Mora definitively approves the regulation governing cameras, bodycams, and drones

The Mora Municipal Council has definitively approved the Regulations for the Use of the Canton’s Video Protection System, which regulates fixed cameras, body-worn cameras or bodycams, and drones used by the Mora Municipal Police. The decision is recorded in agreement ACM-119-04-2026 of August 18, 2026, disseminated through Edict 13-2026 published in La Gaceta No. 197 on Monday, October 19, 2026. The full text of the regulations, consisting of 20 articles, appears on pages 69 to 72 of that edition.

The regulations had been approved in Ordinary Session No. 77-2025 on October 22, 2025, and were published for consultation in La Gaceta No. 89, Supplement No. 58, on May 18, 2026. As no objections were registered within the legal timeframe, the Council unanimously agreed to declare it final and urged Mayor Alfonso Jiménez Cascante to publish the full text in a second publication, pursuant to Article 43 of the Municipal Code, so that it may take effect upon its publication.

The regulation declares the system to be of public and strategic interest within the limits of the canton. In its recitals, the Municipality maintains that police work has achieved a decrease in crimes against property since 2018, but warns that the emergence of organized crime and territorial disputes necessitate reinforced prevention. The municipality has already installed devices in parks, transit routes, educational centers, the commercial sector, and public spaces.

Fixed cameras, bodycams, and drones under a single rule

Article 1 defines video devices as all fixed, mobile, or portable equipment intended to capture images, installed on temporary or permanent infrastructure, vehicles, or municipal mobile equipment. The definition expressly includes:

• Personal cameras or bodycams assigned to police personnel.
• Unmanned aerial devices or drones.
• Any other component integrated into the system in the future.

Article 6 delimits the scope: the regulation does not apply to video devices for private or private business use, unless they are installed on municipal land, infrastructure, or mobile equipment, nor to fixed or portable equipment belonging to private individuals and officers of other police or emergency bodies.

Thirty days of recording and restricted access

All captured information will be stored digitally for a maximum period of 30 calendar days; after this period, if it has not been backed up by the operators, it is automatically deleted when the system restarts. Backups must be kept in a single folder, accessible to all operating personnel, and the Municipality of Mora reserves ownership of the images.

Article 14 lists who may access the recorded information:

• Any judicial office.
• The Judicial Investigation Body.
• Representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Defense.
• Any public institution, including other municipalities.

The Municipality may deny access for duly substantiated reasons of public interest, in accordance with Article 9 of Law No. 8968 on the protection of personal data. Article 15 requires a written request or judicial order addressed to the head of the Cantonal Security Process, including date, reason, case number, intervening parties, time and place of the events, signature, and seal; collection is carried out in the monitoring room and, in criminal cases, through a seizure act and chain of custody. The system has 10 calendar days to respond.

Prohibitions, duties, and sanctions

Article 8 prohibits any municipal official, judicial officer, or private individual from installing unauthorized personal video, audio, dashcams, or bodycams on municipal infrastructure. Article 16 prevents the delivery or display of images to private individuals who request them in a personal capacity, and Article 7 bans the use of the system for purposes other than those intended, including recreational use.

Operating personnel must maintain confidentiality, safeguard the equipment, maintain the Logbook of Novelties, and refrain from removing information for private purposes. Any violation is considered a disciplinary offense and is sanctioned according to Articles 158 and 159 of the Municipal Code. The Municipality may also place signs in public places to warn citizens that they are being protected by the system.

The regulation directly impacts the inhabitants of Mora and its municipal police: it mandates for the first time the use of body cameras and drones, defines what constitutes sensitive data, and establishes a verifiable procedure for judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to obtain recordings. With this, the canton seeks to balance preventive surveillance with the right to intimacy and the privacy of the residents.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 197, October 19, 2026, Municipalities section, pp. 69-72 (official reference: IN202601133321).