Copied and Pasted From Another Thread....
Somethings to consider...
Originally Posted by qball54208
SUBJECT: Open Records Request re "911 dispatch transcripts, logs, audio, and police reports"
Date:
Chief of Police:
Police/Sheriff Department
INSERT ADDRESS
INSERT CITY, STATE & ZIP
Dear Sir:
This is an Open Records Request for all records pertaining to any calls or contact the INSERT PROPER DEPT HERE had with the public or any individual on the date of INSERT DATE HERE regarding carrying, and/or displaying, of firearms within the INSERT MUNICIPALITY HERE
I am requesting any record, including but not limited to emails, faxes, letters, applications, permits, licenses, memoranda, logs, transcripts, reports, policies, police reports, incident reports, or any other correspondence pertaining to any interaction between the INSERT MUNICIPALITY HERE and the public regarding carrying or display of firearms within city limits.
Such documentation might include or pertain to such things as police reports, 911 logs, 911 transcripts, dispatch logs, department policies, incident reports, internal memos, or any other documentation regarding the carrying or display of firearms with the city limits.
As you know, the law requires you to respond to this request "as soon as possible and without delay."
Please also be aware that the Open Records law "shall be construed in every instance with the presumption of complete public access consistent with the conduct of governmental business. The denial of access generally is contrary to the public interest and only in exceptional cases can access be denied." Should you deny my request, the law requires you to do so in writing and state what part of the law you believe entitles you to deny my request. Wis. Stat 19.35(4)(a).
The Open Records Act states that you may charge for "the actual, necessary and direct cost" of locating records, if this exceeds $50, and for photocopies. The Wisconsin Department of Justice advises that copying fees under the Open Records law should be "around 15 cents per page and that anything in excess of 25 cents maybe be subject." Please advise me before processing this request if the total cost will exceed $75.00.
Thank you in advance for responding to this request at your earliest convenience and I will also mail you a hard copy of this request to: INSERT MUNICIPALITY HERE
Electronic delivery of records at my email address would be most appreciated. Alternatively, please mail these records to my home address listed below.
INSERT CONTACT INFO HERE
Thank you for your service and kind attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
REPLY.........
Whoosh! That could be expensive.
I usually recommend against the "any record" phrasing. The statute says they get to charge you for time spent hunting for the requested records. Why waste money paying them to look for any record in a circumstance like a police encounter?
Transcripts can be pretty expensive, too, unless already made. Trust me. The last thing you want to do is pay for making a transcript. I would clarify I wanted copies of any already-existing transcripts, expressly excepting creating a new one.
I usually urge figuring out what records are likeliest to exist and requesting those. Unless you have plenty of budget. If your initial request turns up interesting stuff, you can always send another request.
I might start by looking at who would be communicating and chasing particular possible records those communication channels might have generated. For example, 911 call recording. Dispatch recordings to and from the cop. Dispatch logs. Police car computer text messaging. Field contact report, paper or electronic. Dash cam audio and video. Cop body mike audio.
With that $75 limit against an "any record" request, you have a decent chance, I think, of simply causing a delay while sorting out the costs between the custodian of the records and the requester.
There is nothing really wrong with using the "any record" approach. There may be some very interesting records containing info you never dreamed would be in the record. One just has to understand the potential costs and possible delay of wrangling over the cost if the response turns out to be more expensive than the requester thought. If you have the money for a shotgun approach, by all means go for it.
