Public Disclosure Legal Log (2014-07) (King County Sheriff's Office)
| Tracking # |
PDR-32354 |
| Submitted | July 14, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Phil Mocek
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:
Public disclosure legal log (log of public records requests received by your agency, along with classification, time dedicated to processing each request, current status, final resolution, etc.)
If this record exists in electronic form, I request that you not create a new record for me (e.g., by printing your electronic record then scanning it to make a series of images of the printed data) but provide the electronic record itself in its native format.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good morning, Mr. Mocek!
Thank you for your emailed request to the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) on July 14, 2014. You requested:
"Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:
Public disclosure legal log (log of public records requests received by your agency, along with classification, time dedicated to processing each request, current status, final resolution, etc.)
If this record exists in electronic form, I request that you not create a new record for me (e.g., by printing your electronic record then scanning it to make a series of images of the printed data) but provide the electronic record itself in its native format.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires."
The King County Sheriff's Office has an online web-based records request system. I have the ability to pull reports based on fields captured within the system, however, it is not a database that I can "download" per se. Based on the information provided in your request, it would make sense to me that I pull a report with the date range of your choice (not indicated in your request) to include the following information:
1. Request Number (PDR#)
2. Date of Request
3. Date Completed
4. Status (in process or closed)
5. Explanation (abandoned, denied, no records found, completed, etc.)
We do not have a formal "classification" system. We process requests based on current workload and the complexity of the request. The "time dedicated" would be indicated by the date of the request and the date completed, though this is not an accurate assessment of actual time spent on a request, as many factors come in to play for the time it takes to complete a request. "Final resolution" would align well with our explanation, which I can include in the list.
I am happy to work with you to pull a report that would provide you with the information you are seeking. If what I have outlined will suffice, I can have that to you fairly quickly. However, I would need a date range. If you would like to discuss this in person or have other information you would like captured, please let me know. Please call me at your earliest convenience.
I will look forward to hearing from you so I may begin processing your request. If I do not hear from you by close of business Tuesday, July 22, 2014, I will consider your request abandoned.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image004.png@01CF9FF6.91DFD3D0]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Phil Mocek
Ms. Petty:
Your e-mail of July 15 indicates that the information I seek is not (as with, for instance, Seattle Police Department) contained in a record known as a public disclosure legal log. You wrote that a Web-based system is used for tracking public records requests and offered to generate a report for me. I appreciate the offer, but I hope to keep the processing burden to a minimum.
A recent backup of the relational database that stores this information (which I assume to exist based on my experience writing and maintaining Web applications), in its native electronic format, will likely suffice. Please provide that. If I am unable to extract useful information from it, I'm happy to discuss the custom reporting you offered.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
I received your responses; forwarded to me by our Records and Legal Units (see attached).
For future communication, please contact me at the email provided in my responses - or at KCSODisclosure@kingcounty.gov<mailto:KCSODisclosure@kingcounty.gov>. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee receipt of your responses. The best way to ensure that I am in receipt of your responses is to select "reply" when responding to my email.
The system we use for public disclosure requests is not maintained by the King County Sheriff's Office. It is a web-based off-the-shelf program through a vendor, iCompass. I have been in contact with iCompass to discuss our options for meeting your request. They have outlined the following:
iCompass is a proprietary system and therefore they will not make a copy of their system with front-end code. By providing you with a copy of their database without the front end code to relate and structure the data, you would not be able to construct and create usable records due to the proprietary way they have structured their system to meet the demands of all of their clients. However, they have outlined the following options for you:
· Create an Excel spreadsheet with all the records in them; the cost associated with this option would be a minimum of $500.00
· Create a "user" with VIEW ONLY permissions so that you can login and access all the records for a limited amount of time; no cost associated with this option
If one of the two options above do not work for you, the King County Sheriff's Office is again more than happy to create a list of requests (for example, an Excel spreadsheet) from iCompass based on the fields that are important to you.
Also, please note that the iCompass system has only been in use by the Sheriff's Office since the Fall of 2010. If you are seeking records or information prior to that time, it would require a hand search and will take some time to identify and locate responsive records. Additionally, because those documents may be in paper format, there would be a $.05 per page scanning charge. Finally, you may also set up an appointment to inspect the iCompass database in our office.
I look forward to hearing from you so that we may begin the required work to fulfill your request. If I do not hear from you by Tuesday, July 22, 2014, I will consider your request abandoned.
In the meantime, please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image002.png@01CFA029.4502D2F0]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good morning, Mr. Mocek!
I have not heard from you as to which option would work best regarding a log of public records requests.
Therefore, I am attaching excel records dating back to the Fall of 2010 when we began using our online request system, iCompass. Please keep in mind that the first 12-18 months was a development stage for us, as we determined which fields best met our needs and which did not. Also, we weren't using them system 100% until closer to January 2011, so some entries prior to that may be sporadic. And again, some of our fields changed over the course of 12-18 months. See the following attached Excel spreadsheets:
· Public Records Requests 01-01-2014 to 07-14-2014 (4363 requests)
· Public Records Requests 2013 (7718 requests)
· Public Records Requests 2012 (7756 requests)
· Public Records Reqeusts 2011 (10029 requests)
· Public Records Requests 2010 (1826 requests)
If you think this would be helpful, or would prefer to see other fields, please let me know. I am establishing a goal date for completion of August 8, 2014, so I hope to hear from you by then to determine if what I have provided will meet your needs. If I don't receive clarification by August 8, 2014, I will assume that what I have provided meets your needs.
Thank you in advance and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image002.png@01CFA4CB.A943E870]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Phil Mocek
Ms Petty:
Apologies for the delayed response. While I have strong concerns about public records being held out of reach of the public by a private entity, I appreciate your effort to work around this unfortunate situation. Ultimately, I believe that the database in which iCompass store these records is itself public record, and I know that the Public Records Act requires public access to electronic records in their native electronic format. However, before we explore the possibilities of methods for your agency to provide access to that record, I would appreciate the opportunity to use your Web-based public records requests management system with the read-only account you offered.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
Thank you for your response to the Records and Public Disclosure Units of the King County Sheriff's Office on July 23, 2014 (see attached). You stated:
"Apologies for the delayed response. While I have strong concerns about public records being held out
of reach of the public by a private entity, I appreciate your effort to work around this unfortunate
situation. Ultimately, I believe that the database in which iCompass store these records is itself public
record, and I know that the Public Records Act requires public access to electronic records in their
native electronic format. However, before we explore the possibilities of methods for your agency to
provide access to that record, I would appreciate the opportunity to use your Web-based public records
requests management system with the read-only account you offered."
Shortly after I sent you my last response, I received clarification from the vendor that extracting ALL FIELDS from iCompass into an Excel Spreadsheet would not cost. It's the database download that would cost $500.00. This is good news. As a start, the vendor has pulled ALL FIELDS from iCompass into Excel for 2010 to see if this options would meet your needs - and before moving forward on 2011-present. Because there are so many fields, they can only pull the information out per year - and that alone is taking about an hour for each year. If this is what you want, I will have the vendor proceed for the remaining years up to the present.
See attached "PDR items - King County Sheriff's Office"... the only changes I have made are that I searched for, and redacted, Social Security Numbers as per 42 USC § 405(c)(2)(C)(viii)(I) and per RCW 42.56.230 which states that documents and related materials and scanned images of documents and related materials used to prove identity, age, residential address, social security number, or other personal information required to apply for a driver's license or identicard is exempt from public inspection and copying.
While we are happy to provide a "view only" user for the system, it could take quite some time. Requests from citizens may contain information that is exempt from public disclosure (i.e. social security numbers, juvenile victims of sexual assault, non-sustained allegations, etc.). Unfortunately, the only way to know if a record would contain that information is to manually search each record in iCompass, which as of today, consists of over 32,000 entries. It is hard to say how long it may take, but I would guess it could be months before we could ensure 100% that we are not releasing exempt / sensitive information. If this is an option you would like to pursue, please let me know and I will provide an estimated timeline of when we might be ready to provide you with a "view only" user identification.
Please let me know regarding both the Excel Spreadsheet provided by the vendor, as well as the "view only" user ID access to the iCompass system, so we can better determine a timeline for completion. I have your next installment due August 8, 2014, assuming I receive clarification back from you in a reasonable amount of time.
Thank you and advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image006.png@01CFA7EB.F8271DE0]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Phil Mocek
Ms. Petty:
I would like the spreadsheet the third-party, private entity with which you share your data offered to create free of charge. However, I remain convinced that the database is, itself, a record subject to disclosure under the PRA in its native electronic format.
As for the read-only login account, you wrote that the 32,000 records in the iCompass system would need review and likely redaction before you would allow me access to them. I note that you have already allowed the third party who maintain iCompass access to those records without such review. If I am barred from seeing those records, then the third party should be, as well, but according to your and my correspondence, this was not the case. Given that you provide this information in full, unredacted, to them, it seems reasonable for you to provide it to me.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good morning, Mr. Mocek!
Thank you for your emailed response to my follow up on August 1, 2014 (see attached). Your response was:
"I would like the spreadsheet the third-party, private entity with which you share your data offered to create free of charge. However, I remain convinced that the database is, itself, a record subject to disclosure under the PRA in its native electronic format.
As for the read-only login account, you wrote that the 32,000 records in the iCompass system would need review and likely redaction before you would allow me access to them. I note that you have already allowed the third party who maintain iCompass access to those records without such review. If I am barred from seeing those records, then the third party should be, as well, but according to your and my correspondence, this was not the case. Given that you provide this information in full, unredacted, to them, it seems reasonable for you to provide it to me."
I have received the attached email correspondence from our vendor regarding their proceeding to pull information into an Excel spreadsheet as requested. Unfortunately, they didn't anticipate how labor intensive this would be. For the 2010 spreadsheet they provided (essentially a few months worth of data), it took nearly an hour to complete. Therefore, they will do the work, but will charge $150.00 per hour, plus tax, for their Tech's time. The estimated total is $750.00 plus tax. Is this something that you're willing to pay? If so, we would require a 10% deposit before asking the vendor to proceed with the work. Reference RCW 42.56.120 regarding reimbursement to agencies for "actual costs"
Regarding the "read only" login to the iCompass system: Action Tracking is the product of our vendor, iCompass, and we are under contract with them which includes confidentiality agreements as it relates to disclosure of information. See our contract attached; reference number 6 - page 4. It is not reasonable for us to provide access to citizen's information that is exempt from public disclosure to the general public.
Again, on July 21, 2014, I provided you with reports that I pulled from iCompass for each year since we began using iCompass (2010 to present). See attached. As stated previously, if the information provided was not sufficient, I am more than happy to pull that information again with the data fields that are important to you.
Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. I would appreciate a response by August 8, 2014.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image006.png@01CFB170.71961B30]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
I am following up with you regarding my email from August 6, 2014 (see attached) seeking clarification by August 8, 2014.
Have you had a chance to consider whether you want to pay for the remaining years (all fields) from iCompass ($750.00 plus tax)? Was what I provided you with on July 21, 2014 sufficient? Or would you like something similar to that with different fields captured?
Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. I would appreciate a response by September 5, 2014.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image002.png@01CFB882.72BCF880]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
I am following up with you regarding my email from August 6, 2014 (see attached) seeking clarification by August 8, 2014; as well as my follow-up email from August 15, 2014, requesting response by September 5, 2014.
Have you had a chance to consider whether you want to pay for the remaining years (all fields) from iCompass ($750.00 plus tax)? Was what I provided you with on July 21, 2014 sufficient?
Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. If I do not hear from you by September 19, 2014, I will assume what has already been provided on July 21, 2014 satisfied your request, and I will close it as complete.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image006.png@01CFC915.9B9604B0]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Phil Mocek
Dear Ms. Petty:
I want a copy the public record in its native electronic format. How you manage that is your business. If staff at your agency have devised and implemented a system by which a private party is holding that public record hostage, I want to you to retrieve it from that party and provide me with access to it as required by the law. I understand that this may be a difficult situation. It is not a situation I would choose, and it is one that anyone focused on providing the public with access to our records could easily have foreseen.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
Thank you for your email response, dated September 9, 2014. For your reference, the Freedom of Information Act applies to the Federal Government. The Public Records Act (RCW 42.56<http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56>) applies to the State of Washington.
As mentioned in previous correspondence, the public records request tracking system we use (iCompass) is a proprietary system developed and maintained by iCompass Technologies. It is my understanding that you are not interested in the following options:
· Copy of Database = $500 plus tax (from iCompass: "By providing our a copy of your database without the front end code to relate and structure the data the requestor would not be able to construct and create usable records due to the proprietary way we have structured our system to meet the demands of all our clients") *
· Copy of Excel Spreadsheet = $750 plus tax *
*NOTE: Either option would not include the "specific request" field or any attachments due to confidentiality and other exemptions under the Public Records Act protecting for example: child victims of sexual assault, victims/witnesses, citizen's social security numbers, etc. as per the following:
· Identification of minor victims of sexual assault: RCW 42.56.240 (5) Information revealing the identity of child victims of sexual assault who are under age eighteen. Identifying information means the child victim's name, address, location, photograph, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative or stepchild of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator. RCW 10.97.130 Child victims of sexual assaults, identification confidential. RCW 13.50.050(24) Information identifying child victims under age eighteen who are victims of sexual assaults by juvenile offenders is confidential and not subject to release to the press or public without the permission of the child victim or the child's legal guardian. Identifying information includes the child victim's name, addresses, location, photographs, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator.
· Addresses of child victims and child witnesses of violent crimes, sex crimes, or child abuse: RCW 7.69A.050 Rights of child victims and witnesses - Confidentiality of address, RCW 7.69A.030 Rights of child victims and witnesses.
· Victim and Witness identifying information - Safety concern: RCW 42.56.240(2) Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or penology agencies, other than the commission, if disclosure would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time a complaint is filed the complainant, victim, or witness indicates a desire for disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern.
· Social Security Numbers are exempt from disclosure per 42 USC § 405(c)(2)(C)(viii)(I) and per RCW 42.56.230 which states that documents and related materials and scanned images of documents and related materials used to prove identity, age, residential address, social security number, or other personal information required to apply for a driver's license or identicard is exempt from public inspection and copying.
Per the Public Records Act<http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56> - PRA (RCW 42.56.120) and the Washington Administrative Code<http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx> - WAC (WAC 44-14-03002) requesters may inspect records at our office at no charge, by making an appointment at our office between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The PRA and WAC also allows for agencies to charge actual costs associated with producing responsive records (reference WAC 44-14-050 and RCW 43.105.280).
On July 21, 2014, we provided you with an MS Excel spreadsheet to include all requests (per year) in our public records tracking system, iCompass, since its inception from September 2010 through July 14, 2014. Attached you will find the remainder of 2014 to present (July 14, 2014 to September 17, 2014 at 10:00 AM).
This is our final response to your request, as we are closing your request as completed. For future requests, you may make them on our website here<http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure/Online%20Requests.aspx>.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image002.png@01CFD1C2.D7DD7830]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good afternoon, Mr. Mocek!
Thank you for your email response, dated September 9, 2014. For your reference, the Freedom of Information Act applies to the Federal Government. The Public Records Act (RCW 42.56<http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56>) applies to the State of Washington.
As mentioned in previous correspondence, the public records request tracking system we use (iCompass) is a proprietary system developed and maintained by iCompass Technologies. It is my understanding that you are not interested in the following options:
· Copy of Database = $500 plus tax (from iCompass: "By providing our a copy of your database without the front end code to relate and structure the data the requestor would not be able to construct and create usable records due to the proprietary way we have structured our system to meet the demands of all our clients") *
· Copy of Excel Spreadsheet = $750 plus tax *
*NOTE: Either option would not include the "specific request" field or any attachments due to confidentiality and other exemptions under the Public Records Act protecting for example: child victims of sexual assault, victims/witnesses, citizen's social security numbers, etc. as per the following:
· Identification of minor victims of sexual assault: RCW 42.56.240 (5) Information revealing the identity of child victims of sexual assault who are under age eighteen. Identifying information means the child victim's name, address, location, photograph, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative or stepchild of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator. RCW 10.97.130 Child victims of sexual assaults, identification confidential. RCW 13.50.050(24) Information identifying child victims under age eighteen who are victims of sexual assaults by juvenile offenders is confidential and not subject to release to the press or public without the permission of the child victim or the child's legal guardian. Identifying information includes the child victim's name, addresses, location, photographs, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator.
· Addresses of child victims and child witnesses of violent crimes, sex crimes, or child abuse: RCW 7.69A.050 Rights of child victims and witnesses - Confidentiality of address, RCW 7.69A.030 Rights of child victims and witnesses.
· Victim and Witness identifying information - Safety concern: RCW 42.56.240(2) Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or penology agencies, other than the commission, if disclosure would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time a complaint is filed the complainant, victim, or witness indicates a desire for disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern.
· Social Security Numbers are exempt from disclosure per 42 USC § 405(c)(2)(C)(viii)(I) and per RCW 42.56.230 which states that documents and related materials and scanned images of documents and related materials used to prove identity, age, residential address, social security number, or other personal information required to apply for a driver's license or identicard is exempt from public inspection and copying.
Per the Public Records Act<http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56> - PRA (RCW 42.56.120) and the Washington Administrative Code<http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx> - WAC (WAC 44-14-03002) requesters may inspect records at our office at no charge, by making an appointment at our office between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The PRA and WAC also allows for agencies to charge actual costs associated with producing responsive records (reference WAC 44-14-050 and RCW 43.105.280).
On July 21, 2014, we provided you with an MS Excel spreadsheet to include all requests (per year) in our public records tracking system, iCompass, since its inception from September 2010 through July 14, 2014. Attached you will find the remainder of 2014 to present (July 14, 2014 to September 17, 2014 at 10:00 AM).
This is our final response to your request, as we are closing your request as completed. For future requests, you may make them on our website here<http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure/Online%20Requests.aspx>.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image002.png@01CFD1C2.D7DD7830]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff<http://www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff>
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: Phil Mocek
Dear Ms. Petty:
I received your e-mail of September 17. I understand from it that you refuse to provide me with a copy of the public record I requested--your log of receipt and processing of my and other people's requests for public records--in its native electronic format unless I pay a fee of more than $500 ($500 plus an unspecified tax), and that you are willing to instead provide a copy of the record in a proprietary but generally-commercially-available format (Microsoft Excel) for a fee of more than $750 ($750 plus an unspecified tax).
Neither of these options is acceptable to me, and neither satisfies your duty under state law.
The Washington Public Records Act does not allow you to demand more than the actual cost of making copies of public records as a condition of providing those copies upon request from the public. [RCW 42.56.120][1] (Public Records Act, section "Charges for copying") states, "A reasonable charge may be imposed for providing copies of public records and for the use by any person of agency equipment or equipment of the office of the secretary of the senate or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives to copy public records, which charges shall not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the agency, the office of the secretary of the senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives for its actual costs directly incident to such copying."
[1]: <http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56&full=true#42.56.120>
The actual cost of making an electronic copy of a relational database backup is not $500. Based on my experience, I know that such a task typically takes a few seconds of work followed by a period of unattended wait time proportional to the size of the file to be copied. I write computer software and administer computer systems for a living, and have done so for almost 20 years. I previously wrote item file database access software for the largest retailer in the world, and I am now jointly responsible for administration of a relational database with more than 4 Terabytes of data, containing records of approximately ten million people's records of interaction with their health care providers for more than a decade. Surely, the record I have requested from you is several orders of magnitude smaller than those with which I have hands-on experience. Even with the most costly of labor, neither making a backup nor copying an existing backup has ever in my experience cost anywhere near $500.
Any competent database administrator would arrange for backups to be made automatically on a regular basis. I am simply requesting that someone enter a command similar to, "cp /path/to/records_request_log_backup.yyyy-mm-dd.sql /mnt/cdrom/" then send me the disk, possibly after redacting nondisclosable information that you have chosen to co-mingle with disclosable information.
I have not requested and do not intend to request the creation of a new record, but the copying of an existing one. The Washington State Attorney General's [model rules for electronic records][2] state (p2):
"Making an electronic copy of an electronic record is not `creating' a new record; instead, it is similar to copying a paper copy. Similarly, eliminating a field of an electronic record can be a method of redaction; it is similar to redacting portions of a paper record using a black pen or white-out tape to make it available for inspection or copying."
I believe the actual cost of copying this electronic record is de minimus, and that you should not charge for electronically copying and e-mailing it. [WAC 44-14-07003][3] ("Charges for electronic records"), referenced on page 10 of the [ATG model rules][2], states:
"Agencies are strongly encouraged to provide copies of electronic records in an electronic format. See RCW 43.105.250 (encouraging state and local agencies to make `public records widely available electronically to the public.'). As with charges for paper copies, `actual cost' is the primary factor for charging for electronic records. In many cases, the `actual cost' of providing an existing electronic record is de minimis. For example, a requestor requests an agency to e-mail an existing Excel spreadsheet. The agency should not charge for the de minimis cost of electronically copying and e-mailing the existing spreadsheet."
[3]: <http://app.leg.wa.gov/Wac/default.aspx?cite=44-14-07003>
Should it be impractical to send the electronic file via e-mail, I am willing to pay actual cost of storage media (e.g., CDROM), postage, and shipping container.
I am authorized to specify that my preferred method of access to the record is an electronic copy. The aforementioned [model rules for electronic records][2] state (pp-6-7):
"Access to a public record can be provided by allowing inspection of the record, providing a copy, or posting the record on the agency's web site and assisting the requestor in finding it (if necessary). An agency must mail a copy of records if requested and if the requestor pays the actual cost of postage and the mailing container. The requestor can specify which method of access (or combination, such as inspection and then copying) he or she prefers."
Despite my authorization to specify preferred method of access, I have offered flexibility in specification of method of access. In my e-mail of July 23, I stated my then-preference to examine the record in the manner you described in your e-mail of July 15, which was via login to your electronic system using a read-only account, prior to determination of whether to proceed with acquisition of a copy of the record. Ten days later, you responded with notification that providing such custom access would be extremely burdensome to you because of your co-mingling of nondisclosable and disclosable portions of information contained in the record.
This choice to co-mingle nondisclosable and disclosable information in a public record seems a poor one, as it complicates public disclosure of the record. To be clear: I am not at this time requesting the content of records you have disclosed to other requestors, but your log of related work. I find it curious that any portion of a log of processing of requests for public records would, itself, be nondisclosable to the public.
Any cost of separating nondisclosable information from disclosable information you have chosen to comingle, whether in preparation for customized electronic access or for disclosure of an electronic record, should not be borne by the requestor. [RCW 43.41A.130][4] ("Electronic access to public records -- Costs and fees") states:
"Funding to meet the costs of providing access, including the building of the necessary information systems, the digitizing of information, developing the ability to mask nondisclosable information, and maintenance and upgrade of information access systems should come primarily from state and local appropriations, federal dollars, grants, private funds, cooperative ventures among governments, nonexclusive licensing, and public/private partnerships."
[4]: <http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.41A.130>
It is apparent to me that your agency has chosen to store our public record with a third party who, while privy to the entire record, and while reportedly providing you with convenient remote views of the records, now demand an unreasonable fee for proving copies of that record in its native electronic format to you. It seems that you are using that unreasonable demand to avoid providing access to the record to the public as you are required to do by the Public Records Act. Storing some of our public records with a private business who holds them ransom like you have described to me seems an effective way of deciding what is good for the people to know and what is not good for us to know. You are [prohibited by law][5] from deciding such.
The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created.
[5]: <http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56&full=true#42.56.030>
Please reconsider your denial of my access to the record I requested.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Phil Mocek
Dear Ms. Petty:
Please consider my e-mail of 30 minutes ago to be a petition for internal administrative review of denial of access to the record I requested.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Petty, Kimberly
Good morning, Mr. Mocek!
This email is follow-up to my email dated September 17, 2014 @1:16 PM. I received a phone call from iCompass on September 17, 2014 @4:54 PM, letting me know that they found a way to extract all of the data from iCompass to an Excel spreadsheet. Yesterday they were able to complete this work at no charge. Because the data is too large to send via email, you may access and download the file at the following: https://csknowledgebase.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=9511
Please note, because this is a public site, the file will be available only until close of business (4:30 PM PST) on October 15, 2014. You need to download the file by that date/time, as it will be removed from the iCompass public site on October 15, 2014 after 4:30 PM PST.
As explained before, due to potential exempt information in the "specific request" field, the Excel spreadsheet does not include that field. The following are potential exemptions cited:
· Social Security Numbers are exempt from disclosure per 42 USC § 405(c)(2)(C)(viii)(I) and per RCW 42.56.230 which states that documents and related materials and scanned images of documents and related materials used to prove identity, age, residential address, social security number, or other personal information required to apply for a driver's license or identicard is exempt from public inspection and copying.
· Identification of minor victims of sexual assault: RCW 42.56.240 (5) Information revealing the identity of child victims of sexual assault who are under age eighteen. Identifying information means the child victim's name, address, location, photograph, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative or stepchild of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator. RCW 10.97.130 Child victims of sexual assaults, identification confidential. RCW 13.50.050(24) Information identifying child victims under age eighteen who are victims of sexual assaults by juvenile offenders is confidential and not subject to release to the press or public without the permission of the child victim or the child's legal guardian. Identifying information includes the child victim's name, addresses, location, photographs, and in cases in which the child victim is a relative of the alleged perpetrator, identification of the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator.
· Addresses of child victims and child witnesses of violent crimes, sex crimes, or child abuse: RCW 7.69A.050 Rights of child victims and witnesses - Confidentiality of address, RCW 7.69A.030 Rights of child victims and witnesses.
· Victim and Witness identifying information - Safety concern: RCW 42.56.240(2) Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or penology agencies, other than the commission, if disclosure would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time a complaint is filed the complainant, victim, or witness indicates a desire for disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern.
In response to your petition for internal administration review made on September 29, 2014 @ 2:05 PM, I have forwarded your request on to our Legal Advisor for review. You will hear from her under separate cover.
This completes your request. If you have questions or require additional information, please don't hesitate to ask.
Kimberly Petty | Public Records Program Manager | Sheriff's Administration
[cid:image001.jpg@01C98B9C.B8A722D0][cid:image006.png@01CFE2E8.8096CBD0]
' 206.263.2630 | È 206.240.7013 | www.kingcounty.gov/sheriff
To make a request for records, please visit the King County Sheriff's Office website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff/Services/PublicDisclosure.aspx.
The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you.
From: CivicWeb - King County Sheriff's Office
Responsive documents.
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