CAM TIP Act of 2015

Camera Accountability Maintenance and Transparency in Policing Act of 2015 or the CAM TIP Act of 2015

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make matching grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes for the acquisition, operation, and maintenance of body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers.

Requires a grantee's body camera program to:

• establish policies and procedures for when law enforcement officers should wear, activate, and deactivate such cameras;
• ensure the protection of civil liberties of members of the general public;
• limit the use of recordings of such cameras to monitor the conduct of law enforcement officers outside of their official interactions with the public;
• develop standards regarding the effective body placement of such cameras;
• describe best practices for receiving an accurate narrative from recordings;
• establish procedures for collecting and storing recordings;
• establish policies governing the availability of such recordings to the general public, to victims of crimes, and for internal use by law enforcement; and
• have guidelines and training for law enforcement officers on the proper management and use of such cameras.

Requires grants to be awarded first to qualifying local governments with fewer than 100,000 residents, with any remaining funds awarded to other applicants on a pro rata basis.

Directs the Attorney General to study the cost to state and local law enforcement agencies of purchasing and using body-worn or similar cameras.

Establishes in the Department of Justice a task force to: (1) provide recommendations on community policing, (2) study the impact that citizen review boards could have on investigating cases of alleged police misconduct, and (3) conduct a survey to determine best practices and the effectiveness of the body camera requirement policy.

Directs the Government Accountability Office to report on the Department of Defense Excess Personal Property Program.