I sent out four CPRA requests earlier this month (via certified mail with return receipt around July 10th). It's been over 10 business days, I've only received one fulfillment of my requests thus far. Here are my requests.
I. San Francisco Police Department
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. A list of agencies and/or persons that have been granted the written consent of the Police Chief to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the dates of issue.
2. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
3. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has replied to per year in the past five years.
4. The number of applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
5. The number of denied applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
6. The number of approved applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
7. The written policy summarizing the provisions of CA PC 12050, subdivision (a), paragraph (1), subparagraphs (A) and (B) which CA PC 12050.2 requires the Police Department to make available.
If the Police Department wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
II. San Francisco Unified School District
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. The email retention policy of the San Francisco Unified School District.
2. The email server software and version that is used by the San Francisco Unified School District.
If the SFUSD wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
III. U.S. Park Police of the Presidio
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) as well as the federal Freedom of Information Act entitles me to:
1. A copy of the written consent from the San Francisco Police Chief which grant Presidio park police officers the ability to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the date of issue.
2. A copy of the written consent from the San Francisco Sheriff which grant Presidio park police officers the ability to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the date of issue.
3. Any memos, emails, reports, videos, or audio recordings related to “open carry”.
4. Any memos, emails, reports, videos, or audio recordings related to the trash pickup event held by a group of people who were openly carrying firearms on February 27, 2010.
5. The email retention policy of the Presidio branch of the U.S. Park Police.
6. The email server software and version that is used by the Presidio branch of the U.S. Park Police.
If the U.S. Park Police wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
IV. San Francisco Sheriff Department
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. A list of agencies and/or persons that have been granted written consent of the Sheriff to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the dates of issue.
2. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
3. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has replied to per year in the past five years.
4. The number of applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
5. The number of denied applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
6. The number of approved applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
7. The written policy summarizing the provisions of CA PC 12050, subdivision (a), paragraph (1), subparagraphs (A) and (B) which CA PC 12050.2 requires the Sheriff to make available.
If the Sheriff Department wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
---------
I'm simultaneously investigating numerous things. I'm looking into how hard it really is to obtain a CCW in San Francisco. I hear lots of people saying that it's impossible, but I've never heard of anybody trying to get one. I figured filing a CPRA would be an easy way to find out the answer. Both the SFPD and SFSD requests seek to gain information on CCWs, but they are also cross-referencing the Park Police 12031(e) check that occurred earlier this year at the Presidio cleanup event.
The Park Police CPRA/FOIA seeks to determine if the Park Police acted in a legal manner when they performed 12031(e) checks earlier this year. Since I couldn't trust that they'd willingly incriminate themselves of a crime, I also asked the two possible issuing agencies about who they have given peace officer status to.
The SFUSD is a followup to my whole 626.9 exemption request I asked for earlier this year. My CPRA from earlier this year sought information on the district's stance on gun free school zones. I was given absolutely no records to a rather broad request. I find that hard to believe, so I will now follow up on if they were lying or not.
As mentioned above, I have received only one response, which was from the SF Sheriff Department. Here are their summarized answers to my requests.
1. The number and list of agencies which may exercise authority under PC 830.8(s) should be obtained from the San Francisco Police Department's Chief of Police. The Sheriff has not issued written consent to such Federal employees.
2. We have no records of "requests for information" regarding CCWs.
3-6. The enclosed documents reflect all records on CCWs, only one valid license is current.
7. The Sheriff is formulating a written policy but none exist as of this date.
Signed,
James Harrigan (this is relevant)
----
Several interesting bits of information here. One being the portion I bolded above, "The Sheriff has not issued written consent to such Federal employees." What is he talking about? I didn't mention federal employees anywhere in my request. This is either a weird coincidence or they know exactly why I am asking for this information.
Two, they have no records of "requests for information." This is mildly interesting for two reasons. The first is because I asked for CCW information from the Sheriff back in May. I received no response. The second is because nobody is asking for information on CCWs from the Sheriff. Or both of those things are wrong and they simply don't keep track of who requests information.
Three, the Sheriff hasn't formulated a policy on issuing CCWs despite the fact that the law says all issuing agencies must have a written policy within three months of 12050 going into effect. I'm not sure how old 12050 is, but it is definitely older than three months. Therefore the Sheriff is violating CA PC 12050.2.
Four, the person who fulfilled my request, James Harrigan, the legal counsel to the Sheriff, is the only person who currently has a valid CCW issued by the Sheriff of San Francisco. It was issued in October of 2008. His good cause reads, "Threat of possible physical violence exists in person of an armed deputy facing termination who has exhibited psychological instability and focuses on applicant. This person has stated [REDACTED]."
I'll be contacting the other agencies shortly to inquire about my requests and inform them that they are beyond the ten day period to respond. If they still fail to respond I'll be contacting the Department of Justice (or is there a better agency?).
I. San Francisco Police Department
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. A list of agencies and/or persons that have been granted the written consent of the Police Chief to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the dates of issue.
2. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
3. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has replied to per year in the past five years.
4. The number of applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
5. The number of denied applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
6. The number of approved applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Police Department has received per year in the past five years.
7. The written policy summarizing the provisions of CA PC 12050, subdivision (a), paragraph (1), subparagraphs (A) and (B) which CA PC 12050.2 requires the Police Department to make available.
If the Police Department wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
II. San Francisco Unified School District
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. The email retention policy of the San Francisco Unified School District.
2. The email server software and version that is used by the San Francisco Unified School District.
If the SFUSD wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
III. U.S. Park Police of the Presidio
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) as well as the federal Freedom of Information Act entitles me to:
1. A copy of the written consent from the San Francisco Police Chief which grant Presidio park police officers the ability to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the date of issue.
2. A copy of the written consent from the San Francisco Sheriff which grant Presidio park police officers the ability to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the date of issue.
3. Any memos, emails, reports, videos, or audio recordings related to “open carry”.
4. Any memos, emails, reports, videos, or audio recordings related to the trash pickup event held by a group of people who were openly carrying firearms on February 27, 2010.
5. The email retention policy of the Presidio branch of the U.S. Park Police.
6. The email server software and version that is used by the Presidio branch of the U.S. Park Police.
If the U.S. Park Police wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
IV. San Francisco Sheriff Department
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby request the following information which the California Public Records Act (CA GC 6251) entitles me to:
1. A list of agencies and/or persons that have been granted written consent of the Sheriff to act as peace officers under CA PC 830.8(b), and the dates of issue.
2. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
3. The number of requests for information regarding licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has replied to per year in the past five years.
4. The number of applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
5. The number of denied applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
6. The number of approved applications for licenses to carry pistols and revolvers the Sheriff has received per year in the past five years.
7. The written policy summarizing the provisions of CA PC 12050, subdivision (a), paragraph (1), subparagraphs (A) and (B) which CA PC 12050.2 requires the Sheriff to make available.
If the Sheriff Department wishes to charge any type of fee for retrieval or for the presenting of this information, then I respectfully request for a time and place to be made available for me to inspect the above information, at which time I will decide if any copies will be need to be made.
---------
I'm simultaneously investigating numerous things. I'm looking into how hard it really is to obtain a CCW in San Francisco. I hear lots of people saying that it's impossible, but I've never heard of anybody trying to get one. I figured filing a CPRA would be an easy way to find out the answer. Both the SFPD and SFSD requests seek to gain information on CCWs, but they are also cross-referencing the Park Police 12031(e) check that occurred earlier this year at the Presidio cleanup event.
The Park Police CPRA/FOIA seeks to determine if the Park Police acted in a legal manner when they performed 12031(e) checks earlier this year. Since I couldn't trust that they'd willingly incriminate themselves of a crime, I also asked the two possible issuing agencies about who they have given peace officer status to.
The SFUSD is a followup to my whole 626.9 exemption request I asked for earlier this year. My CPRA from earlier this year sought information on the district's stance on gun free school zones. I was given absolutely no records to a rather broad request. I find that hard to believe, so I will now follow up on if they were lying or not.
As mentioned above, I have received only one response, which was from the SF Sheriff Department. Here are their summarized answers to my requests.
1. The number and list of agencies which may exercise authority under PC 830.8(s) should be obtained from the San Francisco Police Department's Chief of Police. The Sheriff has not issued written consent to such Federal employees.
2. We have no records of "requests for information" regarding CCWs.
3-6. The enclosed documents reflect all records on CCWs, only one valid license is current.
7. The Sheriff is formulating a written policy but none exist as of this date.
Signed,
James Harrigan (this is relevant)
----
Several interesting bits of information here. One being the portion I bolded above, "The Sheriff has not issued written consent to such Federal employees." What is he talking about? I didn't mention federal employees anywhere in my request. This is either a weird coincidence or they know exactly why I am asking for this information.
Two, they have no records of "requests for information." This is mildly interesting for two reasons. The first is because I asked for CCW information from the Sheriff back in May. I received no response. The second is because nobody is asking for information on CCWs from the Sheriff. Or both of those things are wrong and they simply don't keep track of who requests information.
Three, the Sheriff hasn't formulated a policy on issuing CCWs despite the fact that the law says all issuing agencies must have a written policy within three months of 12050 going into effect. I'm not sure how old 12050 is, but it is definitely older than three months. Therefore the Sheriff is violating CA PC 12050.2.
Four, the person who fulfilled my request, James Harrigan, the legal counsel to the Sheriff, is the only person who currently has a valid CCW issued by the Sheriff of San Francisco. It was issued in October of 2008. His good cause reads, "Threat of possible physical violence exists in person of an armed deputy facing termination who has exhibited psychological instability and focuses on applicant. This person has stated [REDACTED]."
I'll be contacting the other agencies shortly to inquire about my requests and inform them that they are beyond the ten day period to respond. If they still fail to respond I'll be contacting the Department of Justice (or is there a better agency?).