Police agencies inconsistent when it comes to report access, costs
Eds: For the second day of a three-day FOIA series
With BC-FOIA-Copy Costs-Quotes, BC-FOIA-Copy Costs-Glance
AP Photos SCCOL201, SCAND101, SCGRE102
AP Graphic planned
By JIM DAVENPORT
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ A statewide review of how local law enforcement agencies handle requests for reports shows about one-fourth broke the state's Freedom of Information Act by refusing to provide crime information and there is no consistency in following the law.
In Orangeburg County, for example, the sheriff's department turned down a request for an incident report. While in Bamberg County, authorities require residents to fill out a Freedom of Information request and wait three weeks or more to see public documents.
In some police departments, you'll get the report with no problems, although some will charge $6 a page.
Reporters and other representatives of news organizations sought the reports as part of a recent audit by The Associated Press, South Carolina Press Association and newspapers around the state. They approached police agencies as citizens, telling clerks and law officers that they worked for news organizations only if asked. It was an effort to see how authorities handle information requests from people without press credentials.
State law requires law enforcement agencies to make available crime report information to the public for 14 days _ no questions asked, said Jay Bender, a lawyer for the AP, press association and other media outlets in South Carolina.
About one-fourth of the 62 police agencies visited refused to let people review crime reports.
"The law is very clear. It must be provided," state Attorney General Henry McMaster said. His agency referees disputes on the state's Freedom of Information law and issues opinions on FOI issues.
The good news is about three-fourths complied with requests, said Jeff Moore, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriff's Association. "The ones that didn't, I don't know why they didn't," he said.
In some cases, people may be confused about what has to be disclosed, he said.
The review also shows the public is treated differently than reporters, particularly when it comes to obtaining and paying for copies of records.
Incident reports and other public documents must be made available for little more than the cost of making a copy _ 25 cents or less a page in most public libraries or private copy businesses.
The audit, however, showed some police departments charge as much as $6 for a one- or two-page incident report. "These costs you have here on the survey are high _ way to high," McMaster said.
"A lot of people just don't have five or six dollars to put down for a copy of a document from their government," McMaster said. "The cost ought to be free or either rock-bottom low."
Moore said something should be done to lower excessive copying costs. "The FOI statute is pretty clear. It says the actual cost of creating the document," Moore said.
Among the 32 law enforcement agencies that charged for copies during the audit, the average cost was about $2.87.
At the Edgefield County Sheriff's Department, a crime incident report cost 25 cents, but in neighboring Aiken County the same document was $6. The Edgefield Police Department was one of 18 agencies providing reports for free.
Apart from the cost of a sheet of paper running through a copy machine, some agencies build labor and research costs into retrieving and copying documents that the law already says must be available for review. Some add the cost of redacting information they don't want to disclose _ something the law says can't be done, Bender said.
None of that makes sense since tax dollars already pay for the workers, McMaster said.
Instead, Bender said, some law enforcement and other agencies make money from the copies.
McMaster said if police or other agencies charge for copies, it should be less than what a copy shop would charge because those businesses make a profit. And the state already offers some guidance on minimal costs with a statewide contract that tells agencies that copying machines can cost no more than 8 cents a page to operate.
When police agencies found out the person seeking the records worked for a newspaper, they typically waived the costs that residents would be required to pay, the audit showed.
There's nothing in the law allowing that kind of distinction, McMaster said. "It doesn't make any difference who they are," everyone should receive copies at the lowest cost, he said.
The journalists faced plenty of questions. Clerks and law officers wanted to know their names and why they were requesting the information.
In some cases, they were told to fill out Freedom of Information requests, which can take three weeks or more to yield documents. That "is a bit bizarre," Moore said.
A visitor to the Darlington County Sheriff's Office was told he could view an incident report if he had a specific information from the report. When the visitor reminded records clerk Janice Woodham that all records are supposed to be available to the public, Woodham held firm. "The Freedom of Information Act provides you can view the reports if you know the name, date or specific time of the incident," she said.
The law has no such requirement.
At the St. Matthews Police Department, an officer asked an Orangeburg Times and Democrat editor who he was after he requested a police report. The editor said he worked for the newspaper but left empty-handed anyway. When he returned to his office, he learned that someone from the department had called to verify his identity.
At the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, a sign tells people to fill out a "request for incident report form" that asks for personal information and why he or she wants a copy of the report. When a Greenwood Index-Journal reporter visited the office, he was asked whether he was a reporter. He said he was and was granted immediate access to crime reports. The next day, a colleague visited the same office and was told she had to be the victim of a crime to get a copy of an incident report.
"The identity of the person asking for the document should have no bearing at all with the speed with which he or she gets documents," McMaster said.
In some cases, police may want to make sure that the person requesting crime information isn't related to a suspect, Moore said. "Law enforcement, just by its very nature, is a very suspicious business," he said. "There is a reluctance to just blindly hand over something."
But the law doesn't require people to give their names, and demanding them can be intimidating.
Besides, police don't need names to protect victims, Bender said. They can eliminate information from reports that may identify victims who may be harmed by disclosure, he said.
Some agencies abuse that authority.
A Greenville Police Department clerk told a visitor she would black out "all the important information" on a report about a recent police chase.
The report had 21 items redacted, including the name of a suspect police sought, despite earlier giving the full report to a reporter from The Greenville News.
BC-SC--FOIA-Copy Costs-Quotes, Adv14,350
For release Monday, Nov. 14
Law enforcement agencies respond to information requests
Eds: For the second day of a three-day FOIA series
With BC-FOIA-Copy Costs, BC-FOIA-Copy Costs-Glance
By The Associated Press
More than a dozen law enforcement agencies denied public requests for crime reports and many charged high rates for copies of the documents, according to a statewide review of their practices by The Associated Press, South Carolina Press Association and newspapers.
The agencies offered a variety of reasons and that prompted strong reaction. The Freedom of Information Act requires police to make available crime incident reports for the previous 14 days.
"You can't have that." _ Chicquetta Fullilove, Charleston Police Department supervisor.
"You don't know who he is. ... He may attack someone." _ Charles Francis, Charleston Police Department, defending Fullilove's denial of access to the records. He later spoke with a lawyer, finding the agency had been failing to follow the law since 1991.
"We'll get it straightened out. ... We'll follow the law." _ Ned Hethington, interim chief, Charleston Police Department.
"I don't keep up with the laws as far as what can and cannot be released." _ Lt. Jackie Crawford, McCormick County Sheriff's Office.
"I can only release what they give news stations, that's all I can give you." _ Bridget Bryan, Barnwell County Sheriff's Office, referring to news releases provided to the media.
"The law is very clear. It must be provided." _ State Attorney General Henry McMaster, regarding requests for crime reports.
"The FOI statute is pretty clear. It says the actual cost of creating the document. ... I do agree something needs to be done on the price." _ Jeff Moore, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association, after reviewing the copy costs some law enforcement agencies charge.
"I think Greenville's trying to make money off the citizens requesting information, and that's contrary to the law." _ Jay Bender, attorney representing news organizations including The Associated Press, responding to $6 charge for incident reports at the Greenville Police Department.
BC-SC--FOIA-Copy Costs-Glance, Adv14,350
For release Monday, Nov. 14
Law enforcement inconsistent in FOIA compliance
Eds: For the second day of a three-day FOIA series
With BC-FOIA-Copy Costs, BC-FOIA-Copy Costs-Quotes
By The Associated Press
Law enforcement agencies show little consistency in how they handle requests for crime incident reports or what they cost, according to a statewide survey of their practices by The Associated Press, South Carolina Press Association and newspapers.
ACCESS
Sheriff's offices that provided immediate access to crime incident reports:
Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Colleton, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Georgetown, Greenville, Hampton, Jasper, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union and York
Sheriff's offices that did not provide immediate access to crime incident reports:
Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Greenwood, Kershaw, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick and Orangeburg
Police departments that provided immediate access to records:
Aiken, Bluffton, Camden, Columbia, Conway, Edgefield, Horry, Lancaster, Newberry, Rock Hill, Saluda, Seneca, Spartanburg, Union and West Columbia
Police departments that did not provide immediate access to records:
Bamberg, Bishopville, Charleston, Orangeburg and St. Matthews
COSTS
$6: Aiken County sheriff, Greenville County sheriff
$5: Anderson County sheriff, Camden police, Kershaw County sheriff, Lancaster police, Newberry County sheriff, Saluda police
$3: Columbia police, Dorchester County sheriff, Lexington County sheriff, Newberry police, Spartanburg public safety, Union County sheriff, West Columbia police, York County sheriff
$2: Aiken public safety, Berkeley County sheriff, Conway police, Greenwood County sheriff, Horry County police, Marion County sheriff, Marlboro County sheriff, Oconee County sheriff, Richland County sheriff, Saluda County sheriff
$1.50: Charleston County sheriff
50 cents: Barnwell County sheriff
25 cents: Edgefield County sheriff, Hampton County sheriff, Pickens County sheriff