FOIA log for Fairfax County Sheriff 's Office • MuckRock

11 Communications
0 Files

Communications

From: Yani Yancey

03/04/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

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

FOIA logs for FY2013, FY2014, and FY2015 to the date this request is processed, including status of each request.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not being made for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Yani Yancey

From: Yani Yancey

03/05/2015

Subject: None

I am updating the request from fiscal years to CALENDAR years for 2013, 2014, and 2015 through the date this request is processed.

From: Yani Yancey

03/12/2015

Subject: None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 3, 2015.

Responses to Virginia Freedom of Information Act requests are required within 5 business days.

Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Yani Yancey

03/17/2015

Subject: None

Lieutenant Friedman,

Thank you for your response.

I received the letter stating there were no responsive documents at my home address, but I did not provide that address with this request. Would you please clarify how there were no responsive documents?

Were there no VFOIA requests submitted to or processed by the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office in 2013, 2014, and 2015, or does the Sheriff's Office not keep records of the VFOIA requests it receives and processes?

I would prefer to receive any further updates for this request via email to the address this message originated from.

Thank you,
Yani Yancey

From: Friedman, William

03/18/2015

Subject: None

The Sheriff’s Office does not have a log of FOIA requests, therefore pursuant to Va. Code Ann.§ 2.2-3704(B)(3) you were advised in writing on March 10, 2015, that the records you requested do not exist.

Thank you and any other questions please let me know.

First Lieutenant W. Friedman
Supervisor, Internal Affairs Section
Supervisor, Honor Guard Team
Fairfax County Sheriff's Office
Work (703) 246-3207<tel:(703)%20246-3207>
Cell (571) 238-8325<tel:(571)%20238-8325>

Honor…..Courage…….Service……
-------------------------------------------

From: Yani Yancey

03/18/2015

Subject: None

Just to be sure I understand, did the Sheriff's Office receive or process any FOIA requests in 2013, 2014, or 2015?

Thank you,
Yani Yancey

From: Friedman, William

03/18/2015

Subject: None

Yes, the Sheriff’s Office did receive FOIA requests from 2013 through 2015 and processed them in accordance with the law. As I previously stated in response to your request for FOIA logs from 2013 through 2015, the Sheriff’s Office does not have a log of FOIA requests. FOIA does not require the creation of a record if it does not already exist. Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704(D). Thank you.

Honor…..Courage…….Service……

From: Yani Yancey

03/18/2015

Subject: None

I see that you do not refer to the records that you consulted to see that you do indeed have FOIA requests for 2013-2015 as "logs." What were the records that you consulted then?

Thank you,
Yani Yancey

From: Friedman, William

03/19/2015

Subject: None

I did not need to consult any records and in fact, did not consult any records because I handle FOIA requests on behalf of the Sheriff's Office. Thank you.

Honor…..Courage…….Service……

From: Yani Yancey

03/19/2015

Subject: None

Lieutenant Friedman,

Page 6 of the Virginia Records and Disposition Schedule, General Schedule No. GS-19, County and Municipal Governments Administrative Records (found on page 6 of this PDF, http://www.lva.virginia.gov/agencies/records/sched_local/GS-19.pdf) states:

"RECORD SERIES AND DESCRIPTION
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
This series documents responses to requests to view official
records or retrieve information from official records. This series
may include, but is not limited to: requests, response, and billing
information. COV 2.2-3700 to 3714

SERIES NUMBER
010049

SCHEDULED RETENTION PERIOD
3 Years after last action"

Is the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office exempt from this schedule?

Thank you,
Yani Yancey

From: Friedman, William

03/23/2015

Subject: None

This is in response to your question on March 18, 2015, regarding whether the Sheriff’s Office is exempt from the Virginia Records and Disposition Schedule, General Schedule No. GS-19, County and Municipal Governments Administrative Records. Please be advised that “FOIA applies to requests for public records, not requests for information or for answers to questions.” See Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council Op. AO-06-05 (May 31, 2005).

To recap, on March 4, 2015, you requested “FOIA logs for FY2013, FY2014, and FY2015 to the date this request is processed, including status of each request.” On March 5, 2015, you updated your request by changing it from fiscal years to calendar years.

By letter dated March 10, 2015, I provided you with the following response: “Please be advised that the County was closed due to a snow storm on March 5, 2015, and therefore the request was not received until March 6, 2015. The records you have requested do not exist. Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704(B)(3).”

On March 17, 2015, you sent your first follow-up email asking for clarification on “how there were no responsive documents?” and “Were there no VFOIA requests submitted to or processed by the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office in 2013, 2014, and 2015, or does the Sheriff's Office not keep records of the VFOIA requests it receives and processes?”

On March 18, 2015, I responded to you by email that the “Sheriff’s Office does not have a log of FOIA requests, therefore pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704(B)(3) you were advised in writing on March 10, 2015, that the records you requested do not exist.”

On March 18, 2015, you sent your second follow-up email asking “Just to be sure I understand, did the Sheriff's Office receive or process any FOIA requests in 2013, 2014, or 2015?”

I responded to you by email on March 18, 2015, stating “Yes, the Sheriff’s Office did receive FOIA requests from 2013 through 2015 and processed them in accordance with the law. As I previously stated in response to your request for FOIA logs from 2013 through 2015, the Sheriff’s Office does not have a log of FOIA requests. FOIA does not require the creation of a record if it does not already exist. Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704(D).”

On March 18, 2015, you sent your third follow-up email stating “I see that you do not refer to the records that you consulted to see that you do indeed have FOIA requests for 2013-2015 as ‘logs.’ What were the records that you consulted then?”

On March 19, 2015, I responded to you by email that “I did not need to consult any records and in fact, did not consult any records because I handle FOIA requests on behalf of the Sheriff's Office.”

In response to my email on March 19, 2015, you sent a fourth follow-up email asking whether “the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office exempt from this schedule [Virginia Records and Disposition Schedule, General Schedule No. GS-19, County and Municipal Governments Administrative Records]?”

I have not only responded to your FOIA request that the Sheriff’s Office does not have FOIA logs for 2013 through 2015, I have responded to your follow-up requests for additional information despite the fact that FOIA does not apply to requests for information or answers to questions. As required by FOIA, the Sheriff’s Office will respond to future requests for public records should you wish to make one. I am, however, unable to continue to provide you with answers to your questions concerning your FOIA request to which you have already received a written response.

Honor…..Courage…….Service……

Files

There are no files associated with this request.

Submitted	March 4, 2015
Est. Completion	None