Geofeedia Inc. Contracts, Invoice - Social Media Surveillance Policies (Beaufort County Sheriff's Office)

Beryl Lipton filed this request with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office of Beaufort County, SC.
Submitted Oct. 27, 2016
Status
Rejected

Communications

From: Beryl Lipton

Subject: Freedom of Information Request: Geofeedia Inc. Contracts, Invoice - Social Media Surveillance Policies (Beaufort County Sheriff's Office)

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all contracts (as well as all associated amendments, exhibits, and materials), memorandums of understanding, and other equivalent agreements entered into by this agency with Geofeedia LLC or any other social media surveillance software or equipment company (including but not limited to Brightplaent, Geofeedia, Intrado Inc, LifeRaft, Magnet Forensics, Media Sonar, Signal Corporation, and ZeroFOX). Responsive materials should include but not be limited to:

• the initial Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposal, or equivalent call for contractors
• the responsive materials provided by the winning bidder
• other bidder responses
• the current contract
• all exhibits
• all amendments
• all performance work statements
• all deliverables inventories
• all invoices related to the deliverance of software, services, or goods

Please also include:
• all policies related to the acquisition and use of social media use and surveillance by individual officers and representatives of this agency

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 15 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Beryl Lipton

From: Neill, William

Subject: None

Email

Mr. Beryle Lipton

Reference your FOIA Request to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office date October 27, 2016 with a follow-up dated November 18, 2016

Your FOIA request was referred to me yesterday by Chief Michael Hatfield. I will respond to you by e-mail within the next several days.

Bill

William R. Neill, Lieutenant Colonel
Administrative and Support Division
Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
P.O. Box 1758
Beaufort, South Carolina
Office: 843-255-3295
Cell: 843-812-6081
wneill@bcgov.net

[Sheriff Seal]

From: Neill, William

Subject: None

Email

November 23, 2016

Ms. Beryl Lipton
MuckRock
DEPT MR 29353
411A Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

Re: Freedom of Information Request
E-Mail Response Preferred by Requestor

Dear Ms. Lipton

I am receipt of your Freedom of Information request submitted to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. Within your submittal you request any and all contacts (as well as all associated amendments, exhibits and materials), memorandums of understanding, and other equivalent agreements entered into by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office with Geofeedia LLC or any other social media surveillance software or equipment company (including but not limited to Brightplaent, Geofeedia, Intrado, Inc, LifeRaft, Magnet Forensics, Media Sonar, Singnal Corperation, and ZeroFOX) with a list of various documents linked to social media surveillance technology. Additionally, you requested all policies related to the acquisition and use of social media and the use and surveillance by individual officers and representatives of the Sheriff's Office.

With regard to your request, you have asked that the Sheriff's Office provide you with a response to questions concerning the use of certain technologies. The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act requires a public body to allow for the inspection and copying of public records that are currently in existence. In contrast, this request would require the County to create an explanatory document to be provided to you. As a result, your letter falls outside of the Sheriff's Office's obligations in responding to a Freedom of Information Act request. However, in anticipation of receiving an amended filing which comports with the statute, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office would like to provide the following response:

While it is the Sheriff's Office goal to accommodate all public inquiries, S.C. Code Ann. §30-4-40(3)(b)-(c) states "a public body may but is not required to exempt from disclosure the following information: Records of law enforcement and public safety agencies not otherwise available by state and federal law that were compiled in the process of detecting and investigating crime if the disclosure of the information would harm the agency by causing (b) the premature release of information to be used in prospective law enforcement action or (c) disclosing investigatory techniques not otherwise known outside the government." Therefore, inasmuch as your request is for Beaufort County Sheriff's Office to provide you with documents that fall within this exemption, your request is respectfully denied.

William R. Neill
Lieutenant Colonel

[Sheriff Seal]

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