Policy Text
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CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDER
RECORDS RETENTION
GENERAL ORDER: 03.20 CREATED: September 11, 2018 ISSUE DATE: September 9, 2025
CALEA STANDARD:
NCLEA STANDARD: EFFECTIVE DATE: September 9, 2025
ACTION: Amends general order dated October 1, 2022 . REVIEW DATE:
03.20.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this general order is to set guidelines for the retention and disposal of public
records related to the official business of the Concord Police Department.
03.20.1 POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Concord Police Department to retain and dispose of its public
records in accordance with the Municipal Records Retention and Disposition published by
the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Division of Archives and Records.
Public records exist in many forms, including email messages and attachments. All records,
including email, are to be managed based upon their content.
03.20.2 DEFINITIONS
A. ELECTRONIC OR MACHINE -READABLE RECORDS
All records on an electronic storage media. Electronic record means any information
that is recorded in a form that only a computer can process.
B. ELECTRONIC MAIL (EMAIL)
Electronic mail is the transmission of memos, images, notes, linkages and attachments
between computers.
C. HISTORICAL VALUE
Historical records document significant events, actions, decision s, conditions,
relationships, and similar developments. These records have administrative, legal,
fiscal, or evid entiary importance for the government or its citizens.
D. PUBLIC RECORD
All documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, audio recordings,
magnetic, or other tapes, electronic data -processing records, or other material,
regardless of form, made or received, pursuant to the transaction of public business
by the Concord Police Department. Public records exclude personnel files and criminal
investigation files.
E. USERS
All department coworkers that have email accounts on the City of Co ncord’s email
system.
General Order 03. 20 RECORDS RETENTION Page 2 of 3
03.20.3 PUBLIC RECORDS
A. RETENTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS
Public records must be retained for the length of time required by the Municipal
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule. The schedule categorizes public records
into standards. Each standard contains a list setting different retention periods
depending on the content of the record. Retention requirements for records pertaining
to the Concord Police Department are found in the following standards:
Standard 1 - Administ rative and Management Records
Standard 4 - Budget, Fiscal and Payroll Records
Standard 6 - Emergency Services and Fire Department Records
Standard 7 - Fleet Maintenance Records
Standard 8 - Information Technology (IT) Records
Standard 9 - Law Enforcemen t Records
Standard 10 - Legal Records
Standard 12 - Personnel Records
Standard 15 - Public Relations Records
Standard 18 – Risk Management
NOTE: Concord Police Department records shall be retained as required by
the Law Enforcement Records Minimum Retention Standards as
published in the Municipal Records Retention and Disposition
Schedule
B. DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC RECORDS
1. Records contained in the Municipal Rec ords Retention and Disposition Schedule
may be destroyed after the specified retention periods. Records eligible for
destruction must be shredded by a firm contracted to provide this service.
2. Original records that have been duplicated shall not be destroyed before the
retention period specified in the schedule without further approval.
3. Records not authorized for destruction or other disposition may be disposed of
by completing and submitting the North Carolina Department of Cultural
Resources “Requ est for Change in Local Government Records Schedule” form to
have records destroyed.
03.20.4 EMAIL RETENTION
A. Records communicated through the email system are public records under the North
Carolina Public Records Act and must be made accessible unless its content is exempt
from inspection by statute or other regulation. As such, email messages must be
easily identifiable, protected and retained according to the schedule.
B. Email that has no administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value may be deleted as
soon as it has served its purpose. Such records include meeting notices or requests
for meetings, confirmations of appointments, travel reservations, personal messages,
junk mail, or transmittal of documents without comments.
General Order 03. 20 RECORDS RETENTION Page 3 of 3
NOTE: Coworkers should restrict their personal emails to a personal email
account to reduce the risk of personal email s being disclosed in a
bulk public records request. Similarly, coworkers who use personal
email accounts to conduct public business are creating public
records and should know they are expected to provide public access
to any such messages in the event of a public records request.
03.20.5 NON-PUBLIC RECORDS
A. Records of Criminal Investigations, as defined in NCGS 132 -1.4(b), whether open,
pending or closed, are not public records , pursuant to NCGS 132 -1.4(a) and are
not subject to disclosure except as required under NCGS 132 -1.4(c) or NCGS 15A -
903 unless the Chief of Police determines that disclosure is necessary to satisfy an
important governmental interest in solving a crime or maintaining the public’s trust
and confidence.
B. Personnel Records in their entirety are