Sounds a bit like the "Steenkin' badges" routine, BUT, 70% answered within a reasonable time.
If you ever have to do this, it would pay to see exactly what you're allowed by state law, especially the daily fines. You many not have to work any more.
Crime report requests often greeted with questions By Gary Harmon, The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel
Citizens trying to learn who has been charged with crimes in Colorado may be questioned themselves when they inquire at sheriffs' departments.
Those who can tell deputies that they are news reporters have a decided advantage over others, according to the Colorado Freedom of Information Project.
Still, being a reporter offers no guarantee to the information that would come of this simple question recently put to Colorado authorities:
"Will you please permit me to see records of all persons charged in connection with any crime during the last (hours or days)?"
Average citizens can count on confusion and suspicion when they inquire about such basic law-enforcement information.
Size didn't necessarily matter, either. Agencies large and small, many of them accustomed to dealing at ease with reporters, became flustered by requests from citizens who made simple inquiries about the criminal-justice system.
A survey of 60 of Colorado's 63 counties found 30 percent of police agencies either refused to answer the question or never responded to it. It also found that 60 percent answered the question immediately and another 10 percent answered it within 72 hours.
Colorado law requires law enforcement agencies to provide reasonable access to such records. It gives them 72 hours to provide such records at a reasonable times of day.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office required a surveyor to submit a written, signed request for information, then demanded a driver's license in order to make a criminal background check.
Only when it was clear that the surveyor was not wanted by any law enforcement agency did it allow a search of records.
Sheriff Don Krueger of Clear Creek County was less amenable to a public-records request, even when the nature of the request was explained.
When asked to provide a list of people charged in connection with crimes over the last four days, Krueger responded, "I can, just not readily."
Asked whether he would provide a list by mail, Krueger said the surveyor "would have to give me a good reason why you need to have it and we'll see what we can do.
"But for someone who is just curious, no, we won't do that," Krueger said.
Short of one exception, agencies have no business asking how a request for access to public records shall be used, said Matt Weber, a Grand Junction attorney with expertise in access issues.
"There is a strong presumption in the law favoring the public's access to public records without regard to motivation," he said. "That's founded in common law and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Agencies can insist that public records not be used for "pecuniary gain," which was intended to prevent such things as bail bond businesses using such records as the basis for mass mailings, Weber said.
The law also provides that a custodian of public records can be fined $25 a day for denying a legitimate request for an arbitrary reason.
"That puts a little teeth into it," he said.
If an agency denies access to a record, it must explain its decision within 72 hours.
Small and large agencies had a hard time with that one.
Larimer County likewise demanded the surveyor's identity and background information before going to work on the request. The sheriff's department did not respond six days later.
An identical request to the sparsely-populated Phillips County Sheriff's Department has gone unmet since it was made July 11, the same day as the Larimer County request, said Jean Gray, publisher of the Haxtun-Fleming Herald.Gray sent Leslie Johnson with her infant daughter to make the request. Sheriff Scott McBee denied access to records, saying that he had a drug case under investigation, but had been unable to make a case, so no charges were filed.
"Johnson specifically asked for records on persons charged," Gray said.
In Jefferson County, a surveyor was forced to shuttle between the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office.
Community Relations Coordinator Kathy Greider sent the surveyor to the prosecutor, saying she had never been asked such a question. Pam Russell of the prosecutor's office said she was unable to provide a definitive answer.
"If you asked me a more specific question, I might be able to help you," Russell told the surveyor.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office used the experience as a teaching method for its staff.
Commander J.R. Hall interceded when a surveyor asked about the identities of people charged with crimes and apologized for his department's failure to provide the information immediately. He told the surveyor that he was writing a memo on the proper handling of public-records requests.
"Anybody off the street can come in and have the same access that (reporters) do," Hall said.
-- 30 --
If you are interested, check out the above URL as they have some charts and related stories. "Your right to know" sidebar, right, near the bottom.
If you ever have to do this, it would pay to see exactly what you're allowed by state law, especially the daily fines. You many not have to work any more.
Crime report requests often greeted with questions By Gary Harmon, The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel
Citizens trying to learn who has been charged with crimes in Colorado may be questioned themselves when they inquire at sheriffs' departments.
Those who can tell deputies that they are news reporters have a decided advantage over others, according to the Colorado Freedom of Information Project.
Still, being a reporter offers no guarantee to the information that would come of this simple question recently put to Colorado authorities:
"Will you please permit me to see records of all persons charged in connection with any crime during the last (hours or days)?"
Average citizens can count on confusion and suspicion when they inquire about such basic law-enforcement information.
Size didn't necessarily matter, either. Agencies large and small, many of them accustomed to dealing at ease with reporters, became flustered by requests from citizens who made simple inquiries about the criminal-justice system.
A survey of 60 of Colorado's 63 counties found 30 percent of police agencies either refused to answer the question or never responded to it. It also found that 60 percent answered the question immediately and another 10 percent answered it within 72 hours.
Colorado law requires law enforcement agencies to provide reasonable access to such records. It gives them 72 hours to provide such records at a reasonable times of day.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office required a surveyor to submit a written, signed request for information, then demanded a driver's license in order to make a criminal background check.
Only when it was clear that the surveyor was not wanted by any law enforcement agency did it allow a search of records.
Sheriff Don Krueger of Clear Creek County was less amenable to a public-records request, even when the nature of the request was explained.
When asked to provide a list of people charged in connection with crimes over the last four days, Krueger responded, "I can, just not readily."
Asked whether he would provide a list by mail, Krueger said the surveyor "would have to give me a good reason why you need to have it and we'll see what we can do.
"But for someone who is just curious, no, we won't do that," Krueger said.
Short of one exception, agencies have no business asking how a request for access to public records shall be used, said Matt Weber, a Grand Junction attorney with expertise in access issues.
"There is a strong presumption in the law favoring the public's access to public records without regard to motivation," he said. "That's founded in common law and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Agencies can insist that public records not be used for "pecuniary gain," which was intended to prevent such things as bail bond businesses using such records as the basis for mass mailings, Weber said.
The law also provides that a custodian of public records can be fined $25 a day for denying a legitimate request for an arbitrary reason.
"That puts a little teeth into it," he said.
If an agency denies access to a record, it must explain its decision within 72 hours.
Small and large agencies had a hard time with that one.
Larimer County likewise demanded the surveyor's identity and background information before going to work on the request. The sheriff's department did not respond six days later.
An identical request to the sparsely-populated Phillips County Sheriff's Department has gone unmet since it was made July 11, the same day as the Larimer County request, said Jean Gray, publisher of the Haxtun-Fleming Herald.Gray sent Leslie Johnson with her infant daughter to make the request. Sheriff Scott McBee denied access to records, saying that he had a drug case under investigation, but had been unable to make a case, so no charges were filed.
"Johnson specifically asked for records on persons charged," Gray said.
In Jefferson County, a surveyor was forced to shuttle between the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office.
Community Relations Coordinator Kathy Greider sent the surveyor to the prosecutor, saying she had never been asked such a question. Pam Russell of the prosecutor's office said she was unable to provide a definitive answer.
"If you asked me a more specific question, I might be able to help you," Russell told the surveyor.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office used the experience as a teaching method for its staff.
Commander J.R. Hall interceded when a surveyor asked about the identities of people charged with crimes and apologized for his department's failure to provide the information immediately. He told the surveyor that he was writing a memo on the proper handling of public-records requests.
"Anybody off the street can come in and have the same access that (reporters) do," Hall said.
-- 30 --
If you are interested, check out the above URL as they have some charts and related stories. "Your right to know" sidebar, right, near the bottom.