Our view: Police agencies fail to follow public records law; better training needed

When a cop pulls us over for traffic violations, it's reasonable to expect the officer to know the laws better than we do, and that's usually the case when it comes to our conduct on the road. But it appears law enforcers are grossly ignorant about laws policing their own actions when it comes to the public's right to know.

Most agencies in the state - including police and sheriff's stations in North County - flunked a test last month on how they provide information to the public.

The audit was organized by Californians Aware, a Sacramento-based First Amendment advocacy group. Volunteers from press organizations, including the North County Times, approached 216 law enforcement agencies in 34 counties on Dec. 4 asking for crime reports from the first two weeks of November and personnel information that, by state law, should be public record.

The results were dismaying. Both the Escondido and Oceanside police departments received failing grades. The Vista Sheriff's Station scored a D, and Carlsbad police received the highest grade in North County, a C.

State laws, including the California Public Records Act, define what documents must be made available upon request, and crime reports fall under the definition. The auditors asked for information on burglaries, armed robberies and sexual assaults. They also asked for copies of the salary schedules for police officers, how much each department is spending on workers' compensation claims, the number of inmate deaths while in police custody and the financial interest reports of police chiefs and sheriffs - all of which are public record.

In Escondido, the auditor was referred to a Web site for crime data and the city never responded to a written request for the personnel information. The public records act specifically states that agencies must provide written copies - not just digital versions - of a crime report.

In Oceanside, the request for crime reports was denied because the department's records supervisor said they didn't offer any information on crimes older than 72 hours. Nor did the department comply with the personnel records request and instead referred the auditor to the city clerk's office.

In Carlsbad and Vista, officials defied state law by asking to see identification before offering any information, implying that they didn't give information to "just anyone." In Vista, a deputy told the auditor that crime information was given out on a "need-to-know basis," and even then they didn't have anything older than two weeks because, the Vista officer said, most sheriff's records are kept in Kearny Mesa.

Unfortunately, the auditor who went to the main sheriff's office was told to check individual substations for crime reports.

Carlsbad, to its credit, was helpful after demanding identification, and did its best to provide the requested personnel information.

What we have here is more than a failure to communicate: These results show either flagrant disregard for the public's right to know or complete ignorance of state law. Either way, it's a travesty; the California Public Records Act was passed in 1968, nearly four decades ago.

This isn't a case of reporters whining about cops making our jobs harder. In California, we have no more rights than you, and the audit sought only information that legally should be available to the general public.

That information is supposed to be public for good reason.

For instance, suppose you want to check on the number of burglaries in your neighborhood, or in a neighborhood you and your family are considering moving to. Or say you wanted to look up standard salaries for police officers the week before the city council votes to give them pay raises and increased benefits.

Also, police agencies exercise an incredible amount of power. The only clear way to make sure they don't abuse that power is by informing the public of their actions, which should be contained in crime reports.

Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy and Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler both recognized that the audit shows their respective departments need to better train the folks working the front desk, who are often volunteers. All of our law enforcement agencies should do that soon. After all, public agencies are there to serve the people.

The public, too, should educate itself. Know what information you legally are entitled to. Information can be found at www.calaware.org.

If you are denied information from the police or sheriff, press them to cite the law that allows them to hide it. Rights neglected too often turn into rights denied. And public access laws are an important way we can make sure our police agencies are protecting and serving us.