period in line with the time body-camera footage must be kept.

Additionally, if an officer’s body-worn camera is turned off at the request of a victim or witness, the officer must continue in-car video recording and inform the person of that.

Senate Bill 2655 was signed into law Friday.