Okemah News Leader says Okfuskee County jailer harassed reporter over records request for mug shot

An Okfuskee County jailer last week asked an Okemah News Leader reporter why she wanted the mug shot of someone arrested and then said it was very nasty of her to dig up "crap" on people, the newspaper reported Saturday.
 
Booking mug shots are public records and releasing them doesn't constitute an invasion of privacy even if the person was acquitted, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a formal opinion in December. (AG: Mug shots are public records whose release isn't an invasion of privacy)
 
If Shakara Shepard had identified herself as a reporter, the jailer had no right to ask why she wanted the mug shot. His question would be a violation of the Open Records Act.
 
The person requesting a record can be asked for only enough information to determine if a search fee should be charged because the records request is for a commercial purpose, a 1999 attorney general opinion said. (1999 OK AG 55, ¶ 18-19)
 
Otherwise, "In no event could a public body or public official ever require a requester to provide the reason for a request for access to records," the opinion emphasized.
 
The news media cannot be charged a search fee. (Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 24A.5(3))
 
And it's never the government official's job to pass judgment on why someone wants a public document.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications
 
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.
 

AG: Mug shots are public records whose release isn't an invasion of privacy

Police booking mug shots are public records that must be released in electronic format if kept that way by the law enforcement agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a formal opinion Thursday.
 
Because mug shots are public records, releasing them doesn't constitute an invasion of privacy even if the person was acquitted, Pruitt said.
 
Public access to mug shots became an issue in June when the Cleveland County district attorney's office briefly said the photos taken at the county jail would not be released to the public unless there was a legitimate "law enforcement purpose."
 
Assistant District Attorney David Batton justified the decision as protecting the privacy of innocent people who've been arrested and because the photos were being requested by publications that Batton apparently didn't like.
 
Batton also argued that releasing the mug shots could leave county officials vulnerable to lawsuits. He also contended that Oklahoma should abide by a federal appellate decision limiting the release of such photos under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
 
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn reversed Batton's opinion about a week later and dismissed him.
 
Pruitt's opinion refuted Batton's arguments.
 
Mug shots are public because the Open Records Act requires law enforcement agencies to make available the descriptions of people arrested, Pruitt said. (See Okla. Stat. tit. 51, § 24A.8(A)(1))
 
"The inclusion of a picture within the term description has long been recognized by law," Pruitt said. "Because a mug shot is one of the best physical descriptions on an arrestee, it is a type of record that must be disclosed."
 
Pruitt said the mug shots must be given to "any person" who requests them. Electronic copies must be provided if requested and the law enforcement agency keeps the photos in that format.
 
An agency isn't required to convert the photos into an electronic format but may charge a reasonable fee for doing so, Pruitt said.
 
Simply releasing the photos "would not constitute an invasion of privacy because mug shots are public records, required by law to be disclosed upon request," Pruitt said.
 
"By itself, the act of disclosing a mug shot is not enough to constitute an invasion of privacy even if the person has been acquitted," Pruitt said. "This is because a mug shot taken during the booking process does not show that the person has been convicted of a crime but only that the person has been arrested and booked into jail.
 
"An invasion of privacy may occur when the disclosure of the mug shot is accompanied by a knowing or reckless false communication that the person in the mug shot has been convicted of a crime."
 
Pruitt emphasized that the opinion applies only to the mug shots of adults, not to confidential law enforcement records of juveniles. However, he noted that if the juvenile loses that confidential status, the mug shot is subject to the Open Records and his opinion.
 
The opinion was requested by Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha, and State Sen. Jim Halligan, R-Stillwater.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications
 
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.

Oklahoma City police post daily jail blotter online, includes DOBs of people arrested

Kudos to Oklahoma City police officials for posting online the daily list of people booked into the county jail by OKC police.

The jail blotter will be posted every day except for weekends and holidays, according to the police department's Web site.

An archive of the previous 30 days of booking also is available.

The blotter is posted at www.ocpd.com. Click the "Jail Blotter” link in the left-side menu.

BTW, the blotter includes the birth dates of those people arrested and booked into the jail.

The state Open Records Act makes public not only jail blotters but also a description of people arrested, including the "date of birth, address, race, sex, physical description, and occupation." (OKLA. STAT. tit. 51, § 24A.8(A)(1-8))

Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County officials have recently refused to disclose the birth dates of their government employees, claiming it would be an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

The Oklahoman requested the information so it could check the names of those employees against databases of criminal records, including jail blotters.

Officials decided to post the blotter because it's a public record with a lot of interest, police Capt. Patrick Stewart told The Oklahoman.

"What we came up with, I think, will better serve the needs of the public, who no longer have to travel to the police department to see the blotter,” Stewart told the newspaper.

See also Carrie Coppernoll's column about the jail blog. The Oklahoman writer observed, "Reading a daily police blotter gives us a snapshot of our city."

She noted that mug shots are available online at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office Web site.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism