The Township of Wall Police Department’s (“Police Department”) Records Division received your Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request dated August 16, 2024 on August 16, 2024. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is August 27, 2024. The Police Department is responding to your request within seven (7) business days after receipt of your request as required by New Jersey law N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.

For ease of reference, your request seeks the following:

Arrest Date: 1/31/2024
Incident Number: #2024-00401

Please provide the following documents:
Arrest report
Incident report
Mugshot

With respect to your request, the Police Department conducted a good faith search for responsive records. The responsive records can be downloaded here: https://we.tl/t-4SZIalrEbY Please note that the provided records have been redacted to remove information that pertains to a citizen’s personal information. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 provides that “a public agency has a responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a citizen’s personal information with which it has been entrusted when disclosure thereof would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy.” This includes social security numbers, unlisted telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers, personal email addresses, dates of birth, home addresses, SBI numbers, etc. See e.g., N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 (“Prior to allowing access to any government record, the custodian thereof shall redact from that record any information which discloses the social security number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number, or driver license number of any person[.]”); Mawhinney v. Egg Harbor City Police Department (Atlantic), GRC Complaint No. 2015-85 (2016) (no challenge made to the redaction of social security and SBI numbers); Herron v. New Jersey Department of Education, GRC Complaint No. 2011-268 and 2011-269 (2012) (finding that the records custodian lawfully denied access to dates of birth); Wolosky v. Somerset Cty., A-1024-15T4, 2017 WL 1179852, at *3 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Mar. 30, 2017) (stating that “home addresses do not directly relate to the ‘core concern’ of OPRA, which is to allow citizens access to records pertaining to the transaction of government business”). Also, please note that mugshots are exempt from access per Executive Orders No. 9 (Hughes) which states, "Fingerprint cards, plates and photographs and other similar criminal investigation records which are required to be made, maintained or kept by any State or local governmental agency."

Your OPRA request is now deemed answered and closed. In the event of a clarification or appeal, the Police Department reserves the right to raise any other ground for denial not raised in this response. The failure of the Police Department to assert an exception or privilege at this time does not act as a waiver of any grounds for denial. Thank you for your professional courtesies and attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Jennilee Bulkley #420
Records Manager
Wall Township Police Department
PO Box 1168/2700 Allaire Road
Wall Township, NJ 07719
Phone: (732) 449-4500, ext. 1420
Fax: (732) 974-0053
[email address]

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