General Order 1100-Official Document Handling Procedures 1104
B. A written estimate of charges shall be provided to the requestor in a cost estimate letter that will also outline any shipping charges should the requestor opt to have the information mailed. If payment is not received in ten (10) business days from the cost estimate letter being mailed to the requestor, the open records request will be assumed to have been rescinded. The requested information will only be released after payment is received. A receipt shall be given to the requestor.
C. The public shall have the right to view or inspect documents that are not otherwise protected without charge. The requestor must complete their review of the information within ten (10) days after the information becomes available or the request shall be considered withdrawn, unless the requestor, in writing, requests additional time. Should redaction of protected information be necessary, the inspection of documents is not an option. Copies with redactions must be provided. The cost for such copies will follow state guidelines, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Title 1, Chapter 70, Cost of Copies of Public Information.
D. Requestors shall be treated courteously; with reasonable accommodations for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements being afforded, if needed.
Requestors may not be questioned as to the reason for their request or as to what purpose they plan to use the information. This does not preclude asking for clarification of a request if the request is vague or difficult to interpret.
E. Requests should be processed in a reasonable time period, but in all cases, action must be taken within 10 business days. Reasonable action includes, but is not limited to: complying by providing information requested or requesting an Attorney General Opinion concerning the request and/or review for non-disclosure of protected information. Requests for an Attorney General’s Opinion shall be handled through the Department’s legal advisor.
1. Any document(s) forwarded to the Department’s legal advisor for review, shall be a copy of the original document. No original document(s) shall leave the Department.
F. If the request is sent for an Attorney General’s opinion, the request shall be pending. Once an opinion is received, the request shall be completed according to the specifications of the Attorney General. If no information is to be released, a copy of the ruling shall be sent to the requestor by the Department’s legal advisor.
G. A duplicate copy of the released information shall be maintained in the Records
Unit.
General Order 1100-Official Document Handling Procedures 1105
H. The logging sheet utilized for the tracking of open records requests shall record the date the open records request is received, the date the open records request was sent to the Department’s legal advisor, the date the open records request was completed, the name of the requestor, and the processor’s name. All personnel handling open records shall maintain information on the phase of the request to ensure proper tracking of the request.
VI. DUTY TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS
A. If the request is for records maintained in the Records Unit (i.e. accident reports, offense reports, arrest reports, etc.), the Records Manager shall process the request. Should the requested information be considered protected information, the Records Manager or designee shall forward the request through the respective chain of command to the Department’s legal advisor for an Attorney General Opinion. If the information requested relates to a motor vehicle record, the requestor may be required to provide additional identifying information sufficient to determine whether the requestor is eligible to receive the information under Chapter 730, Transportation Code.
B. Requests related to an internal affairs investigation, complaints on employees, media requests or any other information kept under the control of the Office of the Chief of Police shall be processed by that office. Should the information requested be considered protected information, the request shall be forwarded, through the respective chain of command, to the Department’s legal advisor to request an Attorney General Opinion.
C. All requests pertaining to personnel information, along with requests for copies of Personnel Files shall be processed by the City Secretary / Human Resource Director. Any request that involves coordination among departments and/or information not directly related to a police incident shall be processed by the City Secretary.
1. Requests pertaining to an employee’s departmental file shall be processed by the Office of the Chief of Police.
D. If the request is directed to the Department or the Chief of Police, the
responsibility of ensuring the completion of the request will remain in the Office
of the Chief of Police regardless of what department or division processes the
request.
General Order 1100-Official Document Handling Procedures 1106
E. It is the duty of the employee processing the request to notify the requestor when the information is ready for pickup or provide the information by mail. If the fee to provide the information is less than one dollar ($1.00) then the fee shall be waived. If an Attorney General Opinion is being requested then the requestor shall be a forwarded a copy of the letter requesting the Attorney General Opinion by the Department’s legal advisor.
F. In accordance with the Government Code, Chapter 552, Texas Public Information Act, if the requestor is incarcerated at the time of the request then no response is required.
VII. PROCEDURES FOR EXPUNCTION
A. The Administrative Assistant, the Chief of Police or his designee, shall stamp the incoming expunction order RECEIVED and place the date and their initials on. The envelope shall stay with the order. The order shall be logged in such a manner that does not identify the petitioner’s name. For example, using the petitioner’s cause number or initials.
B. The Records Unit shall maintain an expunction log using the petitioner’s initials, court of reference and cause number as to not identify the petitioner’s name. The Records Unit shall make a good faith effort to ensure that no division, unit, or person possesses any documents covered by the order. This verification will be logged on an Expunction Verification Form and kept in the Records Unit.
C. Upon verification that there are no remaining documents covered by the order, the expunction shall be considered granted as ordered by the court. A certified letter shall be mailed to the court to notify them of compliance with the order.
D. Although there is no time limit on the expunction order, the Records Unit shall make every effort to comply in a timely manner.
E. The release, maintenance, dissemination or use of expunged files is prohibited for any reason and is punishable by a Class B misdemeanor.
VIII. METHODS OF EXPUNCTION
A. There are three (3) methods of complying with an expunction order:
1. Deliver: must return all records and files that are subject to the expunction
order to the court or the entity is indicated on the expunction order. This is
the preferred method.
General Order 1100-Official Document Handling Procedures 1107
2. Delete: must delete all portions of the record or file that identify the petitioner. This option is used when there are multiple offenses arising out of the arrest, but only one is expunged. This method is also used when there are multiple arrested persons, but only one is granted expunction.
a. In the case of an identity theft/misuse of identity expunction, the wrongly identified arrested person’s information must be deleted and the actual identity of the arrested person substituted in its place. The file must include a notation that the misused identity has been removed, pursuant to an expunction order and include the case number.
3. Destroy: the actual destruction of references of the petitioner’s arrest.
a. In the case of an identity theft/misuse of identity expunctions, this method is not acceptable. The wrongly identified person’s information must be deleted and the actual identity of the arrested person substituted in its place.
B. The petitioner is entitled to a copy of the material delivered to the District Clerk if the request is made before the end of the statutory period. The Department should delete or destroy anything that cannot be legally turned over or should not be released publicly such as: criminal history printouts, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services records and child pornography. The preferred method of expunction for the Department will be to delete and destroy.
IX. INCLUDED RECORDS OF EXPUNCTION All records and files relating to the arrest to include:
A. All index references to the expunged files from any public records;
B. All portions that identifies the person whose records are being expunged from receipts, invoices, vouchers, for internal bookkeeping purposes;
C. Physical evidence:
1. Expunction orders will supersede any department policy or retention schedule;
2. If evidence applies to multiple cases, then the identifying information of
the expunged person will be deleted;
3. For chain of custody purposes, include a notation that the identifying information was removed pursuant to expunction order.
General Order 1100-Official Document Handling Procedures 1108
4. The expunction order serves as an order of destruction for property purposes.
X. EFFECTIVE DATE
A. Any previous directive, rule, order or regulation that pertains to this subject matter and its amendments shall remain in full force and effect for any violation(s) which occur prior to the effective date of this General Order.
B. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this General Order is, for any reason, held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this General Order.
C. All training on this General Order will be in accordance with General Order 100, Written Directive System, Chapter VIII, Training.
D. The effective date is stated in the header block of this General Order.
EASTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
In document
Eastland
(Page 102-107)