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Public Records and records retention
schedules are outlined in O.R.C. 149.43 (Ohio Public
Records Act). This topic is also discussed in detail
in the Ohio Sunshine Laws, which is updated by the
Ohio Attorney General’s Office www.ag.state.oh.us.
What are a person’s rights and a public office’s
responsibilities under this Act?
Prompt inspection of public records
Upon request, copies of public records will be
provided within a reasonable amount of time.
Upon request, receiving copies of records by mail.
Receiving copies in the medium specified, so long as
it is available in the public office’s normal
business operations.
How do Citizens get a copy of a public
record from the Police Department?
The Department Clerk and Dispatcher at St. Bernard
Police Department, work Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM
to 3:30 PM with the exception of holidays. During
those hours, you can request a copy of a public record
from them in several ways: telephone us at 242-2727,
send a letter, email us at
mail@stbernardpolice.org, or just stop in the St.
Bernard Police Department between those hours to make
a request. To process
your request, the clerk will need some information
from you: date, type of records request (I.e. Police
Incident Report, Accident Report etc.), type of
medium, reason for request etc. The Clerk will then
locate your record, and copy it for you.
What are the costs?
Those seeking public records
will be charged only the actual cost of making copies.
The charge for paper copies is 5 cents per page. The
charge for downloaded computer files to a compact disc
is $1 per disc. There is no charge for documents
e-mailed. Requesters may ask that documents be mailed
to them. They will be charged the actual cost of the
postage and mailing supplies. If a photo or tape or
other medium is requested we will charge whatever our
actual costs are for those items and nothing more.
How long does this process take?
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. Normally this will take place
within a few business days.
Each
request should be evaluated for an estimated length of
time required to gather the records. Routine requests
for records should be satisfied immediately if
feasible to do so. Routine requests include, but are
not limited to, meeting minutes (both in draft and
final form), budgets, salary information, forms and
applications, CPR and Run Tracker reports, etc. If
fewer than 20 pages of copies are requested or if the
records are readily available in an electronic format
that can be e-mailed or downloaded easily, these
should be made as quickly as the equipment allows.
All
requests for public records must either be satisfied
or be acknowledged in writing by the St. Bernard
Police Department within three business days following
the office’s receipt of the request. If a request is
deemed significantly beyond “routine,” such as seeking
a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive
research, the acknowledgement must include the
following: An estimated number of business days
it will take to satisfy the request. An estimated cost
if copies are requested. Any items within the request
that may be exempt from disclosure.
If citizens have any questions please
direct them to your supervisor. Remember we are
custodians of the public’s records. This policy will
be posted in the lobby and on our Department website
to educate the public on how to go about public
records requests.
Are there public
records that are exempt from a public records request?
Yes, some items are specifically listed as exemptions
from the Public Records Act. These include the
following:
Catch All Exception (Confidential Records) I.e.
Attorney-client privileged information, Child Abuse
Reports, Student education records, “Judicial Mental
Process”, Peace Officers Home Addresses, Ohio Ethics
Commission Proceedings, Taxpayer records, Estate Tax
Returns, Federal Tax Returns, Criminal Backgrounds,
Records that have been sealed pursuant to court order,
Trade Secrets, Social Security Numbers, Mediation
Communications etc.
Medical Records
Trial Preparation Records
Confidential Law Enforcement Investigatory Records
Other Exceptions (Abortion records, Adoption Records,
Putative Father Records, Civil Rights Commission
Records, DNA Database Records, Rehabilitation and
Correction Youth Services Records, Intellectual
Property Records, Donor Profile Records, Department of
Human Services Records, Peace Officer Information,
County Hospital’s Trade Secrets etc.
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 legal authority.
What about requests for e-mail records?
Documents in electronic mail format are records as
defined by the Ohio Revised Code when their content
relates to the business of the office. E-mail is to be
treated in the same fashion as records in other
formats and should follow the same retention
schedules. Records in private e-mail accounts used to
conduct public business are subject to disclosure, and
all employees or representatives of this office are
instructed to retain their e-mails that relate to
public business (see Section 1 Public Records) and to
copy them to their business e-mail accounts and/or to
the office’s records custodian. The records custodian
is to treat the e-mails from private accounts as
records of the public office, filing them in the
appropriate way, retaining them per established
schedules and making them available for inspection and
copying in accordance with the Public Records Act.
What are the consequences of failure to
respond to a public records request?
The St. Bernard Police
Department 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 commonly may cause, the
St. Bernard Police Department’s failure to comply with
a request may result in a court ordering the St.
Bernard Police Department to comply with the law and
to pay the requester attorney’s fees and damages.
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