The Township of Middle has received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request dated July 14, 2018. The official Records Custodian, Kimberly Krauss, received your OPRA request on July 16, 2018 and is hereby responding on the 6th day thereafter.
Your request dated July 14, 2018 requested the following:
1. Copy(s) of Middle Township Police Department SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations referencing and in regards to the practice of police officers identifying themselves by name and/or badge number to members of the general public when requested, and/or by individuals the police officers make contact with in the course of their duties, when requested by those individuals.
2. Copy(s) of Middle Township Police Department SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations referencing and in regards to the display of name tags, name plates, name patches, badges, and/or badge numbers.
3. Copy(s) of Middle Township Police Department SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations referencing and in regards to the conduct of police officers when engaging/making contact with the public.
4. A copy of all of the SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations that are currently in place as of 8-1-2016 from the Middle Township Police Department regarding public photography and/or video recording of government buildings and within publicly accessible areas of Government Buildings.
5. A copy of all of the SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations that are currently in place as of 8-1-2016 from the Little Egg Harbor Police Department regarding public photography and/or video recording of military facilities and critical infrastructures.
The table below identifies the records that are being released, denied in whole or in part, as well as the legal basis for each denial, as is required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6.
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List of all records responsive to OPRA request (include the number of pages for each record). |
List of all records provided, with redactions, or denied in their entirety. |
If records are disclosed with redactions, give a general nature description of the redactions. |
If records were denied in their entirety, give a general nature description of the record. |
List the legal explanation and statutory citation for the denial of access to records in their entirety or with redactions. |
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Item 2 - Middle Township Police Department SOP #103, entitled “uniform policy” – 9pgs, provided in entirety with no redactions |
Item 1 - Copy(s) of Middle Township Police Department SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations referencing and in regards to the practice of police officers identifying themselves by name and/or badge number to members of the general public when requested, and/or by individuals the police officers make contact with in the course of their duties, when requested by those individuals.
Item 4 - A copy of all of the SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations that are currently in place as of 8-1-2016 from the Middle Township Police Department regarding public photography and/or video recording of government buildings and within publicly accessible areas of Government Buildings.
Item 5 - A copy of all of the SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations that are currently in place as of 8-1-2016 from the Little Egg Harbor Police Department regarding public photography and/or video recording of military facilities and critical infrastructures. |
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No such record exist
No such record exist
No such record exist
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With regards to item 3, “Copy(s) of Middle Township Police Department SOPs/General Orders/Directives/Policies/Rules/Regulations referencing and in regards to the conduct of police officers when engaging/making contact with the public,” we believe that this particular item/request is overly broad and will require further clarification to proceed.
Currently, your request fails to identify with reasonable clarity the specific government records sought, as is required by Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). If a request does not name specifically identifiable records or is overly broad, a custodian may deny access pursuant to the following court decisions: MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J.Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005), Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005), New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J. Super. 166 (App. Div. 2007), and Schuler v. Borough of Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint No. 2007-151 (February 2009). At this time, we ask that you clarify your OPRA request to specifically outline what document or type of “contact” you referring to so that we may reproduce said document for your request.
For example, an overly broad request would include language such as “Any and all records related to the construction of the new high school.” An example of a valid request would be “Any and all e-mails between Jane Doe and John Smith regarding the construction of the new high school from January 1, 2009 to February 28, 2009.”
A records custodian is obligated to search her files to find the identifiable government records listed in the applicant’s OPRA request, however I must remind you that a custodian is not required to research her files to figure out which records, if any, might be responsive to a broad and unclear OPRA request.
With regards to item 3 please respond in writing so that we may process your request. Failure to provide written clarification of your request will result in the closure of this particular OPRA request item.
All other items in your 07/14/2018 items have been addressed in our official response above. We await your response.
Kimberly D. Krauss, R.M.C., C.M.R.
Township Clerk / Registrar of Vital Statistics
Deputy Business Administrator
Township of Middle
33 Mechanic Street
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
phone (609) 465-8721
fax (609) 465-9659
[Middle Township request email]
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