I received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on November 20,
2017 for copies of:

 1. I seek your police department’s Internal Affairs Annual Summary
Reports for years 2014 to 2017.
 2. I seek a copy of the police department's Public Synopsis of
Disciplinary Actions for years 2014 to 2017. This report is required
pursuant to Requirement 10 of the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs
Police.
 3. I seek a copy of the police department’s Vehicular Pursuit Summary
Reports for years 2014 to 2017.
 4. I would like all of your police department’s Use of Force Reports from
January 1, 2014 to present date.
 5. I would like all of your police department’s Police Use of Deadly
Force Attorney General Deadly Notification Reports for years 2014 to
2017.
 6. I seek the annual basic police academy training, annual firearms
requalification training, use of force training, vehicular pursuit
training, domestic violence training, cultural diversity training,
bias intimidation crimes training, Breathalyzer training, 911
dispatcher and call-taker training, K-9 training recertification
certificates for all of the police officers in your police department
for the year 2017.

As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is
December 1, 2017. This response to your request is being provided to you
on the 6th business day after receipt of said request.

The following records are being provided and are responsive to your
request:

 1. Use of Force Reports 2014-July 2017 (19 Pages)

These records are being transmitted to you via email, as per your
request.  Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.b., there is no cost associated
with this request as the documents are being transmitted to you
electronically. Please note that these documents have been redacted to
prevent public viewing of material that should not be disclosed. The Open
Public Records Act states that a public agency has a responsibility and
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. Therefore, as per
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, the names of persons with medical, psychological, and
substance abuse issues have not been disclosed due to privacy concerns.

The remaining items within your request require additional time beyond the
seven (7) business days to fulfill due to the timeframe and number of
documents that are being requested. OPRA allows custodians to seek
extensions of time pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.i.  Specifically, OPRA
states that, “the requestor shall be advised by the custodian when the
record can be made available. If the record is not made available by that
time, access shall be deemed denied.”

Your request requires an extension of time until December 8, 2017.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Borough of Allendale to deny
access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the
Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government
Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. 
You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at
P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at
their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other
questions about the law.  All questions regarding complaints filed in
Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Anne Dodd, RMC

Municipal Clerk

Borough of Allendale

500 West Crescent Avenue

Allendale, NJ 07401

[email address]

201-818-4400 ext. 203

Fax: 201-825-1913

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The following records were provided on November 30, 2017:

1. Use of Force Reports 2014-July 2017 (19 Pages)

An extension of time to fulfill the remainder of your request was requested until December 8, 2017. As such, the following records are being provided and are responsive to your request:

1. Internal Affairs Summary Report Forms 2014 – 2016 (7 Pages)
2. Police Pursuit Incident Reports 2014 to Present (2 Pages)
3. Use of Force Reports – Aug 2017 to Present (6 Pages)

These records are being transmitted to you via email, as per your request. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.b., there is no cost associated with this request as the documents are being transmitted to you electronically. Please note that these documents have been redacted to prevent public viewing of material that should not be disclosed. The Open Public Records Act states that a public agency has a responsibility and 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. Therefore, as per N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, the names of persons with medical, psychological, and substance abuse issues have not been disclosed due to privacy concerns.

With respect to the first item of your request, please note that the 2017 Internal Affairs Annual Summary Report has not been prepared, and therefore, does not exist.

With regard to the second item, this report is generated when a complaint results in a fine or suspension of 10 days or more to a member of the agency. No such discipline has been executed for the timeframe requested, and therefore, there are no records pertaining to this portion of your request.

There are no records pertaining to #5 of your request.

Item #6 of your request is vague, overly broad and does not meet the requirements of a proper OPRA request. The OPRA statute requires that the requestor must name specific, identifiable government records. “Training” does not define a record or document and a custodian is not required to research their files to determine which records, if any, might be responsive to a broad and unclear OPRA request. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). As such, this portion of your request is an invalid OPRA request and is denied.

Notwithstanding the above, please see the attached records for 2017.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Borough of Allendale to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Anne Dodd, RMC
Municipal Clerk
Borough of Allendale
500 West Crescent Avenue
Allendale, NJ 07401
[email address]
201-818-4400 ext. 203
Fax: 201-825-1913

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The Allendale Police Department's records with respect to training were attached to my email sent on Friday, December 8th.

Anne Dodd, RMC
Municipal Clerk
Borough of Allendale
500 West Crescent Avenue
Allendale, NJ 07401
[email address]
201-818-4400 ext. 203
Fax: 201-825-1913

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