President Nicusor Dan has promulgated the law allowing local police officers to use portable photo-video-audio recording devices while carrying out their official duties, informs Agerpres.
"The new regulation clearly sets out the situations in which these systems may be used in public spaces without the consent of the individuals concerned, such as identity checks, the recording of misdemeanours, the use of restraint measures or interventions aimed at protecting life and public order," the head of state wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
According to the president, whenever circumstances allow, citizens will be informed that they are being recorded, and local authorities are required to publicly communicate the fact that local police officers are equipped with such devices.
The data collected will be stored for a maximum period of six months and then destroyed, except in cases where the recordings constitute evidence in judicial proceedings.
To implement this new system from a technical standpoint, local public administrations will be able to access European funds.
This law contributes to increasing transparency in the activity of the local police and to strengthening public safety, while at the same time providing a higher level of protection for both citizens and officers, the president added in his Facebook post.
Chamber of Deputies adopted the bill, as the decision-making body, on 17 December 2025.
The legislative initiative amends Law No. 155/2010 on local police by introducing a new chapter entitled "Use of portable photo-audio-video recording devices and protection of personal data", which authorises local police structures to use photo-audio-video recording equipment and, implicitly, to wear and operate portable body-worn cameras while performing their official duties. The initiative aims to establish a clear legal framework for this activity, defining the conditions, limits and safeguards under which recording devices may be used, strictly in accordance with personal data protection principles and with respect for the rights and freedoms of the individuals concerned.
Local police structures are required to inform the public about the use of portable photo-audio-video recording devices by displaying visible signs on officers' uniforms or equipment and by publishing relevant information.
Recordings captured by body-worn cameras are retained for up to six months, unless they are used in judicial proceedings, in which case they are treated as evidence. Once the retention period expires, the recordings are irreversibly destroyed, the draft law stipulates.
Local police officers authorised to use portable recording devices or access the personal data collected through them must receive training in personal data protection before authorisation and at least once a year thereafter.
The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing will, ex officio, carry out inspections of data processing operations conducted by local police structures through the use of recording devices.
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