Invoice of Body Camera Purchase in the Police Department
Dear Bergenfield Borough,
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:
1. Total number of body cameras currently deployed in the police department.
2. Date on which body cameras were deployed to any of the police officers for the first time (year and month).
3. All invoices of body cameras purchases (if body cameras were purchased).
4. Dates of initial body camera assignment for each police officer currently employed.
Yours faithfully,
T. Kim
Good afternoon,
I received your OPRA request on August 31, 2023 for a copy of the following:
“1. Total number of body cameras currently deployed in the police department.
2. Date on which body cameras were deployed to any of the police officers for the first time (year and month).
3. All invoices of body cameras purchases (if body cameras were purchased).
4. Dates of initial body camera assignment for each police officer currently employed.”
This response is being provided to you on the first (1st) business day of the custodian’s receipt of the said request.
The following records are being provided and are responsive to your request:
1. Body Camera Invoices (4 pages)
Please be advised, the portions of your request seeking the number of body cameras issued, date on which they were deployed, and date of initial assignment,” seeks information or asks questions and does not identify specific government records. As such, your request is an invalid OPRA request and is denied. When a request is “complex” because it fails to specifically identify the documents sought, then that request is not “encompassed” by OPRA. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). A proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an agency's documents. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request.
However, the Police Department confirmed that 40 body cameras were assigned in November 2022.
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.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfulfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Borough of Bergenfield 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 website 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.
Sincerely,
Marie
Marie Quiñones-Wilson, MPA, RMC, QPA
Borough Clerk
Borough of Bergenfield
198 N. Washington Avenue
Bergenfield, N.J. 07621
Email: [email address]
Phone: 201-387-4055 ext. 6
Good afternoon,
My apologies, please see attached.
Sincerely,
Marie Quiñones-Wilson, MPA, RMC, QPA
Borough Clerk
Borough of Bergenfield
198 N. Washington Avenue
Bergenfield, N.J. 07621
Email: [email address]
Phone: 201-387-4055 ext. 6