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:

At the outset, please be advised that this request is based on my belief that certain mandatory reports are missing from the Hopatcong Police Department's website at hopatcongpolice.org/792-2/ If the records that I claim to be missing are actually present on a different website or webpage (perhaps the police department recently changed its website or perhaps the reports are in a place that I didn't check), please inform me of the URL where the "missing" files reside and consider this OPRA request withdrawn.

I visited the above noted webpage today to read the Department's Internal Affairs reports required to placed on the webpage by Internal Affairs Policies & Procedures (IAPP) Section 9.11.1 and 9.11.2. However, I could find only a comment that says "The HBPD reports no major discipline between January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020" and "Ptl. Nicholas Maresca was suspended 10 days due to Insubordination toward a Supervisor on 12/09/2021." I assert that this information is not sufficient to satisfy IAPP Sections 9.11.1 and 9.11.2.

By way of background, IAPP Section 9.11.1 requires the Hopatcong Police Department to file with the Sussex County Prosecutor and to publish on its webpage annual "report[s] summarizing the types of complaints received and the dispositions of those complaints" which reports "should be statistical in nature." Even though the IAPP has been amended from time to time, the Department has been under a duty to publish these reports on its webpage since at least 2020. Notably, beginning in 2022, the summary reports are required to be in the form required by IAPP Appendix K. Prior to 2022, the use of Appendix K was optional.

Also, by way of background, IAPP Section 9.11.2 requires the Hopatcong Police Department, on or prior to January 31st, to file and publish on its website annual reports collecting instances of "major discipline" imposed during the previous year. Again, although the IAPP has gone through a few amendments, it has been a duty of the Hopatcong Police Department to publish those major discipline reports on-line, in one form or another, and to file them with the Sussex County Prosecutor since at least 2020. Notably, the reports, beginning with the 2022 report, "shall follow the format provided in Appendix L."

I believe that the Hopatcong Police Department is in violation of IAPP Section 9.11.1 for not having its 2020, 2021 and 2022 summary reports posted on-line and for not having the 2022 summary report in the form of Appendix K. I further believe that the Hopatcong Police Department is in violation of IAPP Section 9.11.2 for not having its major discipline report from 2022 posted on its website and for failing to have its 2022 report provided in Appendix L's format.

The object of this request is to learn if the missing reports exist and, if so to learn whether they were filed with the Sussex County Prosecutor as required by IAPP Section 9.11.1 and 2.

RECORDS REQUESTED:

1. Transmittal letters, e-mails or other writings that accompanied the filing of the Hopatcong Police Department's Internal Affairs summary reports (i.e. those required to be filed by IAPP Section 9.11.1) covering 2020, 2021 and 2022 with the Sussex County Prosecutor.

2. The Hopatcong Police Department's Internal Affairs summary reports (i.e. those required to be filed by IAPP Section 9.11.1) covering 2020, 2021 and 2022.

3. Transmittal letters, e-mails or other writings that accompanied the filing of the Hopatcong Police Department's Internal Affairs major discipline reports (i.e. those required to be filed by IAPP Section 9.11.2) covering 2022 with the Sussex County Prosecutor.

4. The Hopatcong Police Department's Internal Affairs major discipline report (i.e. the one required to be filed by IAPP Section 9.11.2) in the form of Appendix L for 2022.

5. In lieu of responding to Nos. 1 through 4 above, the Hopatcong Police Department may satisfy this request by a) uploading the summary reports covering 2020, 2021 and 2022 (with the 2022 report in the form of Appendix K) and the major discipline report in the form of Appendix L for 2022 to its webpage and b) notifying me, via OPRAMachine, that it has done so. I would actually prefer this because it would make those important reports available to everyone in the public, not just me and, as noted, these reports are mandated by the IAPP to be on-line.

Lt. Card:

If I go to hopatcongpolice.org/792-2, I can see a text-based report, but no Appendix K and L documents for 2022. As you know, starting with the 2022 reports, Appendices K and L must be put on-line for your department to be in compliance with IAPP Sections 9.11.1 and 9.11.2.

The website clearly is in need of a redesign. I've opened hopatcongpolice.org/ on both Chrome and Edge. In both cases, the top margin that contains the "resources" tab doesn't become visible unless I scroll down on the main page a bit and stop. Only then, does it appear. It shouldn't be that difficult to find mandated information.

I'm marking this OPRA request closed/satisfied and am putting a reminder on my calendar for one month to check back to see if the website has progressed.

Thank you.

John Paff