Search Warrant Data (Mississippi Department of Public Safety)

LPL filed this request with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety of Mississippi.
Multi Request Search Warrant Data
Submitted Nov. 1, 2019
Est. Completion None
Status
Withdrawn

Communications

From: LPL

Subject: Mississippi Public Records Act Request: Search Warrant Data (Mississippi Department of Public Safety)

Email


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

For all search warrants, applications for search warrants, cancellations, and authorization for search warrants between 2012 to the date of processing this request, please provide the following points of record for each:

Full Name of requester
If arrest, arrest ID (eg some cities/states use, "Incident Report")
Reason(s) for search warrant (typically either hand-written, or checkboxes)
Badge ID (or similar) of requester
District/Unit
Name of Judge
Name of approving officer
Whether an Arrest happened
Requested location of search warrant
Location of search warrant execution
Type of search warrant
Statements used to justify search warrant
Time and date when search warrant was submitted for approval
Time and date when search warrant was executed
Whether anything was seized
Whether anything was found
License plate of vehicle (if relevant)
Race of person for search warrant
Age of person for search warrant
State of person for search warrant
Whether an informant was involved
Method of contact with informant leading to search warrant (eg, phone call, mail, fax, email, etc)
Description of person search warrant executed on
Legal code of violation
Description of violation
Date of violation
If search warrant related to debt: name of company debt is owed to, amount owed
Whether FBI involved
ID associated with FBI document (eg, IR #)
Whether search warrant was cancelled
Whether contraband found
Whether narcotics found

The records responsive to this request are likely available in a database, or in some query-able format. If your department or agency does not have direct access to the records, please raise to the respective department that can run queries directly (eg, through SQL).

Should your agency not have all of the requested records within a single record or document, please provide me the relevant documents that do, even if that requires more than one class of document. Should some of the records be unavailable, please let me know ahead of time so that we can narrow the request accordingly.

As the records responsive to this request are imperative for understanding how search warrants are executed, I ask that the public interest of these records be evaluated to the extent that the public's interest outweighs this request's burden. To add, this request is being sent to the largest city of every state and will be collated together to create a comprehensive map of search warrants throughout the US. As such, the records are not only important for understanding search warrants at a local level, but also at a national and state-wide level.

Please ensure that provided documents comply with Section 508, as these records will be shared with members of the public who are covered under the ADA. This guide should be helpful: https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/checklist/pdf/index.html

If this request was sent to the wrong department or agency, please let me know so that I can send to the correct place.

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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Lucy Parsons Labs

From: Muckrock Staff

Subject: RE: Mississippi Public Records Act Request: Search Warrant Data (Mississippi Department of Public Safety)

Email

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Mississippi Department of Public Safety

Subject: FW: Mississippi Public Records Act Request: Search Warrant Data (Mississippi Department of Public Safety)

Email

Lucy Parsons,

We received your public records request as observed below. Due to the extensive nature of the request, we are needing additional time to complete it. We are requesting an extension of fourteen (14) days to complete it. Should we have the response prior to the 14-days, we will send it at that time, not wait the full extension period.

Thank you.

Respectfully,
R.E. Wentworth
Staff Officer, Legal Dept.
MS Dept. of Public Safety

From: Mississippi Department of Public Safety

Subject: RE: Mississippi Public Records Act Request: Search Warrant Data (Mississippi Department of Public Safety)

Email

Good morning, Ms. Parsons,

We are diligently attempting to locate information responsive to your request. Due to the potentially voluminous nature of the request, we are expecting to have you a response as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience.

Respectfully,
R.E. Wentworth
Staff Officer, Legal Dept.
MS Dept. of Public Safety

From: Mississippi Department of Public Safety

Subject: Public Records Request - MuckRock/Lucy Parsons Labs

Email

Lucy Parsons Labs,

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has received your public records request, dated September 25, 2020, which requests the following:

For all search warrants, applications for search warrants, cancellations, and authorization for search warrants between 2012 to the date of processing this request, please provide the following points of record for each:

Full Name of requester
If arrest, arrest ID (eg some cities/states use, "Incident Report")
Reason(s) for search warrant (typically either hand-written, or checkboxes)
Badge ID (or similar) of requester
District/Unit
Name of Judge
Name of approving officer
Whether an Arrest happened
Requested location of search warrant
Location of search warrant execution
Type of search warrant
Statements used to justify search warrant
Time and date when search warrant was submitted for approval
Time and date when search warrant was executed
Whether anything was seized
Whether anything was found
License plate of vehicle (if relevant)
Race of person for search warrant
Age of person for search warrant
State of person for search warrant
Whether an informant was involved
Method of contact with informant leading to search warrant (eg, phone call, mail, fax, email, etc)
Description of person search warrant executed on
Legal code of violation
Description of violation
Date of violation
If search warrant related to debt: name of company debt is owed to, amount owed
Whether FBI involved
ID associated with FBI document (eg, IR #)
Whether search warrant was cancelled
Whether contraband found
Whether narcotics found
Please be advised that we do not keep a catalog of this information, and therefore, this would require us to search through each case file in our database. Upon review of our database, MDPS has in excess of 10,000 case files from the year 2012 to the present date. Mississippi Code Annotated § 25-61-7(1) states that MDPS, as a public body, may establish and collect fees related to any public records request for “the actual cost of searching, reviewing and/or duplicating and, if applicable, mailing copies of public records.” Further, section 25-61-7(1) also states that MDPS may charge a fee for any staff time related to the public records request to be calculated “at the pay scale of the lowest level employee or contractor competent to respond to the request.” And finally, the statute provides that “[s]uch fees shall be collected by the public body [MDPS] in advance of complying with the request.”

With that said, assuming that MDPS has 10,000 case files, we estimate that it will take 6000 hours to complete a search, review, and compile the information responsive to your request. Taking 6000 hours X $30/hr (of our lowest level employee competent to respond to your request), we estimate that the fee associated with your request would be $180,000. As such, if you intend to move forward with your request, please remit the necessary fee of $180,000 in order for MDPS to begin obtaining and compiling the necessary responsive information. Please make payment via check, cashier’s check or money order. You may make payment in person at 1900 Woodrow Wilson East, Jackson, MS 39216 or to Department of Public Safety, ATTN: Legal Dept., P.O. Box 958, Jackson, MS 39205-0958. If payment is made in person, you will receive the responsive information at that time. If payment is made via U.S.P.S., the responsive information will be sent to the email address provided after payment is received.

Thanks,

JORDAN MCMICHAEL │GENERAL COUNSEL
Mississippi Department of Public Safety
Telephone: (601) 987-1333
E-mail: JMcMichael@dps.ms.gov

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