Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department's website at https://www.parpolice.com/ia/ 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 In such a case, please consider this OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request withdrawn.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 Parsippany-Troy Hills 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills 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 Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department is unwilling to upload the identified reports, please provide them to me in response to this request.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
2022 IA Summary Report
COMMENTS: 2022 IA Summary not in the form of Appendix K.
--end of request
Mr. Paff,
Please see the email below regarding your OPRA request. I believe the
information provided below will satisfy your request. Please let us know
if there is anything else you need, otherwise we will consider this OPRA
matter closed. Thank you for your time and anticipated cooperation in
this matter.
Sincerely,
Khaled Madin Esq., RMC
Municipal Clerk
1001 Parsippany Blvd.
Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
(973) 263-4358
From: Brian Conover <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2023 7:23 AM
To: Mary Moore <[email address]>; Haleema Ahmed
<[email address]>
Cc: Khaled Madin <[email address]>
Subject: RE: #395 OPRA request
This email is originating from the Parsippany Police Department
Good morning,
Please respond to the requester that this OPRA has been completed. The
toggle controlling the 2022 Internal Affairs Statistics has been modified
and the report the requester is looking for is present. His responsive
document can be located at the below link by clicking on the 2022 Internal
Affairs Statistics. The requester can also directly view the file at the
link below:
Internal Affairs webpage link: [1]https://www.parpolice.com/ia/
Direct file link:
[2]https://www.parpolice.com/wp-content/upl...
Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), a records custodian
must deny access to a person who has been convicted of an indictable
offense in New Jersey, any other state, or the United States, and who is
seeking government records containing personal information pertaining to
the person’s victim or the victim’s family. This includes anonymous
requests for said information. If you, the requestor fit this criterion,
then you are not allowed by law (under penalty of N.J.S.A. 2C:28-3) to
possess such records. You are also not allowed to provide such documents
to the victim's assailant thus circumventing the OPRA law.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Parsippany Police Department 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
[3][email address], or at their web site at [4]www.state.nj.us/grc.
The Council 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.
Sergeant Brian Conover #443
Public Information Officer
Support Services Division
Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department
Office: 973-263-7012
Fax: 973-316-6830
[5]TU-55459_160
From: Mary Moore <[6][email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 11:24 AM
To: Brian Conover <[7][email address]>; Haleema Ahmed
<[8][email address]>
Cc: Khaled Madin <[9][email address]>
Subject: [Potential Dangerous File, Verify sender before opening
files]#395 OPRA request
Good morning,
I received this OPRA and Khaled asked me to forward to you. Have a great
day.
Mary Moore
Township of Parsippany
Clerks Office
1001 Parsippany Blvd.
Parsippany N.J. 07054
Phone: 973-263-4356
Fax: 973-299-7985
Email: [10][email address]
References
Visible links
1. https://www.parpolice.com/ia/
2. https://www.parpolice.com/wp-content/upl...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.state.nj.us/grc
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[email address]
9. mailto:[email address]
10. mailto:[email address]