Chester Township, 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 Chester Police Department's website at https://chestertownship.org/index.php/po... 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 In such a case, please consider this OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request withdrawn.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 Chester 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 Chester 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 Chester 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 Chester 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 Chester 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 Chester Police Department is unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2020 Major Discipline Report
COMMENTS: None.
--end of request
I will be out of the office Monday, May 22, 2023 through Tuesday May 30,
2023. I will respond to your message upon my return. If you need
immediate assistance please contact Kathy Potter at
[1][email address]
Regards,
Robin Collins
Municipal Clerk/Administrator
--
Robin Collins
Clerk/Administrator
Chester Township
One Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930
p: 908-879-5100 x810
f: 908-879-8281
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References
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.chestertownship.org/
Good Afternoon Mr. Paff,
The information you are requesting has been attached this email. In
addition, this information can also be viewed by clicking on the following
link:
[1]https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0...
As per your OPRA request, I believe that providing the attached report,
and online link, has fulfilled your request. If for any reason these
actions have not, or if you have any issues accessing the information,
please let me know, so I may assist you further.
Thank you and have great day,
Chief Ryan T. McNamee
Chester Police Department
1 Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930
[2][email address]
Office: 908-879-5514, Ext 851
Cell: 908-914-1907
Fax: 908-879-8083
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please delete from your Inbox. Thank you.
References
Visible links
1. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0...
2. mailto:[email address]
You're welcome Mr. Paff. I understand that you filed another request with Chester Borough as well. The Township has provided police services to Chester Borough since 2017, so I believe that providing the attached report, and online link, for the Township fulfills that request as well. If not, please let me know.
Thank you and have a great day,
Chief Ryan T. McNamee
Chester Police Department
1 Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930
[email address]
Office: 908-879-5514, Ext 851
Cell: 908-914-1907
Fax: 908-879-8083
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail transmission may contain confidential or legally privileged information that is intended only for the individual or entity named in the e-mail address. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail transmission in error, please reply to the sender, so that we can arrange for proper delivery, and then please delete from your Inbox. Thank you.
Thank you, Chief McNamee:
Yes, I sent a similar request to every municipality in Morris County that has a police department. When I saw that Chester Borough Police had a webpage, I assumed that they had their own police department. Now that I know that they haven't had one since 2017, I'll withdraw the request I made the Borough.
Thanks again.
John Paff
Ok, thank you Mr. Paff.
Regards,
Chief Ryan T. McNamee
Chester Police Department
1 Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930
[email address]
Office: 908-879-5514, Ext 851
Cell: 908-914-1907
Fax: 908-879-8083
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail transmission may contain confidential or legally privileged information that is intended only for the individual or entity named in the e-mail address. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail transmission in error, please reply to the sender, so that we can arrange for proper delivery, and then please delete from your Inbox. Thank you.