Google Alerts (Houston Police Department)
| Multi Request | Google Alerts |
| Submitted | July 25, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
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
From: Houston Police Department
This automatic response is your confirmation that the email you sent was received. Thank you for contacting us.
Our office hours are Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm (excluding holidays).
Please be aware that it will take us approximately 10 business days to respond to you regarding your request. Please submit your request only once by email, fax, US mail or in person.
Did you include your postal mailing address with your request? Please be aware that we do not fax or email responsive documents; you must include your mailing address.
For more information on Public Information requests and the Open Records process, please see the following page of the HPD web site:
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/public_information.htm
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers:
1. How will I be charged? How can I pay for the information?
Answer: If the total amount of your responsive material is less than $5 (five dollars), we will send the information to you by US Mail along with an invoice for the cost. If the total is greater than $5 (five dollars), we will send you an invoice for the material. Once you've paid the invoice, we will send you the responsive documents. If the total will be over $40 (forty dollars), we will send you a cost estimate for your approval before we proceed with the work. If the total will be over $100 (one hundred dollars), we will send you a cost estimate and require a deposit before we proceed with the work. When you are invoiced, please submit payment by check or money order only according to the instructions given in your invoice.
2. Why does it take so long to process my request? Can you expedite my request?
Answer: We have a very small yet extremely dedicated staff working approximately 700 pending requests at any given time. Each Open Records staff member is committed to processing each request as quickly as possible, according to various statutes that govern the release of public information. Requests are assigned in the order in which they are received. Some requests take only a few days to process, while others may take months. In order to be fair to all of our requestors, we are not able to give a higher priority to your request. We do assure you, however, that we will do our best to respond to your request as promptly as possible, while still maintaining accuracy and providing excellent customer service to all of our requestors.
3. Did you receive my request? What is the status of my request?
Answer: If you are receiving this response, then we did receive your request. You may feel free to contact us at the number below if you want to check on the status of your request, but please wait at least 10 business days before calling. It is unlikely that we will be able to process your request in fewer than 10 business days. (Please remember that weekends and holidays do not count as business days.)
Thank you,
Houston Police Department
Office of Planning & Data Governance / Open Records Unit
1200 Travis, 21st floor
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 308-3200 (ask for the Open Records Unit)
hpd.openrecords@houstonpolice.org<mailto:hpd.openrecords@houstonpolice.org>
From: Houston Police Department
Please be aware that we do not have the technical ability to globally search all HPD employee email accounts. You will need to specify the following:
- Please provide us with a list of HPD employees whose emails you wish us to search
Please be aware some of the emails may discuss information that is confidential as a matter of law, open/active criminal investigations, investigations which did not result in conviction/deferred adjudication, attorney-client communications, and/or law enforcement tactics, to include documents from other law enforcement agencies.
Do you agree to allow us to withhold these types of messages? (See 552.101, 552.103, 552.107, and 552.108 of the Texas Government Code, to include documents from other law enforcement agencies)?
Please note that if you do not agree to allow us to withhold these messages, and any of the messages contain this type of information, we will need to seek a ruling from the Texas Attorney General in order to withhold such messages. This process will add up approximately 60 business days to the processing time of your request. If you agree to allow us to withhold these types of messages, we will not need to seek the ruling from the AG to withhold them.
Please note that Section 552.222(d) of the Texas Government Code authorizes the City to consider your public information request withdrawn as a matter of law if you do not respond in writing to this request for clarification within 61 days from the date of this correspondence.
Thank you,
Open Records Unit - kc
-
~WRD000
From: Emma North-Best
> Please be aware some of the emails may discuss information that is confidential as a matter of law, open/active criminal investigations, investigations which did not result in conviction/deferred adjudication, attorney-client communications, and/or law enforcement tactics, to include documents from other law enforcement agencies.
They're google news alerts. This concern won't apply.
From: Houston Police Department
This automatic response is your confirmation that the email you sent was received. Thank you for contacting us.
Our office hours are Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm (excluding holidays).
Please be aware that it will take us approximately 10 business days to respond to you regarding your request. Please submit your request only once by email, fax, US mail or in person.
Did you include your postal mailing address with your request? Please be aware that we do not fax or email responsive documents; you must include your mailing address.
For more information on Public Information requests and the Open Records process, please see the following page of the HPD web site:
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/public_information.htm
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers:
1. How will I be charged? How can I pay for the information?
Answer: If the total amount of your responsive material is less than $5 (five dollars), we will send the information to you by US Mail along with an invoice for the cost. If the total is greater than $5 (five dollars), we will send you an invoice for the material. Once you've paid the invoice, we will send you the responsive documents. If the total will be over $40 (forty dollars), we will send you a cost estimate for your approval before we proceed with the work. If the total will be over $100 (one hundred dollars), we will send you a cost estimate and require a deposit before we proceed with the work. When you are invoiced, please submit payment by check or money order only according to the instructions given in your invoice.
2. Why does it take so long to process my request? Can you expedite my request?
Answer: We have a very small yet extremely dedicated staff working approximately 700 pending requests at any given time. Each Open Records staff member is committed to processing each request as quickly as possible, according to various statutes that govern the release of public information. Requests are assigned in the order in which they are received. Some requests take only a few days to process, while others may take months. In order to be fair to all of our requestors, we are not able to give a higher priority to your request. We do assure you, however, that we will do our best to respond to your request as promptly as possible, while still maintaining accuracy and providing excellent customer service to all of our requestors.
3. Did you receive my request? What is the status of my request?
Answer: If you are receiving this response, then we did receive your request. You may feel free to contact us at the number below if you want to check on the status of your request, but please wait at least 10 business days before calling. It is unlikely that we will be able to process your request in fewer than 10 business days. (Please remember that weekends and holidays do not count as business days.)
Thank you,
Houston Police Department
Office of Planning & Data Governance / Open Records Unit
1200 Travis, 21st floor
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 308-3200 (ask for the Open Records Unit)
hpd.openrecords@houstonpolice.org<mailto:hpd.openrecords@houstonpolice.org>
From: Houston Police Department
We will still need the following to facilitate your request:
- Please provide us with a list of HPD employees whose emails you wish us to search.
Thank you,
Open Records Unit - kc