Police Records Request
Dear Mahwah Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Police Body worn camera footage of all motor vehicle accidents between 8-1 and 8-7-25
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
The maximum authorized cost is $0.
Yours faithfully,
Tony Michael
Good morning,
I have received your OPRA Request and am forwarding to our Police Department for their response. In the future, please use the following email for all police matters [email address]. Upon their receipt of this email, they will begin processing your request. I have also attached the current Police Department OPRA Request form for your information.
Thank you,
Carolyn George, RMC
Municipal Clerk
Township of Mahwah
475 Corporate Drive
Mahwah, NJ 07430
201-529-5757, ext. 232
Good afternoon,
i. The
Township has also located 36 responsive Body Worn Camera (BW) footage
files, totaling 496.94 minutes. BWC camera footage must be reviewed and
redacted pursuant to OPRA, and is a time-intensive process. OPRA requests
that require up to four (4) hours to process are provided to the requestor
at no charge. Requests that take more than four hours require the payment
of a special service charge.
ii. OPRA
allows public agencies to impose special service charges when fulfilling a
request requires an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort. See
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c. Special service charges must be based upon the actual
direct cost of providing the records. The statutory formula for a special
service charge is the direct hourly rate (minus fringe benefits) of the
lowest level employee capable of fulfilling the request times the number
of hours anticipated to complete request. If the requestor wishes to move
forward with the request, they must pay the special service charge in
advance. The charge operates as an escrow, so if the request is completed
in fewer hours, the balance will be returned. The charge includes
retrieving the records, manually viewing the files for redactions,
redacting the files, and reviewing post-redaction.
iii. The
Township estimates that this would require 24.847 hours to fulfill, minus
the first four (4) hours, for a total of 20.847 chargeable hours.
Therefore, the special service charge to complete the request would be
$1,250.82 based on the estimated hours at a rate of $60.00 per hour.
iv. Kindly
respond in writing with your acceptance or rejection of this estimated
charge. We will not begin to process this request until we receive your
written acceptance.
v. If
you reject the estimated charge and you wish to challenge the special
service charge, you have a right to challenge the decision. 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 [1][email address], or at their web site at
[2]www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC 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.
Thank you
Mahwah Police Department
HQ Phone (201) 529-1000
HQ Fax (201) 529-0240