2024 Drone Usage Report (Evanston Police Department)
| Tracking # |
24-1352 |
| Multi Request | 2024 Drone Usage Report |
| Submitted | May 16, 2024 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: David S. (he/him/his), Lucy Parsons Labs
To the FOIA Officer of Evanston Police Department,
This request is made under the provisions of Illinois Freedom of Information Act. for the following records:
The recent annual drone usage report covering the period up to April 1, 2024, as required by Section 35 of the Illinois Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act (725 ILCS 167/).
Information required by statute in the annual report includes the following:
1. The total number of drones owned by the agency.
2. Details on the frequency of drone usage by the agency, including:
(a) Dates and times of operations.
(b) Purposes for drone deployment.
(c) Locations where drones were operated.
(d) Information on whether videos were recorded during these operations and whether they are retained for training or other purposes.
3. Copies of the latest policies related to drone usage by the agency as included in the annual report.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the case of any applicable fees, it is requested that an estimate of the total charges be provided prior to fulfilling this request. The preferred method of receipt is through electronic delivery.
Your assistance and cooperation in this matter are greatly appreciated. A response within 5 business days, as the statute requires is anticipated.
With thanks,
David S. (he/him/his), Lucy Parsons Labs
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
Please be advised that an additional 5 business days from the original due date is needed and the additional time is needed for the following reason(s):
_____ records are stored at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
_____ request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
_____ request has categorical terms and requires an extensive search;
__X___ requested records have not been located and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
_____ requested records require examination by personnel having the necessary competence to determine if they are exempt from disclosure or should be revealed only with appropriate redactions;
_____ records cannot be compiled with the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body; and/or
_____ There is a need for consultation, with another public body or among two or more components of the City having a substantial interest in the documents produced.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
FOIAs are fulfilled in the order they are received and currently, we have a high volume of document production. We ask that you provide us with an additional five days to respond to your request. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated.
Please advise if you are in agreement.
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From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
Hi,
Our staff is still working on this request. We appreciate your patience as we work to complete your request.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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Record request #24-1352 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
Fulfilled - No Redactions
We released all of the requested documents pursuant to your FOIA Request.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Muckrock Staff
Hello,
I was unable to access the attachment provided in your response. Could you please resend the attachment(s) at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your continued help with this request.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 16, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #24-1352.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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Record request #24-1352 has been reopened. You can see it anytime at the link below.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message is now available for you to see for records request #24-1352:
Fire uploaded the final drone file on the shared folder drive with David S. The new data in the folder is 4-7. Fire has provided all the drone data asked for the the FOIA request so has completed the request on our end.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
David,
According to our employee, the files have been shared with you. Please confirm.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: David S. (he/him/his), Lucy Parsons Labs
Hello,
We don't see any files in the documents section of the portal nor do we have any link to a shared drive. This request is for Evanston Police specifically as it pertains to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's (ICJIA) annual drone usage report as described in the original request.
Thank you.
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message is now available for you to see for records request #24-1352:
I'll reach out to the person who has the information and ask them to share it again.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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Record request #24-1352 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
Fulfilled - No Redactions
We released all of the requested documents pursuant to your FOIA Request.
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
This file has been shared with you again.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: David S. (he/him/his), Lucy Parsons Labs
Hello, we received no shared file. Please attach it to this FOIA request.
From: Evanston Police Department
City of Evanston
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #24-1352:
Hi,
Our call hung up; it seems like Fire has the drone logs. We will resend the documents again as soon as we can get ahold of the staff with the information.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at City of Evanston.<br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href="https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/categories/17720084172567-Requesters">help page</a>
From: David S. (he/him/his), Lucy Parsons Labs
Hello,
We spoke on the phone with the clerk's office and the share went to an email address that we're not using. I did provide my direct email address and did get access to that share, thank you.
It was mentioned during the call (and confirmed by accessing the Google Drive share) that these are records from the Fire Department. To be clear, the records we were seeking for in #3 is the reporting to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's (ICJIA) by Evanston Police. As stated in 725 ILCS 167/1 the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act:
--cite--
(725 ILCS 167/35)
Sec. 35. Reporting.
(a) If a law enforcement agency owns one or more drones, then subsequent to the effective date of this Act, it shall report in writing annually by April 1 to the Authority the number of drones that it owns, the number of times a drone was used pursuant to each paragraph of Section 15, including the date of use, time of use, reason for use, location, whether video was recorded, and whether the video is designated for retention for training purposes. The report shall contain a copy of the agency's latest policy concerning drones as of the most recent April 1.
(b) On July 1 of each year, the Authority shall publish on its publicly available website a concise report that lists every law enforcement agency that owns a drone, and for each of those agencies, the number of drones that it owns, the number of times a drone was used pursuant to each paragraph of Section 15, including the date of use, time of use, reason for use, location, whether video was recorded, whether the video is designated for retention for training purposes. The report shall contain a copy of the agency's latest policy concerning drones as of the most recent April 1.
(c) Each law enforcement agency that uses a drone shall implement and make publicly available on its website the law enforcement agency's policy governing the operation, use, administration, and oversight of its drone program.
(Source: P.A. 103-101, eff. 6-16-23.)
--/cite--
Since no records were produced I am assuming no report was given to the ICJIA which violates (725 ILCS 167/35) of state statute.
Thank you for your help.
- David S.