Good Morning Mr. Paff,
In response to your recent OPRA request, please note the following:
5. In lieu of responding to Nos. 1 through 4 above, the Andover Police
Department may satisfy this request by a) uploading the summary reports
covering 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the major discipline reports covering
2020 and 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.
Please be advised that we have complied and the Andover Township Police
Department has uploaded the summary reports covering 2020, 2021 and 2022
and the major discipline reports covering 2020 and 2022 to its webpage,
and you are hereby notified of such.
If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
Thank you,
Patricia L. Bussow, RMC/CMR
Township Administrator/Municipal Clerk
134 Newton-Sparta Road
Newton, NJ 07860
Phone:  973.383.4280 x316
Fax:  973-383-5039
On Sun, Feb 19, 2023 at 4:05 PM John Paff
<[1][OPRA #40233 email]> wrote:

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 Andover Police
Department's website at [2]https://www.atpd.org/community-policing  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consider this OPRA request withdrawn.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 found nothing except the following statement under the
"mandatory reporting" tab: "The Andover Township Police Department,
consistent with NJ Attorney General Directives as they pertain to 'Major
Discipline,' reports there were no complaints resulting in major
disciplinary action being taken for the period of January 1, 2021
through December 31, 2021." I assert that this information is
insufficient to satisfy IAPP Sections 9.11.1 and 9.11.2

By way of background, IAPP Section 9.11.1 requires the Andover 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 Andover
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 Andover 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 Andover 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 Andover Police Department is in
violation of IAPP Section 9.11.2 for not having its major discipline
reports from 2020 and 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 Andover 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 Andover 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 Andover Police Department's Internal Affairs major
discipline reports (i.e. those required to be filed by IAPP Section
9.11.2) covering 2020 and 2022 with the Sussex County Prosecutor.

4. The Andover Police Department's Internal Affairs major discipline
reports (i.e. those required to be filed by IAPP Section 9.11.2)
covering 2020 and 2022.

5. In lieu of responding to Nos. 1 through 4 above, the Andover Police
Department may satisfy this request by a) uploading the summary reports
covering 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the major discipline reports covering
2020 and 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.

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