Google Alerts (Dallas Police Department)

RE: PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT REQUEST of 7/31/2020, Reference #D017233-073120 COVID-19 NOTICE: As part of the unprecedented response to coronavirus in Texas, and in light of the Governor’s recent disaster declaration, most of the administrative departments of the City of Dallas now are either closed or are staffed by only a skeleton crew, while remaining staff is working remotely or is present but involved directly in the public health or epidemic response. Additionally, the City is unable to access its records to respond to public information requests at this time.  This notice has been posted on the City’s website. D uring the period this notice is posted, the City of Dallas is not considered to be open for business for purposes of the time deadlines under the Texas Public Information Act. If a new request: Your request will be received on the City’s next open business day. Existing requests: Your request is paused and will be set back to processing on the City’s next open business day. Respectfully, Scott Harn DPD - ORURR “Our Product is Service” Empathy | Ethics | Excellence | Equity

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RE: PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT REQUEST of 7/31/2020, Reference #D017233-073120
Dear Emma ,
The Dallas Police Department received a public information request from you on 7/31/2020. Your request mentioned:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A. Copies of emailed Google Alert subscription confirmations received between January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request.

B. Copies of all emailed Google Alerts received between January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request. Google Alerts may be identified by any or all of the following:

1. Containing the phrase "Google Alert" in the Subject line
2. Being sent by an email address with the display name "Google Alerts"
3. Being sent from the email address googlealerts-noreply@google.com

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

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 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAd3hVXYexcyE5blFEqnztP2is%3A1k1idc%3AHckkmXD_P53O8SNpJyotnZoqWaQ&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Fdallas-police-department-4330%252Fgoogle-alerts-dallas-police-department-99095%252F%253Femail%253Dopenrecordunit%252540dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us”
This letter is to clarify what information that you are seeking from the Dallas Police Department.
CLARIFICATIONS
This letter requesting clarification is being made pursuant to Texas Government Code § 552.222.  Please be advised that if the Dallas Police Department does not receive a written response within sixty-one (61) days from the date of this letter, the underlying request for public information will be considered to have been withdrawn in accordance with § 552.222. Please respond in writing the following information: date, time, location of the incident and your date of birth. If you have the incident number available, please include the number in your response. ** Please narrow your request**
You may provide a response by any of the following methods:
1. by replying to this electronic mail
2. by replying via the Public Information Request System
Upon receipt of your clarification, the Dallas Police Department will further respond to your Public Information Act Request as required by law, including providing you with an estimate of costs associated with producing the requested records.
Sincerely,
Dallas Police Department Open Records Unit