I will be out of the office until Monday, March 1, 2021.  Thank you

Mr. Milner,

We are in receipt of the following request for records:

Dear Aberdeen Township,

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:

Please provide me with a list of the number of patrolmen on duty, in
patrol cars, during a normal weekday, 10 hour shift.

Yours faithfully,

John W. Milner

Your request is denied for the following reasons:

Creating A Record – exemption N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9; GRC Exemption No. 23
[State or federal statutes and regulations, Executive orders, etc.]

Matthews v. City of Atlantic City (Atlantic), GRC Complaint No. 2008-123
(February 2009): The Council decided that a custodian “was under no
obligation to create a list compatible to the Complainant’s OPRA request
because OPRA does not require a Custodian to produce new documents . . .”
Id. at 6.

Security measures and Techniques  – exemption N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 GRC
Exemption No. 10. Security measures and surveillance techniques which, if
disclosed, would create a risk to the safety or persons, property,
electronic data or software.

OPRA provides that a person who is denied access to a government record
can choose: 

• to file suit in Superior Court; or
• to file a complaint with the Government Records
Council. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6. 

Regards,

[1]FBINA  [2]cid:image001.jpg@01D5CB93.49A6B1F0

Captain Joseph Cole, CPM

FBINA Session 260

Aberdeen Township Police Department

1 Aberdeen Square

Aberdeen, NJ 07747

Office: (732) 566-2054

Fax:    (732) 583-7058

References

Visible links

Dear Mr. Milner,

The Township of Aberdeen received your modified Open Public Records Act
(OPRA) request on March 7, 2021. Your OPRA request sought access to the
following:

(The document is called, a "Patrol Shift Roster".)

Please be advised that your request is being denied for the following
reasons:

To the extent that your request is seeking a personnel record of the
Township of Aberdeen, i.e., your reference to a “Patrol Shift Roster”, it
is denied because such personnel records are considered a public record.
OPRA provides that: “… the personnel or pension records of any individual
in the possession of a public agency, including but not limited to records
relating to any grievance filed by or against an individual, shall not be
considered a government record and shall not be made available for public
access, except that: an individual's name, title, position, salary,
payroll record, length of service, date of separation and the reason
therefor, and the amount and type of any pension received shall be a
government record …” (Emphasis added.) N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10.

To the extent that your request encompasses or is intended to include or
is a request for a “Patrol Shift Roster”, the request is denied, as a
“Patrol Shift Roster” is exempt from the definition of a government record
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. because such records necessarily include
details regarding surveillance techniques and staffing levels which, if
disclosed, could pose a risk to the safety of police personnel as well as
civilians employed by the Township of Aberdeen.

The New Jersey [1]Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.)
permits a person who believes he or she has been illegally denied access
to a public record to file a complaint with the Government Records Council
(GRC), or file suit in Superior Court to challenge the decision and compel
disclosure.

Regards,

[2]FBINA  [3]cid:image001.jpg@01D5CB93.49A6B1F0

Captain Joseph Cole, CPM

FBINA Session 260

Aberdeen Township Police Department

1 Aberdeen Square

Aberdeen, NJ 07747

Office: (732) 566-2054

Fax:    (732) 583-7058

References

Visible links
1. https://nj.gov/grc/laws/act/index.html