Chatham Borough, Morris County: Promoting compliance with Internal Affairs Reporting.
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your commitment to transparent government.
BACKGROUND:
Please note that I am making this request based on my belief that certain mandatory reports are either missing or inadequate on the Chatham Police Department's website at https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree/do... or may be located elsewhere on a different webpage or website. If the records I am referring to are indeed available elsewhere, or if the police department has recently updated its website and the reports can be found in a place I haven't checked, kindly inform me of the URL where the "missing" files can be accessed. In such a case, please consider this OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request withdrawn.
To provide some context, according to Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures (IAPP) Section 9.11.1, the Chatham Police Department is required to file annual reports with the Morris County Prosecutor and publish them on its webpage. These reports should summarize the types of complaints received and their dispositions in a statistical format. The department has been obligated to publish these reports on its webpage since at least 2020, even though the IAPP has undergone amendments. Notably, as of 2022, the summary reports must adhere to the format specified in the Annual Internal Affairs Summary provided in Appendix K. Prior to 2022, the use of Appendix K was optional.
Furthermore, as background information, IAPP Section 9.11.2 states that the Chatham Police Department must file and publish annual reports on its website by January 31st, documenting instances of "major discipline" imposed during the previous year. Similar to the previous requirement, the department has been responsible for publishing these major discipline reports online in some form and submitting them to the Morris County Prosecutor since at least 2020. Starting with the 2022 report, these reports are required to follow the format outlined in Appendix L.
Today, I visited the aforementioned webpage to access the Department's Internal Affairs reports, which are mandated to be available on the webpage according to IAPP Section 9.11.1 and 9.11.2. However, I discovered that the reports I am requesting below are either missing or inadequate. It is my belief that the Chatham Police Department is in violation of IAPP Section 9.11.1 and 9.11.2 for not having appropriate versions of these reports on its website. (Inadequacies are noted in the comments.)
I want to clarify that the purpose of this request is not to obtain the following records for myself. Instead, it is intended to kindly prompt the Chatham Police Department to upload the missing or inadequate reports to its website, thereby ensuring compliance with the IAPP and making these important reports accessible to the public. THEREFORE, THE Chatham POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN FULFILL THIS REQUEST BY UPLOADING THE REQUESTED REPORTS TO ITS WEBPAGE OR WEBSITE AND NOTIFYING ME, IN RESPONSE TO THIS OPRA REQUEST, THAT IT HAS DONE SO. If, for any reason, the Chatham Police Department is unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2020 IA Summary Report
2021 IA Summary Report
2022 IA Summary Report
2020 Major Discipline Report
2021 Major Discipline Report
2022 Major Discipline Report
COMMENTS: 2022 IA Summary not in the form of Appendix K.
--end of request
Dear Mr. Paff:
The Borough of Chatham has received your inquiry regarding disclosures of
internal affairs information pursuant to the Internal Affairs Policies and
Procedures established by the Attorney General. Please note that the
Borough does provide disclosure of the required information on the Chatham
Police Department's website. In case you were unable to locate it, please
utilize the following link.
[1]https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree/do...
Please note this disclosure clearly reflects that there has been no major
disciplinary action against a member of the CPD since reporting of such
discipline was first authorized in 2020.
Although the CPD believes it has transparently disclosed all of the
information required by the IAPP in the records available on its website,
we are reviewing the concerns you raised regarding the formatting of these
records and will make any adjustments needed after consulting with legal
counsel. We appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention and
will advise you after this review is complete.
Thank you.
Link: [2]File-List
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping
Anthony Farfalla
Assistant to the Clerk
p. 973-635-0674 ext. 210
e. [email address]
Borough of Chatham
54 Fairmount Avenue
Chatham, NJ 07928
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: John Paff <[OPRA #44282 email]>
Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2023 3:04 PM
To: clerk <[Chatham Borough request email]>
Subject: OPRA request - Chatham Borough, Morris County: Promoting
compliance with Internal Affairs Reporting.
CAUTION: This email has originated from outside of the organization. Do
not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and
know the content is safe.
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA
and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your
commitment to transparent government.
BACKGROUND:
Please note that I am making this request based on my belief that certain
mandatory reports are either missing or inadequate on the Chatham Police
Department's website at
[5]https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlo...
or may be located elsewhere on a different webpage or website. If the
records I am referring to are indeed available elsewhere, or if the police
department has recently updated its website and the reports can be found
in a place I haven't checked, kindly inform me of the URL where the
"missing" files can be accessed. In such a case, please consider this OPRA
(Open Public Records Act) request withdrawn.
To provide some context, according to Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures
(IAPP) Section 9.11.1, the Chatham Police Department is required to file
annual reports with the Morris County Prosecutor and publish them on its
webpage. These reports should summarize the types of complaints received
and their dispositions in a statistical format. The department has been
obligated to publish these reports on its webpage since at least 2020,
even though the IAPP has undergone amendments. Notably, as of 2022, the
summary reports must adhere to the format specified in the Annual Internal
Affairs Summary provided in Appendix K. Prior to 2022, the use of Appendix
K was optional.
Furthermore, as background information, IAPP Section 9.11.2 states that
the Chatham Police Department must file and publish annual reports on its
website by January 31st, documenting instances of "major discipline"
imposed during the previous year. Similar to the previous requirement, the
department has been responsible for publishing these major discipline
reports online in some form and submitting them to the Morris County
Prosecutor since at least 2020. Starting with the 2022 report, these
reports are required to follow the format outlined in Appendix L.
Today, I visited the aforementioned webpage to access the Department's
Internal Affairs reports, which are mandated to be available on the
webpage according to IAPP Section 9.11.1 and 9.11.2. However, I discovered
that the reports I am requesting below are either missing or inadequate.
It is my belief that the Chatham Police Department is in violation of IAPP
Section 9.11.1 and 9.11.2 for not having appropriate versions of these
reports on its website. (Inadequacies are noted in the comments.)
I want to clarify that the purpose of this request is not to obtain the
following records for myself. Instead, it is intended to kindly prompt the
Chatham Police Department to upload the missing or inadequate reports to
its website, thereby ensuring compliance with the IAPP and making these
important reports accessible to the public. THEREFORE, THE Chatham POLICE
DEPARTMENT CAN FULFILL THIS REQUEST BY UPLOADING THE REQUESTED REPORTS TO
ITS WEBPAGE OR WEBSITE AND NOTIFYING ME, IN RESPONSE TO THIS OPRA REQUEST,
THAT IT HAS DONE SO. If, for any reason, the Chatham Police Department is
unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in
response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2020 IA Summary Report
2021 IA Summary Report
2022 IA Summary Report
2020 Major Discipline Report
2021 Major Discipline Report
2022 Major Discipline Report
COMMENTS: 2022 IA Summary not in the form of Appendix K.
--end of request
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please deliver records electronically via email to the below UNIQUE
address for all replies to this request:
[OPRA #44282 email]
Is [Chatham Borough request email] the wrong address for OPRA requests to Chatham
Borough? If so, please contact us using this form:
[6]https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[7]https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlo...
View this OPRA request & responses online:
[8]https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an OPRA custodian, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree/do...
2. file:///tmp/Default%20([email address])_files/filelist.xml
3. file:///tmp/Default%20([email address])_files/themedata.thmx
4. file:///tmp/Default%20([email address])_files/colorschememapping.xml
5. https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree/do...
6. https://opramachine.com/change_request/n...
7. https://opramachine.com/help/officers
8. https://opramachine.com/request/chatham_...
Dear Mr. Farfalla:
You mentioned that the website "clearly reflects that there has been no major disciplinary action against a member of the CPD since reporting of such discipline was first authorized in 2020." While I understand your point, the 2022 IA Complaint summary indicates that "*In accordance with the AG Directive 2020-5 requiring public disclosure of the identities of officers who commit serious disciplinary violations, there are no reported incidents that fit the criteria for reporting in 2022."
However, it's important to note that Directive 2020-5 was replaced by Directive 2022-14 on November 15, 2022. Under the previous directive, major discipline was only required to be reported if it resulted in "termination, reduction in rank or grade, and/or suspension of more than five days for an agency member" (refer to IAPP Section 9.11.2).
Directive 2022-14 introduces new categories, including "a sustained finding that an officer intentionally conducted an improper search, seizure, or arrest" (Sec. 9.11.2(h)), which necessitate mandatory reporting. Moreover, many of these new categories require public reporting "regardless of the type or severity of discipline imposed."
Therefore, stating that no officer fit within the categories of major discipline requiring public reporting under the previous directive does not provide assurance that no officer fits within the categories of major discipline requiring public reporting under the current directive.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I appreciate your offer to inform me when the legal counsel's review is complete. I will keep the OPRA request open in the meantime.
John Paff
Dear Mr. Paff,
In response to your records request and clarification statement, the
Chatham Borough Police Department has posted the official Attorney
General’s Internal Affairs Summary Reports (Appendix K & L) in the proper
format onto our website. You can access the reports through this link - .
[1]https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree
We now consider your request satisfied and closed.
Sincerely,
Kellie A. McGuire
CHATHAM BOROUGH POLICE DEPARTMENT
54 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE
CHATHAM, NJ 07928
973-701-6821
References
Visible links
1. https://public.powerdms.com/BCPD/tree