Dear Mr. Milner:

On March 5, 2021, I received your request for government records pursuant
to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and common law right of access.
Please accept this letter as my response pursuant to OPRA.

Your request seeks “a list of the number of patrolmen on duty, in patrol
cars, during a normal weekday, 10 hour shift.  The document is called a
‘Patrol Shift Roster.’”

            Records responsive to your request are exempt from disclosure
under OPRA pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 as records that necessarily
include information regarding surveillance techniques and staffing levels,
which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of police
officers.  See Rivera v. Rutgers, The State Univ. of New Jersey, GRC
Complaint No. 2009-311 (Interim Order dated January 31, 2012); Rivera v.
City of Plainfield Police Dep’t (Union), GRC Complaint No. 2009-317 (March
2012); Rivera v. City of Passaic (Passaic), GRC Complaint No. 2011-214
(Interim Order dated July 31, 2012), See also Durham v. NJ Dep’t of Corr.,
GRC Complaint No. 2012-35 (March 2013) and Edwards v. NJ Dep’t of Corr.,
GRC Complaint No. 2014-8  (September 2014) (concluding that correctional
facility shift schedules are exempt from disclosure).

            Your request under the common law is also denied. Under the
common law, a request for government records is subject to a balancing
test to weigh a municipality’s interest in nondisclosure against a
requestor’s interest in obtaining the records. See Gilleran v. Twp. of
Bloomfield, 227 N.J. 159, 177 (2016) (noting that to conduct a common law
analysis for government records, the requestor must convey the reason that
access to the records is required). You provide no reason for your access
to these records. Therefore, the balancing test cannot be conducted.

This OPRA and common law request is now deemed answered and closed. If
your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled
within the statutory period required by law, you have a right to challenge
the denial.  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 [email address], or at
their web site at 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.

Regards,

Douglas Cabana

Administrator/Acting Municipal Clerk

Township of Boonton

155 Powerville Road

Boonton Twp, NJ 07005

973-402-4012 -voice

973-402-4013 -facsimile

[1][Boonton Township request email]

References

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