Directive 8.14 Right to know, Flashcards
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, Effective January 1, 2009, the City of Philadelphia adopted a policy to comply with the Commonwealth’s Act 3 of 2008, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101 et seq., commonly known as
“Right to Know Law.” Members of the public have a right to request, inspect and/or copy such records upon request with certain exceptions
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, The law further requires that the department post the following at department facilities and on the website:
PLEAC 4.11.1c
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, Contact information for the open-records officer (who must be designated by the department.
PLEAC 4.11.1b
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, Contact information for the Office of Open Records or other applicable appeals officer such as the District Attorney for investigative records.
PLEAC 4.11.1c2
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, A form which may be used to file a request
PLEAC 4.11.1c3)
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, Regulations, policies and procedures of the agency relating to this act.
PLEAC 4.11.1c4)
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, the City has required that all Right to Know Requests to be submitted on or with the standard statewide Right to Know form attached to the end of this Directive. All other requests will be processed as informal requests. this when into effect ?
Effective February 1, 2012,
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, There shall be no limitation on the number of records requested or _______?
made available for inspection or duplication; and/or requirement to disclose the purpose or motive in requesting access to records. (PLEAC 4.11.1d)
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, All requests for public records of the Philadelphia Police Department pursuant to the
Right-To-Know Law must be __________?
non-anonymous . Each written request shall be submitted in person, by mail, by facsimile or by e-mail. The Law does not require that the City of
Philadelphia act upon anonymous requests
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know, To qualify as a written request under the Right to Know Law, the request must be directed to the appropriate Open Records Officer, be submitted on or with the standard statewide form and contain, at a minimum, the following information:
- The requester’s name;
- The requester’s address;
- The records being sought, identified or described with sufficient specificity to allow the Philadelphia Police Department to ascertain which records are being requested
All written requests should be addressed as follows:
The Right-To-Know Officer Philadelphia Police Department 400 Broad st, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1587 E-mail: Police.RightToKnow@phila.gov FAX: (215) 686-1183
Philadelphia Police Department does not currently maintain, format, or
organize the record.
The Police Department is not expected to provide extraordinary staff or staff time to respond to requests, but will respond in a manner consistent with Department administrative responsibilities and requirements of ________
the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law
The designated Open Records Officer shall make a good faith effort to determine if the record(s) requested is a public record and respond to the requester within
five (5) business days from the date of receipt of the written request. The response must either be a final or interim response to the requester. If the Open Records Officer fails to respond within this (5) day time period, the request is deemed denied.
According to Directive 8.14 Right to know The initial response may be one of the following:
a. The request is approved, and making arrangements to provide access promptly;
b. A final response cannot be provided within five (5) business days for the stated reasons; or
c. The request is denied.
Additionally, should the Department need more time than _____________? the to process the request, the requester must approve of this extension in writing or the request is deemed denied
maximum (30) days
The Police Department’s final response may be one of the following:
- Grant the request;
- Deny the request;
- Grant the request in part and deny the request in part; or
- Grant the request and redact part of the information provided pursuant to the Law and/or other applicable federal, state and local law.
If a request for access to a record is denied (whole or part) or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal within______?
(15) business days of the mailing date of the denial.
There are two types of appeals:
a. Criminal Investigative Records- These appeals are directed to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Address: District Attorney’s Office Civil Litigation Unit Open Records Appeals Officer Three South Penn Square Philadelphia, PA 19107-3499
b. Non-Criminal Investigative Records- These appeals are directed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. Address: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Commonwealth Keystone Building 400 North Street, 4th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225
The Appeals Officer shall make the final determination which shall be mailed to the requester and the City of Philadelphia within _____?
(30) thirty days
The City of Philadelphia may impose reasonable additional fees for:
a. Enhanced electronic access
b. Certified copies
Public Record-
Any document that satisfies the general definition of “public record” set forth in the Law and does not fall within any of the exceptions set forth therein, as the definition and exceptions are amended from time to time.
Open Records Officer-
Any official or employee of the City of Philadelphia who is officially assigned responsibility for receiving, tracking, and responding to requests for information under the Right to Know Law.
Requester-
A person who requests a record under the Right to Know Law.
State Office of Open Records-
Responsible for issuing advisory opinions, training agencies and public employees, assigning appeals officers to review decisions and conducting a biannual review of fees allowed under the Law.
