Rhode Island police certification 2023-3-3
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | March 3, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Sam Stecklow
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a public records request made via MuckRock under the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act, seeking records related to law enforcement officer certification in this state.
This request is brought by Big Local News along with a collaboration of news organizations, including ABC News, KQED, MuckRock, the Invisible Institute, and other news organizations. Big Local News is a program of Stanford University’s Journalism and Democracy Initiative and helps journalists collect, process and analyze public data.
We are seeking two categories of certification records:
* All certified officers
All law enforcement officers who are actively certified as of the date of this request (or when the request is processed). If your system maintains historical records of previously certified officers who are no longer active, please include them as far back as possible. If correctional officers are certified by your agency, please include them as well.
* Decertified officers
All law enforcement officers who have been decertified through revocations, voluntary surrenders, suspensions or any other actions going back as far as possible. Please include records for decertified correctional officers if available.
Data elements for certified officers:
* Officer unique ID number
* POST or state certification ID number
* Officer’s full name
* Officer’s date of birth or, if not releasable, year of birth or current age
* Officer’s city and/or zip code of residence
* Officer’s last/current department or agency
* Officer’s last/current department or agency start date
* Officer’s last/current position and/or rank at that department or agency
* Officer’s previous departments/agencies (employment history), with start and end dates
* Officer’s positions and/or ranks at previous departments or agencies
* Officer’s original date of certification
* Current status of certification (active, lapsed, expired, suspended, etc.)
* Last action taken on certification
* Date of last action on certification
* Disciplinary actions taken against this officer’s certification
* Dates of disciplinary actions taken against this officer’s certification
* Training history/additional certifications of this officer, if available
Data elements for decertified officers:
* Officer unique ID number
* POST ID number
* Officer’s full name
* Officer’s date of birth or, if not releasable, year of birth or current age
* Officer’s city and/or zip code of residence.
* Officer’s last department/agency, with start and end date
* Officer’s last position and/or rank at that department or agency
* Decertification action taken (revocation, suspension, voluntary surrender, etc.)
* Date decertification action taken
* POST case number, if applicable
* Reason for decertification or similar action
If your certification system contains data elements not listed above, please include them in the response, provided they are releasable under the law. On the other hand, we recognize some of the information we are asking for may not be tracked by your system. If that is the case, we are willing to accept as many of the data elements as your agency maintains. If some records are more readily available, we are happy to receive partial information as soon as possible while the remaining request is processed.
In addition to the data elements listed, we request documentation necessary to understand and interpret the data, including but not limited to record layouts, data dictionaries, code sheets, lookup tables, etc.
Our preference is to receive structured data provided in a machine-readable text file, such as delimited or fixed-width formats. We can also handle a variety of other data formats including SQL databases, Excel workbooks and MS Access. If there are additional formats your agency would prefer to provide, please let us know.
We are seeking this information as a news media organization on a matter of public interest concerning the conduct of government. As such, we ask for a waiver of all fees, if allowed under state law. If fees are necessary to reimburse the agency for actual costs, we agree to pay up to $100. If costs exceed that amount, please let us know before fulfilling the request.
Please send clarifications and questions via electronic communication at any time. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this request.
Sam Stecklow
Journalist
Invisible Institute
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 6, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Rhode Island Police Officers Commission On Standards And Training
Dear Mr. Stecklow:
Please see attached in response to your request.
If you need anything further, feel free to contact our office.
Office of Legal Counsel
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety
311 Danielson Pike | Scituate, RI 02857
Office: 401 764 0537 | Fax: 401 444 1105
records@risp.gov<mailto:records@risp.gov>| www.dps.ri.gov<http://www.dps.ri.gov/>
[State of Rhode Island: Department of Public Safety]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
The information contained in this message and any attachments is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, you are prohibited from copying, distributing, or using the information. Please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the original message from your system.
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From: Sam Stecklow
Hello
Thank you for this response. Can you clarify, none of the requested documents are computerized, at all?
Thanks
Sam
From: Rhode Island Police Officers Commission On Standards And Training
We are reviewing this matter and will get back to you as soon as possible.
Office of Legal Counsel
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety
311 Danielson Pike | Scituate, RI 02857
Office: 401 764 0537 | Fax: 401 444 1105
records@risp.gov<mailto:records@risp.gov>| www.dps.ri.gov<http://www.dps.ri.gov/>
[State of Rhode Island: Department of Public Safety]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
The information contained in this message and any attachments is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, you are prohibited from copying, distributing, or using the information. Please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the original message from your system.
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From: Sam Stecklow
Thank you
From: Rhode Island Police Officers Commission On Standards And Training
Good afternoon.
Be advised that we have obtained some records containing some responsive information. We are working to redact the documents and will follow-up with an updated response as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Office of Legal Counsel
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety
311 Danielson Pike | Scituate, RI 02857
Office: 401 764 0537 | Fax: 401 444 1105
records@risp.gov<mailto:records@risp.gov>| www.dps.ri.gov<http://www.dps.ri.gov/>
[State of Rhode Island: Department of Public Safety]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
The information contained in this message and any attachments is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, you are prohibited from copying, distributing, or using the information. Please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the original message from your system.
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image001
From: Sam Stecklow
Thank you
From: Rhode Island Police Officers Commission On Standards And Training
Dear Mr. Stecklow:
Please see attached in response to your request.
If you need anything further, feel free to contact our office.
Office of Legal Counsel
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety
311 Danielson Pike | Scituate, RI 02857
Office: 401 764 0537 | Fax: 401 444 1105
records@risp.gov<mailto:records@risp.gov>| www.dps.ri.gov<http://www.dps.ri.gov/>
[State of Rhode Island: Department of Public Safety]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
The information contained in this message and any attachments is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, you are prohibited from copying, distributing, or using the information. Please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the original message from your system.
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image001
From: Sam Stecklow
Thank you for this file.
It seems like this may be a CSV-type file that was made into a PDF for redaction purposes. In the process, it seems that some text from the "Incomplete" column on the right was cut off. Would it be possible to produce the same file as a CSV, but simply fully remove the columns for date of birth and Social Security Number, to ensure that private information isn't released?
Thanks
Sam
From: Rhode Island Police Officers Commission On Standards And Training
Dear Mr. Stecklow:
Please see attached to supplement our response of April 11, 2023. This updated spreadsheet shows the details for the individuals that contained information in the right column which was cut off from the prior documents. Redactions were made to portions of the records pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b) and (4)(D)(c) which exempt the release of personal individually-identifiable records that could reasonably be expected to be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or could disclose information furnished on a confidential basis.
While several additional hours was utilized in preparing responsive records, this Department will not seek payment for this matter.
In accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8, you have the right to appeal this to Colonel Darnell S. Weaver, Director, Rhode Island Dept. of Public Safety, 311 Danielson Pike, North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857. Or you may file a complaint with the Department of the Attorney General, 150 South Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 02903, or the Rhode Island Superior Court of the county where the record(s) are maintained.
Office of Legal Counsel
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety
311 Danielson Pike | Scituate, RI 02857
Office: 401 764 0537 | Fax: 401 444 1105
records@risp.gov<mailto:records@risp.gov>| www.dps.ri.gov<http://www.dps.ri.gov/>
[State of Rhode Island: Department of Public Safety]
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
The information contained in this message and any attachments is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, you are prohibited from copying, distributing, or using the information. Please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the original message from your system.
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image001
From: Sam Stecklow
Thank you
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