Dear Patrick Kelly ,

Thank you for registering with Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey Open Public Records Center, an online, public portal. Below you
will find your portal login and password information .

Login:  [OPRA #37811 email]
 
If you have never used this system or cannot remember your password, you
may request a [1]Temporary Password
 

If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the
public portal but are receiving this e-mail, an account has been created
for you with the login and password listed above. At this account you can
access, track and receive any documents in response to your request.

Please log in to the [2]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center and
then "My Request Center" to update any contact or password information on
your account and to view your request.

The University Custodian of Records will contact you if there are
questions regarding your request or provide you a response. If you have
questions, you may contact the OPRA Administrator at 973.972.1887.
Thank you again for registering with the Rutgers University Open Public
Records Center.
 
 
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an [3]GovQA
unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY. logo

References

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Dear Kelly :

Thank you for submitting your request for government records of Rutgers,
The State University of New Jersey. Your request has been received and is
being processed in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Records Act
(OPRA), NJSA 47:1 et seq. Your request was received through the online,
public portal [1]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center of this
office on 12/22/2022 and given the reference number R007736-122222.  

Your request will be forwarded to the Office of the Custodian of
Records for review and processing, including determining the volume of
responsive documents and any potential costs associated with satisfying
your request. Please note, the N.J. Open Public Records Act does not
require the University to create new documents, to conduct research, or to
answer questions for information.

Records Requested: This is a request for public records made under OPRA
and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an
official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message. Records
requested: RUPD Report #18-018371 RUPD Report #17-117354 RUPD Report
#17-125096 RUPD Report #17-125097 RUPD Report #17-125095 RUPD Report
#17-125094 RUPD Report #17-125093 RUPD Report #17-125092 RUPD Report
#17-125091 RUPD Report #17-121979 Note: Let me be clear... I do not know
if any of the above reports exist or what they are; I'm merely
regurgitating numbers here like an uninformed dullard. Please excuse me if
any of that is just nonsense which an other told me.

The Office of the Custodian of Records uses the [2]Rutgers University Open
Public Records Center to communicate with you, respond to and track all
open public records requests.  If you have submitted your request
electronically through Rutgers Open Public Records Center portal, you have
already been required to create an account.

Notice to First Time Portal Users:

If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the
public portal, you are receiving this request because the Rutgers Office
of the Custodian has created an account for you at the [3]Rutgers
University Open Public Records Center . 

To access your account and view your request:

1.Go to: [4]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center.

2. Select/open  "My Records Center"
3. Enter your email and password as provided in your previously received
Welcome Letter.

You can monitor your request through the [5]Rutgers University Open Public
Records Center at "My Request Center."

Thank you and if you have questions, you  may contact the OPRA
Administrator at (973) 972-1981.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

University Custodian of Records

Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance

65 Bergen Street, Ste. 1346 

Newark, New Jersey 07101-1709

Phone: (973) 972-1981

Fax: (973) 972-2396

References

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3. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
4. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
5. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...

--- Please respond above this line ---

Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request,  # R007736-122222

Dear Kelly ,

Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response
to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act
(“OPRA”). On December 22, 2022, this office received your request for the
following:

“This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law
right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please
acknowledge receipt of this message.

Records requested:

RUPD Report #18-018371
RUPD Report #17-117354
RUPD Report #17-125096
RUPD Report #17-125097
RUPD Report #17-125095
RUPD Report #17-125094
RUPD Report #17-125093
RUPD Report #17-125092
RUPD Report #17-125091
RUPD Report #17-121979

Note: Let me be clear... I do not know if any of the above reports exist
or what they are; I'm merely regurgitating numbers here like an uninformed
dullard. Please excuse me if any of that is just nonsense which an other
told me.”

The University has reviewed your request and determined that the document
responsive thereto is a criminal investigatory record and is thus exempt
from disclosure. A “criminal investigatory record” is defined by the
statute as “a record which is not required by law to be made, maintained
or kept on file that is held by a law enforcement agency which pertains to
any criminal investigation or related civil enforcement proceeding.”
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. The Government Records Council (“GRC”) has held that
this definition “includes commonly made police records such as incident
reports, supplemental reports and operations reports.” Blue v. Wall
Township Police Department, GRC Complaint 2002-47 (August 22, 2003). The
GRC has consistently held that investigation reports are not required to
be made, maintained or kept by law and are exempt from OPRA. See Briggs v.
City of Trenton, GRC Complaint No. 2007-58 (March 28, 2007); McCrone v.
Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, GRC Complaint 2005-146 (November
22, 2005). Accordingly, your request is denied because criminal
investigative reports are exempt from OPRA as criminal investigatory
records.   

Moreover, as the Court in North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Township of
Lyndhurst recently held, “Treating internal agency directives on record
creation or retention as ‘required by law’ would also create an anomaly
under the law…. Thus, an agency may, through formally promulgated
regulations, both require the making of a document, and exempt it from
access.” No. A-2523-14T1 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. June 11, 2015). In
that case, the Court ruled that police reports, incident reports,
operation reports, investigation reports and offense reports are not
required by law to be created and are thus exempt under OPRA. Id at 21.
Accordingly, because the investigation report responsive to your above
request is a criminal investigatory record, your request is denied.
Nevertheless, please be advised that you may be able to obtain a copy of
this report by submitting a police records request, the form for which is
available at https://ipo.rutgers.edu/publicsafety/pol... . 

If your request has been denied, you may take your appeal to the New
Jersey Government Records Council (NJGRC), which has mediation and dispute
resolution procedures, or you may file a lawsuit with the New Jersey
Superior Court, as provided by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. Your rights of
appeal is provided with this letter at [1]Public Facing Pages of the
Rutgers University Open Public Records Request Center. You may also review
the brochure at the [2]Rutgers Custodian of Records page or visit the
[3]NJGRC page.

If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1981.

Sincerely,

Elle Bethea

Ethics and Compliance Administrator

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the [4]Open
Public Records Center.

References

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