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CJIS-Security & Control

Body-Worn and Dashcam Video Archiving at Scale with WORM

21 September 2025By Bilal Ahmed
CJISBody-Worn CamerasDashcamsDigital EvidenceArchivesWORM StorageCompliancePublic Safety

Introduction

Body-worn and dashcam videos have become essential in modern law enforcement, providing transparency, accountability, and critical evidence for investigations. However, the volume of video data generated daily is immense, often reaching petabytes annually. To meet compliance and evidentiary standards, agencies must adopt scalable archiving solutions built on WORM (Write Once, Read Many) storage. This blog explores strategies for managing body-worn and dashcam video archives at scale while ensuring integrity and compliance with CJIS Security Policy.

Why WORM Matters for Video Archives

WORM storage ensures that once video files are written, they cannot be altered or deleted until the retention period expires.

Key Benefits:

  • Immutability: Protects against tampering or accidental deletion.
  • Compliance: Meets CJIS and evidentiary integrity requirements.
  • Auditability: Provides defensible assurance in court proceedings.

Challenges of Archiving Video at Scale

  1. High Data Volumes: Bodycams and dashcams generate terabytes daily per agency.
  2. Retention Mandates: State laws and CJIS require years of retention depending on case type.
  3. Cost Management: Long-term storage costs escalate quickly without tiering.
  4. Search & Retrieval: Efficient indexing and metadata tagging are critical for investigations.

Best Practices for Scalable Video Archiving

1. Use Tiered Storage

  • Combine WORM storage for compliance with cheaper cold storage for older, less-accessed footage.
  • Implement lifecycle policies to move data between tiers automatically.

2. Metadata Enrichment

  • Tag videos with case number, officer ID, location, and timestamps.
  • Enable rapid eDiscovery and investigative retrieval.

3. Compression & Deduplication

  • Use lossless compression to reduce costs.
  • Deduplicate redundant footage across systems.

4. Secure Access Control

  • Enforce MFA, RBAC, and audit logging for all access.
  • Restrict video exports to authorized legal or investigative staff.

5. Redundancy & Disaster Recovery

  • Store copies across multiple CJIS-compliant regions.
  • Validate recovery processes through regular drills.

Mapping to CJIS Security Policy

  • Section 5.4 (Audit & Accountability): Requires audit logs of video access and exports.
  • Section 5.10 (Cryptographic Controls): Enforces encryption of video at rest and in transit.
  • Section 5.5 (Access Control): Applies least-privilege access principles.

Conclusion

Body-worn and dashcam video archives are critical evidence sources that require immutability, scalability, and compliance. By leveraging WORM storage, metadata enrichment, and tiered storage strategies, agencies can balance evidentiary integrity with cost efficiency while ensuring CJIS compliance and public trust.