113 RECORDS

POLICY 113.0RECORDS REVISED: 11/2011 RELATED POLICIES: Reviewed by Chief David Magnusson 4/2019 A.PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for the maintenance, integrity, and confidentiality of all documentation generated by the El Portal Police Department. B.POLICY It is the policy of The El Portal Police Department to function in accordance with the State of Florida’s public record laws FSS 119 to safeguard the criminal investigation activities of the Department and to protect individual privacy on a 24 hour-a-day, seven days per week basis. C.DEFINITION § 119.011 Florida Statute defines “public records” as all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, 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 agency. D.SCOPE The Records Division is created to function as the repository of all records collected by the Department and to ensure, at a minimum, report accountability, record’s maintenance, and a central point of record retrieval. It is the responsibility of all members to abide by the State of Florida’s public record laws in regards to all documents, reports, and notes they control. E.RECORDS DIVISION SECURITY 1.It is the responsibility of all personnel to be aware of the necessity for security in the Records Unit. 2.The privacy and security of Police Records and the Records Unit will be in accordance with all state and federal regulations. 3.The security of the Records Unit is the responsibility of the Supervisor. a.The Records Unit Personnel, subject to the approval of the Chief of Police, shall establish a Records Unit Standard Operating Procedure to insure the security of all police records. Page 1 of 4 b.All Department Personnel shall adhere to the security procedures as established by the Records. F.RECORDS RETENTION DUTIES 1.The duties of the El Portal Police Department Records Unit includes, but are not limited to: a.Maintenance of uniform crime reporting documents; b.Data entry and retrieval; c.Providing report copies for citizens and police officers; and d.Records processing and maintenance. 2.All Department Records shall be retained in accordance with the Department of State, Division of Archive and Records Management Guidelines. 3.The Records Personnel have been appointed as the Police Department’s Records Coordinators and shall be responsible for liaison with the City’s Records Custodian and the State of Florida Division of Archives. G.RECORDS DESTRUCTION 1.§ 119.01, Florida Statute allows for the disposal of records without sufficient legal, fiscal, administrative or archival value pursuant to retention schedules established by records and the information management program of the Florida Division of Library and Information Services. Such disposal is subject to consent of the division in accordance with § 257.36, Florida Statute. 2.Yearly, each operating unit of the Department shall analyze and evaluate the records it generates and stores to determine what information needs to be purged and destroyed. 3.EACH unit may extract pertinent data for indexing purposes from each report prior to submitting documents for destruction. 4.When records for destruction have been compiled, the units’ supervisor (or designee) will contact the Records Division and obtain the State of Florida Records Disposition Request form (DS-RM 105). This form will be completed by the unit and forwarded to the City’s Record Custodian for processing . 5.When permission from the Florida Division of Archives is received, the unit supervisor will arrange for destruction of the documents. Page 2 of 4 H.ACCESS TO REPORTS 1.All business records of this Department and such other documents that are public record, and otherwise not excluded by State Law, are available to citizens for inspection during normal Department hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.) Copies of documents shall be furnished to citizens upon request. Charges for copies shall be made in accordance with the State of Florida Guide for Public Records. 2.All requests for information from Department Members shall be initially directed to the Supervisor, who shall review all questionable requests with the Chief of Police or his/her designee. 3.Police Department employees must be aware that public record exemptions are located throughout the Florida State Statutes. Periodic changes to State laws and regulations regarding the dissemination of police information made or received pursuant to law or ordinance do occur. Police Department supervisors who may be in doubt about disseminating information should consult, at a minimum, the following Florida State Statutes: a.Chapter 985.04, Juvenile Records; b.Chapter 119, Public Records; and c.Chapter 281.301, Safety and Security Services. 4.After consulting the above statutes, Department supervisors who are unsure as to whether or not information may be disseminated as a public record shall contact the City Legal Advisor for clarification. I.INFORMATION DISSEMINATION PERMITTED Information from posters, announcements, or lists for identifying fugitives or wanted persons, or original records of entry maintained chronologically and required by law or custom may be disseminated to the public. J.INFORMATION DISSEMINATION NOT PERMITTED Information that is