Police Public Relations (Irvine Police Department)

Dear Mr. Scott,

This email responds to your request under the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 7920 et seq.) Due to the scope of your request, additional time is required to search for and collect the data.

Under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 7922.535 (b) & (c).), an extension of an additional 14 days is appropriate under these circumstances. Based on the initial 10 day response period and the additional 14 day extension period, our office will contact you on or before December 9, 2024 regarding the disposition of the requested records.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Julie Koger | Lead Record Specialist
City of Irvine l Police Department
1 Civic Center Plaza
City of Irvine, CA 92606
P. 949.724.7493 | F. 949.724-7077
jkoger@cityofirvine.org<mailto:jkogerl@cityofirvine.org>
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Irvine Police Department
PRA Office
1 Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606-5207

November 15, 2024

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. List of all employees employed in units or bureaus dedicated to public relations, communications, community engagement, and marketing. The list should include the name of each employee, rank, position, department, and earnings for each year, including overtime pay and benefits. The list should span 2018-2024.

2. List of all contractor and vendor payments related to public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing. This should include, but not be limited to, videographers, photographers, video editors, media consulting firms, and social media managers. The list should span 2018-2024.

3. All department expenditures related to public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing, including expenses related to community events. The list should span 2018-2024.

4. We also request any training, reports, and marketing presentations from companies contracted or bidding on a communications contract for public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing.

5. Scripts or statements written by the department for police shootings and alleged police misconduct from 2018 to today. Include any email communication related to drafts and edits.

6. Scripts, templates, or outlines written for the department by an outside entity including companies the department works with and public relations firms contracted or paid by the city. This would include technology companies the department uses, local businesses and corporations, and nonprofit groups. Scripts should be related to speeches, media interviews, and press conferences.

7. Templates for department-run social media accounts, press statements, or other written communications.

8. Documents related to talking with and interacting with news and media.

Please release in rolling production.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Joey Scott

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
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PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

Mr. Scott:

Attorney Kelsey E. Quist requested that I forward to you our attached letter dated 12/05/2024 regarding the above-referenced matter.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Quist directly at (714) 338-1864 or kquist@rutan.com<mailto:kquist@rutan.com>. Thank you.

Mia R. Slobodien
Legal Secretary
18575 Jamboree Road, 9th Floor | Irvine, CA 92612
O. (714) 641-5100 | D. (714) 641-5100 x1341
mslobodien@rutan.com<mailto:mslobodien@rutan.com> | www.rutan.com<http://www.rutan.com/>
[cid:image001.png@01DB470A.17F3A490]<https://www.rutan.com/>
_____________________________________________________
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Good Morning Mr. Scott,

Thank for you providing additional clarification. Given the scope of your request, responsive records will need to be produced on a rolling basis as they become available.

The City anticipates providing its initial batch of responsive records on or around December 20, 2024.

Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation.

Best,

Kelsey

Kelsey Quist<http://www.rutan.com/Kelsey-Quist>
18575 Jamboree Road, 9th Floor | Irvine, CA 92612
O. (714) 641-5100 | D. (714) 338-1864
kquist@rutan.com<mailto:kquist@rutan.com> | www.rutan.com<http://www.rutan.com/>
[cid:image001.png@01DB4D4E.E71284E0]<https://www.rutan.com/>
_____________________________________________________
Privileged And Confidential Communication.
This electronic transmission, and any documents attached hereto, (a) are protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 USC §§ 2510-2521), (b) may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information, and (c) are for the sole use of the intended recipient named above. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify the sender and delete the electronic message. Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of the information received in error is strictly prohibited.

Good Evening Mr. Scott,

I am following up on my prior correspondence below to provide you with a further update. Thank you for your patience as the City is continuing to process this request. The City anticipates providing you with an initial production of records on January 3, 2025.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our office.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Best,

Kelsey Quist<http://www.rutan.com/Kelsey-Quist>
18575 Jamboree Road, 9th Floor | Irvine, CA 92612
O. (714) 641-5100 | D. (714) 338-1864
kquist@rutan.com<mailto:kquist@rutan.com> | www.rutan.com<http://www.rutan.com/>
[cid:image001.png@01DB5B03.D6C7A800]<https://www.rutan.com/>
_____________________________________________________
Privileged And Confidential Communication.
This electronic transmission, and any documents attached hereto, (a) are protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 USC §§ 2510-2521), (b) may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information, and (c) are for the sole use of the intended recipient named above. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify the sender and delete the electronic message. Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of the information received in error is strictly prohibited.

Good Evening Mr. Scott,

Thank you for your patience as the City continues to process your PRA request. The City has now determined it possesses records responsive to your requests, which are being produced concurrently with this email correspondence.

Please see the City’s responses to your requests in red, as further discussed below:

1. List of all employees employed in units or bureaus dedicated to public relations, communications, community engagement, and marketing. The list should include the name of each employee, rank, position, department, and earnings for each year, including overtime pay and benefits. The list should span 2018-2024. The City’s department directory can be found here<https://www.cityofirvine.org/irvine-police-department/department-directory>. Earnings can be found by name search on https://transparentcalifornia.com/.
2. List of all contractor and vendor payments related to public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing. This should include, but not be limited to, videographers, photographers, video editors, media consulting firms, and social media managers. The list should span 2018-2024. See attached spreadsheet entitled “List of PORAC Payments 2018-2024.” The City does not possess any responsive records as it relates to “videographers, photographers, or video editors, media consulting firms”—as that is all done in-house by the department.
3. All department expenditures related to public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing, including expenses related to community events. The list should span 2018-2024. The City requests further clarification for this request, as it appears to request “all department expenditures” that in any way relate to “public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring, and recruitment…etc.”—this would be overburdensome to the extent it requests records responsive to each time the department orders pencils, stickers, or other “supplies” that are used for community outreach. To the extent the City tracks these expenses, it will produce all responsive records in its possession. However, I’m assuming you are not looking for receipts for every pencil/sticker, etc. that was purchased over a span of 7 years. Correct? Please further advise.
4. We also request any training, reports, and marketing presentations from companies contracted or bidding on a communications contract for public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing. No responsive records exist to produce.
5. Scripts or statements written by the department for police shootings and alleged police misconduct from 2018 to today. Include any email communication related to drafts and edits. The City does not possess any “scripts” or “draft statements” related to police shootings and alleged police misconduct. No responsive records exist.
6. Scripts, templates, or outlines written for the department by an outside entity including companies the department works with and public relations firms contracted or paid by the city. This would include technology companies the department uses, local businesses and corporations, and nonprofit groups. Scripts should be related to speeches, media interviews, and press conferences. The City does not possess any “scripts” “templates” or “outlines” written for the department by an outside entity. No responsive records exist.
7. Templates for department-run social media accounts, press statements, or other written communications. See attached templates.
8. Documents related to talking with and interacting with news and media. Any policies related to talking with and interacting with the news and media would be included in the IPD Policy Manual<https://www.cityofirvine.org/irvine-police-department/department-policy-2022>, which is posted online. Specifically, Policy 353 covers Media Relations. You can also search the manual for the phrase “media relations.”
With the exception of item #3 above, the City has now produced all responsive documents in its possession, custody, or control responsive to your PRA request.

Please let us know how we can further assist for documents responsive to item #3.

Best,

Kelsey

Kelsey Quist<http://www.rutan.com/Kelsey-Quist>
18575 Jamboree Road, 9th Floor | Irvine, CA 92612
O. (714) 641-5100 | D. (714) 338-1864
kquist@rutan.com<mailto:kquist@rutan.com> | www.rutan.com<http://www.rutan.com/>
[cid:image001.png@01DB638A.5DE1AFF0]<https://www.rutan.com/>
_____________________________________________________
Privileged And Confidential Communication.
This electronic transmission, and any documents attached hereto, (a) are protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 USC §§ 2510-2521), (b) may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information, and (c) are for the sole use of the intended recipient named above. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify the sender and delete the electronic message. Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of the information received in error is strictly prohibited.

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your patience. The PORAC payments were for recruitment advertisements in PORACs magazine.

As for the remainder of your PRA request, the City is continuing to search for responsive documents for item #3 (reproduced below):

3. All department expenditures related to public relations, communications, community engagement, hiring and recruitment, merchandise, and marketing, including expenses related to community events. The list should span 2018-2024.

Our office anticipates providing a further update on the status of any remaining responsive records by Friday (2/14).

Best,

Kelsey

Kelsey Quist<http://www.rutan.com/Kelsey-Quist>
18575 Jamboree Road, 9th Floor | Irvine, CA 92612
O. (714) 641-5100 | D. (714) 338-1864
kquist@rutan.com<mailto:kquist@rutan.com> | www.rutan.com<http://www.rutan.com/>
[cid:image001.png@01DB78B0.1A9BD8C0]<https://www.rutan.com/>
_____________________________________________________
Privileged And Confidential Communication.
This electronic transmission, and any documents attached hereto, (a) are protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 USC §§ 2510-2521), (b) may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information, and (c) are for the sole use of the intended recipient named above. If you have received this electronic message in error, please notify the sender and delete the electronic message. Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of the information received in error is strictly prohibited.