Netcong Borough, 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 Netcong Police Department's website at https://netcong.org/category/pd/ 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 In such a case, please consider this OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request withdrawn.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 Netcong 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 Netcong 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 Netcong 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 Netcong 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 Netcong 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 Netcong Police Department is unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2020 IA Summary Report
2020 Major Discipline Report
COMMENTS: None.
--end of request
Hello Mr. Paff,
In response to your OPRA request, be advised the information you requested
has been added to the police department website.
Regards,
Cynthia L. Eckert
Tax Collector/Borough Clerk/Registrar
Netcong Borough
23 Maple Ave.
Netcong NJ 07857
Phone: 973-347-0252 ext. 105
E-Mail: [Netcong Borough request email]
-----Original Message-----
From: John Paff <[OPRA #44362 email]>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2023 4:07 PM
To: OPRA requests at Netcong Borough <[Netcong Borough request email]>
Subject: OPRA request - Netcong Borough, 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 Netcong Police
Department's website at https://netcong.org/category/pd/ 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 Netcong 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
Netcong 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 Netcong 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
Netcong 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 Netcong 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 Netcong Police Department is
unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in
response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2020 IA Summary Report
2020 Major Discipline Report
COMMENTS: None.
--end of request
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for all replies to this request:
[OPRA #44362 email]
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Borough? If so, please contact us using this form:
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
You're welcome.
Cynthia L. Eckert
Tax Collector/Borough Clerk/Registrar
Netcong Borough
23 Maple Ave.
Netcong NJ 07857
Phone: 973-347-0252 ext. 105
E-Mail: [Netcong Borough request email]
-----Original Message-----
From: John Paff <[OPRA #44362 email]>
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2023 12:11 PM
To: Cindy Eckert <[Netcong Borough request email]>
Subject: RE: OPRA request - Netcong Borough, Morris County: Promoting
compliance with Internal Affairs Reporting.
Dear Ms. Eckert:
Perfect. Thank you.
John Paff
-----Original Message-----
Hello Mr. Paff,
In response to your OPRA request, be advised the information you requested
has been added to the police department website.
Regards,
Cynthia L. Eckert
Tax Collector/Borough Clerk/Registrar
Netcong Borough
23 Maple Ave.
Netcong NJ 07857
Phone: 973-347-0252 ext. 105
E-Mail: [Netcong Borough request email]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this UNIQUE email address for all replies to this request and no
other:
[OPRA #44362 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://opramachine.com/help/officers
View this OPRA request & responses online:
https://opramachine.com/request/netcong_...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be
delayed.
If you find this service useful as an OPRA custodian, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------