PROVIDENCE – NRI NOW filed a proper criticism with Rhode Island Lawyer Common Peter Neronha’s workplace on Monday in opposition to the Glocester Police Division for failure to reply to an Entry to Public Data Act request.
On Friday, April 25, NRI NOW filed an APRA request to Lt. Jeffrey Jenison, who serves the division’s data officer, asking for copies of two particular arrest stories from the month of March.
By regulation, the division had ten days to reply to the request however to this point, NRI NOW has not acquired a response.
First enacted in 1979, Rhode Island’s Access to Public Record Act guarantees access to public records of government bodies at all levels. Police reports reflecting the initial arrest of an adult are explicitly deemed public under the act.
The law allows ten days for a public body to deny a request, and if the agency does not respond within ten days, it is deemed a denial.
It is not the first time the publication had difficulty obtaining public records from the Glocester Police Department. When NRI NOW submitted similar requests for arrest records in January and February, Jenison responded that the investigations in three different cases were still ongoing – even as all three individuals involved had criminal charges filed against them that were proceeding in state courts.
It was only earlier this month, under threat of an APRA complaint to the Attorney General’s office, that arrest records in the cases from January and February were finally released.
At the time, NRI NOW warned that a complaint would be submitted in the future if the non-compliance continued.
“I’ve been I’ve been happy to wait in hopes of establishing a collaborative, positive relationship going forward,” noted publisher Sandy Hall of the records in an email to Jenison. “I know there are, indeed, times when an investigation is ongoing – but that’s typically in about one out of every 50 or so cases with the other agencies that I work with. Now that I’ve been denied records in 3/3 cases in Glocester it has become clear that I need to take further action.”
“At this point, all three requested records are well past the state-mandated deadline, and while I’d prefer to save your department the headache of an official complaint, I will submit one soon if that’s what’s needed in order to access these public records,” the note continued. “Please do confer as needed with the Attorney General’s office and get any clarification that might be necessary in order to regularly comply with this important law.”
In the latest records request, a complaint was filed via email with supporting documentation on Monday, May 12.
A court can impose a fine of up to $2,000 for “knowing and willful” violations of the APRA, and a fine of up to $1,000 for reckless violations.
