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Public Records
TITLE:
Public records request
POLICY AND PROCEDURE: 07-104-m
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 29,
2007 REVISED:
DISTRIBUTE TO:
Support Services APPROVED: Daniel
A. Dunlap, Sheriff
___________________________________________________________________________________________
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines and set procedure for processing requests from the public for RECORDS held by this office whether paper, electronic or other format. This policy is meant as an internal guide to the Lake County Sheriff's Office employees and is not meant to convey any substantive rights to any person. This policy is also not an enlargement of any deputy's civil duties to members of the general public.
POLICY:
It is the policy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office that openness lead to a better informed public, which leads to better government and better public policy. It is the policy of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to adhere to House Bill 9. All exemptions to openness are to be construed in their narrowest sense and any denial of public records in response to a valid request must be accompanied by an explanation, including legal authority, as outlined in the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 149. If the request is in writing, the explanation must also be in writing.
1. DEFINITION – Public Records
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, in accordance with the Ohio Revised code,
defines a record as any item kept by a public office that meets all of the
following:
·
Is stored on a fixed medium (such
as paper, electronic-including but not limited to e-mail, and other formats.
·
Is created or received by, or
sent under the jurisdiction of a public office
·
Documents the organization,
functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of
the office.
All records of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office are public unless they are specifically exempt from disclosure under the Ohio Revised Code. Records will be organized and maintained so that they are readily available for inspection and copying. Record retention schedules are to be updated regularly and posted prominently.
PROCEDURE – Records Request
1.
Each request for public records should be evaluated for a response using
the following guidelines:
· Although
no specific language is required to make a request, the requester must at least
identify the records
requested with sufficient clarity to allow the public
office to identify, retrieve, and review the records.
· If
it is not clear what records are being sought, the records custodian or
representative will make a reasonable effort to
contact the requester for clarification, and should
assist the requester in revising the request by informing the requester
of the manner in which the office keeps its records.
· Request
outside of the normal routine, i.e.; accident reports, CAD reports shall be
forwarded to the Support Services
Administrator. If the Support Services Administrator
is not available the request shall go to the Patrol Division
Commander, the Chief Deputy or Sheriff.
· In
cases involving records retained by Central Communications the request shall be
promptly forwarded to the Central
Communications Administrator or in the absence of the
Administrator, the Lieutenant of Central Communications, the
Chief Deputy or Sheriff.
· The
administrators of these Divisions shall determine if a prosecutor’s review is
needed before the records are
released.
2.
The requester does not have to put
a records request in writing and does not have to provide his or her identity
or the intended use of the requested
public record. A form will be provided by this office to the requester that is
voluntary. However, the information
on the form will assist the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in completing the
request.
The completed form will be scanned in
our records management software. It will be scanned to each electronic
incident report that was
produced for the public records request.
Note: If the requester does not complete the form, the clerk handling the
request will complete as much information
as possible and proceed with the scanning process to document the distribution
of a report.
3.
Public records are to be available for inspection during
regular business hours with the exception of published
holidays. Public records must
be made available for inspection promptly. Copies of public records must be
made
available within a reasonable period
of time. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records
requested; the proximity of the
location where the records are stored; and the necessity for any legal review of
the
records requested. The requester is
not permitted to make their own copies of the requested records by any means.
4.
Redactions will be made on a copy of the original record to preserve
the authenticity and accuracy of the original
document.
5.
Public records requests may be submitted to the Sheriff’s Office at any
time. The records will be produced
during regular business hours, Monday
through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
6.
Any denial of public records requested must include an explanation,
including legal authority. If portions of a record
are public and portions are exempt,
the exempt portions are to be redacted and the rest released. If there are
redactions, each redaction must be
accompanied by a supporting explanation, including the legal authority; i.e.,
the
Revised Code Section.
7. All denials shall be brought to the attention of the Chief Deputy and Sheriff as soon as possible.
COSTS for Public Records
1.
Those seeking public records will be charged only the actual cost of
making copies. The following schedule will
apply:
a.
The charge for paper copies is
.08 cents per page.
b.
The charge for downloaded
computer fields to a compact disc is $1 per disc.
c.
There is no charge for documents
that are e-mailed.
2.
Requesters may ask that documents
be mailed to them. They will be charged the actual cost of postage and mailing
supplies.
3. Payment in advance may be asked of the requester.
Documents in electronic mail format are records as defined by the Ohio Revised Code when their content relates to the business of this office. E-mail is to be treated in the same fashion as all other documents and records in other formats and should follow the same retention schedules. Business related e-mails in private e-mail accounts subject to disclosure. All employees of this office are instructed to print their business related e-mails and file them with the incident report, investigative file, booking packet, etc. If applicable, the e-mail will be scanned to the incident report record or inmate booking record in our records management software. The Records Custodian is to treat e-mails from private accounts as records of the public office. They will be filed, retained and made available for inspection and copying in accordance with the House Bill 9.
Failure to Respond
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office recognizes the legal and non-legal consequences of failure to properly respond to a public records request. In addition to the distrust in government that failure to comply may cause, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s failure to comply with a request may result in a court ordering the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to comply with the law and to pay the requester attorney’s fees and damages and court costs.