Open Records Request 0352

The request was refused by Montclair Township.

Open Records Request

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:
Under the Public Records Act, I am formally requesting to receive copies of all police reports and dispatch logs for landlord-tenant disputes between 01/01/2019 to 5/01/2021.

Please provide requested records in Excel format if available.

If up-to-date data is not available, please provide the most recently available information.

Please include a Record Index with your response.
*A record index that identifies each record requested and the specific legal basis for a denial of access (including redactions) to each record.

Thank you,
Jack Smith

Jacqueline Allen, Montclair Township

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    OPRA Sent 05.24.21 Jack Smith Police Report Dispatch Log 01.01 2019 to 05.01 21.pdf

    48K View Download

 

Good Afternoon Melissa,

Please mark this OPRA request as denied and closed.

Thank you,

 

 

 

 

Mr. Smith,

Your denial is based on broad/unclear requests, the request does not name
specifically identifiable records or is overly broad, a custodian may deny
access pursuant to the following court decisions: MAG, Bent, NJ Builders,
and Schuler (GRC decision).

A custodian is obligated to search his/her files to find the identifiable
government records listed in the complainant’s OPRA request.  A custodian
is not required to research his/her files to figure out which records, if
any, might be responsive to a broad and unclear OPRA request.  See Donato
v. Twp. Of Union, GRC complaint No. 2005-182 (February 2007).  There are
no search fields “landlord/tenant disputes” and that would require
research. OPRA “is not intended as a research tool litigants may use to
force government officials to identify and siphon useful information. Id.
At 546; see also, Bent v. Stafford Twp. Police Dept., 381 N.J. Super 30,
37-39 (app. Div. 2005) (noting that OPRA allows request for specific
records, not request for information, data or statistics).

 

 

Jacqueline Allen

Principal Clerk

Records and Identification Bureau

Montclair Police Department

(P) 973-509-7543 (F) 973-744-2389

 

From: Melissa Cheung <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2021 12:33 PM
To: Jacqueline Allen <[email address]>; Lynnette Rivera
<[email address]>; Ronald C. Redmond
<[email address]>
Subject: OPRA - Sent 05.24.21 - Jack Smith - Police Report & Dispatch Log
01.01-2019 to 05.01-21

 

Greetings,

 

Please see the attached OPRA for Jack Smith.

 

Thank you.

 

His email fyi - [1][OPRA #23315 email]

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[OPRA #23315 email]