Sunshine Week: Public records laws aren’t about the press

Public records laws aren’t about the press. These statutes are in place to help everyday people engage and affect the governmental bodies that make decisions and policies on their behalf. During Sunshine Week, an annual nationwide celebration of access to public information, it’s especially important to recognize that the people have the power.

With that in mind, members of MDDC, the regional press association that covers Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, collaborated on a project examining the cost of standard police records across the region.

The project found a wide variation in charges for straightforward records such as police reports and incident reports. These fees, which are often far higher than the costs for other public records held by counties and municipalities, affect citizens’ access to information about how police departments operate.

Almost all of the 39 police agencies included in the MDDC survey charge at least $5 for an accident report, an incident report or both. There are outliers. In some areas, such as Bowie, there is no cost to residents for reports; in others, such as Sykesville, the cost is $25. Why the difference?

In contrast, among 25 local governments and state agencies surveyed separately about their general copy fees for records — unrelated to their police departments — none charges more than 50 cents per page. About half charge 25 cents a page. Both police departments and local governments operate under the same Public Information Act law, which requires the first two hours of a public records search to be free and limits charges to actual costs associated with the records search and review.

Police agencies that charge excessive fees for public information diminish the transparency that is critical to democracy. People need information to wisely use their power, and the law promises the public access to it. There are three components to civic transparency: open records laws, such as the Public Information Act (PIA) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); open meetings laws; and public notice laws. Taken together, these statutes prevent official actions from occurring in secret.

The Salisbury Police Department charges a much-higher-than-average $20 for an accident report.

City Police don’t provide incident reports unless it is a domestic violence or identify theft case — then the victim may get a copy. All other requests for incident requests must go through Mayor’s Office.

Anyone has the right to use these tools, but journalists use them every day to fulfill their role as a watchdog for the public. The press stands in for citizens, asking questions that matter to community members and connecting the dots on the information provided.

That has a real, tangible impact in our communities. In a soon-to-be-published study, researchers found that “disruptions in local news coverage are soon followed by higher long-term borrowing costs for cities. Costs for bonds can rise as much as 11 basis points after the closure of a local newspaper — a finding that can’t be attributed to other underlying economic conditions” (“The hidden costs of losing your city’s newspaper,” CityLab, May 30, 2018). The investigative and reporting work of your local press is instrumental to an effective government.

MDDC represents over 105 member publications throughout Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. We are very fortunate in our region that every jurisdiction in our area has at least one local newspaper. Journalists are uncovering stories and asking hard questions every day for the benefit of their local readers and the betterment of our democracy. The three legs of civic transparency work together to ensure that the news media provides news and information so you can make informed decisions.

Sunshine Week provides an opportunity to reflect on the foundational blocks of an engaged democracy, and look forward to what news and the public can accomplish together. Throughout the week, we’ll be highlighting the investigative work of our membership under the hashtag #MDDCNewsSunshine. Local news builds communities.

Rebecca Snyder is the executive director of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association, which represents news media organizations in the region. She can be reached at rsnyder@mddcpress.com.