Policy Text
\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
SUBJECT
Records Management
CHIEF OF POLICE
Proudly Policing Since Nationally Accredited
1841 1986
NUMBER ORIGINAL ISSUE CURRENT REVISION TOTAL PAGES
17 03/01/1988 04/30/2021 17
AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES
FS Chapter 119, Public Records
General Records Schedule GS1-SL For State and Local Government Agencies
General Records Schedule GS2 For Law Enforcement
Florida Administrative Code 1B-24.003, Public Records Scheduling/Disposition
COT Administrative Policy 206, Public Records Release Procedures
RCD-1, Records Section
RCD-2, Document and File Description/Retention Periods
ACCREDITATION REFERENCES
CALEA Chapter 82
CFA Chapter 26
KEY WORD INDEX
Destruction of Records – Approval Authority Procedure X
Destruction of Records – General Guidelines Procedure IX
General Schedule of Fees Appendix One
Fees and Deposits Required Procedure VI
Inspecting and Photographing Public Records Procedure V
Maintenance of Records Procedure I
Public Records – Information and Explanation Procedure II
Public Records Law Training Procedure VIII
Public Records Requests – General Information Procedure III
Public Records Requests – Member Responsibilities Procedure IV
Retention Timeframe of Requested Documents Procedure VII
POLICY
Department members shall comply with all requirements for the maintenance,\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT
release, and destruction of public records in accordance with applicable Florida
Statutes, Florida Administrative Codes, State of Florida General Records
Schedules, and any other applicable administrative requirements.
DEFINITIONS
Extensive Request: When the nature or volume of a public records request to
inspect, examine, or copy a record requires extensive use of information
technology resources and/or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance, and
fulfilling the request exceeds 15 minutes. See Appendix One for examples of an
extensive request.
Public Record: Per FS 119, any document, paper, letter, map, book, tape,
photograph, film, sound recording, data processing software, or other material,
regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made
or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of
official business by any public agency/entity in the State of Florida. See section II
for additional information, including documents which are not considered public
record.
Public Records Liaison: A member assigned to represent their work unit in
coordinating with the Records Custodian for the release of Department public
records.
Records Custodian: The member assigned to the Records Section to provide
managerial oversight of the release of Department public records.
PROCEDURES
I. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS
A. The Records Section is the central repository for the following
Department records:
1. Incident and offense reports,
2. Arrest affidavits,
3. Property receipts,
4. Traffic crash reports, and
5. Unissued uniform traffic citations and their issuance records.
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B. Unless subject to a specific exemption, records maintained in the
Records Section which are public record include, but are not necessarily
limited to:
1. Traffic crash reports,
2. Arrest/complaint affidavits,
3. Names on the RMS master name index,
4. Incident/Offense reports (to include field interview reports and
trespass warning reports),
5. Property receipts, and
6. Computer Aided Dispatch printouts (i.e., computer printouts of daily
activity/calls for service).
C. Other Department work units are authorized to maintain records
attendant to their function within the agency (e.g., Internal Affairs,
Employee Resources, Criminal Intelligence, Training).
D. While Department investigative units are permitted to maintain separate
case files in accordance with their bureau’s standard operating
procedures, all original reports listed in A 1 – 4 above shall be
maintained in the Records Section.
II. PUBLIC RECORDS – INFORMATION AND EXPLANATION
A. Public records include e-mails, texts, and similar messages.
1. If the message was prepared or received in connection with official
Department business, it is considered public record.
2. The fact an e-mail, text, or similar message is sent from a private e-
mail account and/or telephone or it was sent utilizing a personal
computer and/or telephone is not relevant in determining whether or
not the message is a public record.
3. If a member utilizes personally-owned equipment to capture or
create photographs/digital images, videos, or sound recordings as
explained in General Order 78 (Social Media Protocols), and the
information collected is later subject to a public records request, the
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only information subject to inspection or release is the information
directly related to official Department business.
4. If a member utilizes a personally-owned device to prepare or receive
information which is work-related and the information is later subject
to a public records request, the only information subject to inspection
or release is the information directly related to official Department
business.
B. The following items are not considered public record:
1. Preliminary drafts or notes prepared for the personal use of the
member may constitute mere “precursors” of public records if they
are not intended to be the final evidence of the knowledge recorded
(i.e., final document to be submitted or sent).
2. Members’ notes to themselves which are designed for their own
personal use in remembering certain things do not fall within the
definition of public records; however, if the notes are given to another
member as a way of communicating knowledge about the issue, the
notes are deemed a public record.
3. Records which are not made or received in connection with the
transaction of Department official business do not constitute public
records.
C. FS Chapter 119 requires agencies to provide public records which are
in their possession. With that guidance, Department members shall:
1. Not create a document to fulfill a public records request, and
2. If the Department does not possess the document or information
requested:
a. Inform the requester the Department does not possess the
document or information requested, and
b. If the member knows an agency/entity where the requester might
obtain the record/information, provide the person with that
information.
D. The following information is applicable to public records in possession
of the Department which were received from other agencies:
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1. FS Chapter 119 is applicable to such records.
2. Confidentiality and exemption protocols applicable to records
created by the Department and its members are equally applicable
to records received from other agencies.
3. In the event a member receives a public records request which
includes federal records, the member is responsible for consulting
with the Legal Advisor before releasing any such record.
III. PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS – GENERAL INFORMATION
A. All members shall adhere to FS Chapter 119 (i.e., Florida’s Public
Record Law) and this general order in the receiving, documenting, and
fulfilling of public records requests.
B. With the sole exception of certain documents/information released to the
media from the Public Information Office, the Records Section is the only
dissemination point for any Department record subject to public release.
C. The Records Custodian is the Department’s point of contact for public
records release processes.
D. Unless a statutory exemption exists (e.g., criminal intelligence), public
records are subject to display, reproduction, and distribution to the
general public upon