Covid Booking Procedures (Huntingdon County Sheriff)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any correspondence, memos or other written guidance related to changes in booking procedures during Covid. Please include any information related to fingerprinting and DNA swabbing, as well as other booking protocols.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

The Trace

Dear Sheriff Leonard,

Thanks so much for your response. I am happy to follow up with the jail. I just want to make sure they are the right entity to answer my question.
(Also to be clear, this inquiry is not specific to your office. We are surveying law enforcement agencies across the country.)

What I'm trying to understand is whether any people who were arrested during Covid who would normally have been fingerprinted or asked to provide DNA samples were NOT asked to do so for safety reasons. I am hearing in other jurisdictions that this happened for some lower level felonies, when the person was arrested and told to appear in court, but not booked in the jail.

I'm happy to speak by phone if that's easier.
Thanks so much,
Ann Givens
917-434-0736