New Castle Police Policies and Procedures

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Complete copy of the: (1) Policies and Procedures Manual (aka Standard Operating Procedures) for the City of New Castle Police Department; and (2) a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual.

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 15 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Michael Dworiak

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 20, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a second request regarding the Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 20, 2015. The statute requires a response no later than 15 business days. To date, no response to the initial inquiry or the follow-up inquiry has been received. Please let me know the status of my request as soon as possible.

Thank you for your help.

Mr. Losco:

Please accept this email as my formal appeal of your denial of my Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to the Standard Operating Procedure Manual of the New Castle City Police Department. You denial letter indicates that the entire manual is being withheld because it is not a "public record" due to its exemption as "records, which, if copied or inspected, could jeopardize the security of any structure owned by the State or any of its political subdivisions, or could facilitate the planning of a terrorist attach, or could endanger the life or physical safety of an individual."

You denial of the entire manual is not consistent with ruling by the Delaware courts as well as published opinions of the Delaware Department of Justice. In the Superior Court of Delaware in Office of the Public Defender v. Delaware State Police decided March 31, 2003, the court determined that "State Police manuals are public records". Further in Attorney General Opinion 05-1B-19 that specifically addressed law enforcement manuals the Attorney General determined that sections of the manual that contain "confidential law enforcement techniques and procedures" could be withheld." The remainder of the manual that contains non confidential techniques and "all administrative materials, even if included in staff manuals that otherwise concern law enforcement, must be disclosed." Further, relying on federal precedent of FOIA, it was determined that "confidential techniques" are those that are not already widely known to the public. This precedent has required agencies such as the FBI to disclose policies and procedures regarding undercover operations, intelligence gathering and other law enforcement disciplines with the policies being produced with limited redaction.

Some areas of the the police department's manual that immediately come to mind that would not be exempt based on the above would be human resources, recruiting standards, background investigations, training standards, discipline procedures, standards of conduct, internal affairs investigations, use of force, etc. This list of course is not inclusive of those sections of the manual that would be required to be disclosed.

I trust that after review of this appeal that the City of New Castle will reconsider its denial and produce the records consistent with Delaware law and the opinions of the Department of Justice.

Mr. Losco:

I am following up on my appeal that was submitted on 4/22/2015. Can you please advise me when I may receive a response.

Thank you.

Mr. Losco:

In order to narrow the scope of this request, I respectfully request the City of New Castle produce a table of contents for the policy and procedure manual. By producing the table contents, I can greatly narrow the request to the portions of the manual that would be less likely to contain infomation that would be deemed confidential law enforcement techniques.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Mr. Losco:

I have reviewed the table of contents provided. I wish to narrow the scope of the FOIA request to the following policies and directives of the manual:

Section I.
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section II
Use of Seat Belts
Police Vehicle Occupancy
Damage to Department Vehicles
Strikes and Labor Disputes
Seasonal Bicycle Patrol Officers

Section IV
Use of Force
Post-Shooting Incident

Section V
Release of Reports
Records Retention

Section VII
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section VII
Dress Code

Section XI
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section XIV
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section XVI
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section XVII
Requesting all policies in this section of the manual

Section 25 – Code of Conduct
*Note: while not listed in the provided Table of Contents, this section of the manual does exist.

All of the identified policies in this email narrowing the scope of the FOIA request are “administrative” in nature and do not pertain to confidential law enforcement techniques or investigative procedures.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Mr. Losco:

The narrowing of the scope of the FOIA request to those policies that would not contain any "confidential law enforcement techniques" was derived from my review of International Association of Chiefs of Police model policies which the City of New Castle advised the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission that they used in formulating their own policies. Those IACP policies reviewed contained information that would be required to be released under previously identified Attorney General Opinion.

It is my position that the City's attempt to charge fees to review these policies to determine if they are exempt is a direct violation of 10003(m)(2) which states that "administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body's legal review of whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA".

I view the City's response as a denial of the requested records and will be forwarding this matter to the Attorney General as a petition for review.

Mr. Losco:

It is my interpretation of the statute that having another employee of the City conduct the review at your behest is exactly what the statute is prohibiting. We disagree on this point and as stated in my previous email, the charging of these fees for this review is being considered a denial of the FOIA request and has been sent the Attorney General office as a petition for review.

Freedom of Information Act Appeal

Via Email to: Edward.Black@state.de.us
Delaware Department of Justice
Edward Black, Deputy Attorney General
FOIA Coordinator
820 North French Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear. Mr. Black:

I submit this request to the Delaware Department of Justice as a petition to review the denial of records by the City of New Castle under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).

The initial request was made on 3/20/2015 for a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual and a complete copy of the City of New Castle Police Department’s policies and procedures manual. On 4/20/2015, the City through their counsel, Daniel Losco, produced the personnel manual in its entirety but denied the request for the police departments manual citing that the entire manual was exempt from disclosure.

In response to the denial, I submitted a response to the City advising that the denial of the entire manual was inconsistent with the opinion of the Attorney General in opinion 05-1B-19 where your office stated that only confidential law enforcement techniques could be withheld.

In response, the City advised that in order to produce the manual that they were charging a minimum of $1,548.00 to have a Senior Lieutenant review the manual for confidential law enforcement techniques. I then requested that the City produce the Table of Contents for the manual so I could narrow the scope of my request to those policies that would be considered “administrative” in nature. The City responded to the request narrowing the scope that it would still be charging fees for the Senior Lieutenant to review all of the policies requested. During the City’s accreditation assessment by the state’s Police Accreditation Commission, they advised that they use model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In narrowing the scope of my request, I reviewed those model policies to determine which City police policies to request based on them not containing “confidential” techniques.

I advised the City that it is my belief that the charging of fees in this matter is in violation of 10003(m)(2) in where “administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body’s legal review on whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA”. I am submitting this petition to the Attorney General based on the denial of my FOIA request.

All of the communications between the City and myself are attached. I look forward to a thorough review of this denial by your office.

Via Email to: Edward.Black@state.de.us
Delaware Department of Justice
Edward Black, Deputy Attorney General
FOIA Coordinator
820 North French Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear. Mr. Black:

I submit this request to the Delaware Department of Justice as a petition to review the denial of records by the City of New Castle under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).

The initial request was made on 3/20/2015 for a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual and a complete copy of the City of New Castle Police Department’s policies and procedures manual. On 4/20/2015, the City through their counsel, Daniel Losco, produced the personnel manual in its entirety but denied the request for the police departments manual citing that the entire manual was exempt from disclosure.

In response to the denial, I submitted a response to the City advising that the denial of the entire manual was inconsistent with the opinion of the Attorney General in opinion 05-1B-19 where your office stated that only confidential law enforcement techniques could be withheld.

In response, the City advised that in order to produce the manual that they were charging a minimum of $1,548.00 to have a Senior Lieutenant review the manual for confidential law enforcement techniques. I then requested that the City produce the Table of Contents for the manual so I could narrow the scope of my request to those policies that would be considered “administrative” in nature. The City responded to the request narrowing the scope that it would still be charging fees for the Senior Lieutenant to review all of the policies requested. During the City’s accreditation assessment by the state’s Police Accreditation Commission, they advised that they use model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In narrowing the scope of my request, I reviewed those model policies to determine which City police policies to request based on them not containing “confidential” techniques.

I advised the City that it is my belief that the charging of fees in this matter is in violation of 10003(m)(2) in where “administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body’s legal review on whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA”. I am submitting this petition to the Attorney General based on the denial of my FOIA request.

All of the communications between the City and myself are attached. I look forward to a thorough review of this denial by your office.

Via Email to: Edward.Black@state.de.us
Delaware Department of Justice
Edward Black, Deputy Attorney General
FOIA Coordinator
820 North French Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear. Mr. Black:
I submit this request to the Delaware Department of Justice as a petition to review the denial of records by the City of New Castle under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).
The initial request was made on 3/20/2015 for a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual and a complete copy of the City of New Castle Police Department’s policies and procedures manual. On 4/20/2015, the City through their counsel, Daniel Losco, produced the personnel manual in its entirety but denied the request for the police departments manual citing that the entire manual was exempt from disclosure.
In response to the denial, I submitted a response to the City advising that the denial of the entire manual was inconsistent with the opinion of the Attorney General in opinion 05-1B-19 where your office stated that only confidential law enforcement techniques could be withheld.
In response, the City advised that in order to produce the manual that they were charging a minimum of $1,548.00 to have a Senior Lieutenant review the manual for confidential law enforcement techniques. I then requested that the City produce the Table of Contents for the manual so I could narrow the scope of my request to those policies that would be considered “administrative” in nature. The City responded to the request narrowing the scope that it would still be charging fees for the Senior Lieutenant to review all of the policies requested. During the City’s accreditation assessment by the state’s Police Accreditation Commission, they advised that they use model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In narrowing the scope of my request, I reviewed those model policies to determine which City police policies to request based on them not containing “confidential” techniques.
I advised the City that it is my belief that the charging of fees in this matter is in violation of 10003(m)(2) in where “administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body’s legal review on whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA”. I am submitting this petition to the Attorney General based on the denial of my FOIA request.
All of the communications between the City and myself are attached. I look forward to a thorough review of this denial by your office.

Freedom of Information Act Appeal

Via Email to: Edward.Black@state.de.us
Delaware Department of Justice
Edward Black, Deputy Attorney General
FOIA Coordinator
820 North French Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear. Mr. Black:

I submit this request to the Delaware Department of Justice as a petition to review the denial of records by the City of New Castle under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).

The initial request was made on 3/20/2015 for a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual and a complete copy of the City of New Castle Police Department’s policies and procedures manual. On 4/20/2015, the City through their counsel, Daniel Losco, produced the personnel manual in its entirety but denied the request for the police departments manual citing that the entire manual was exempt from disclosure.

In response to the denial, I submitted a response to the City advising that the denial of the entire manual was inconsistent with the opinion of the Attorney General in opinion 05-1B-19 where your office stated that only confidential law enforcement techniques could be withheld.

In response, the City advised that in order to produce the manual that they were charging a minimum of $1,548.00 to have a Senior Lieutenant review the manual for confidential law enforcement techniques. I then requested that the City produce the Table of Contents for the manual so I could narrow the scope of my request to those policies that would be considered “administrative” in nature. The City responded to the request narrowing the scope that it would still be charging fees for the Senior Lieutenant to review all of the policies requested. During the City’s accreditation assessment by the state’s Police Accreditation Commission, they advised that they use model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In narrowing the scope of my request, I reviewed those model policies to determine which City police policies to request based on them not containing “confidential” techniques.

I advised the City that it is my belief that the charging of fees in this matter is in violation of 10003(m)(2) in where “administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body’s legal review on whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA”. I am submitting this petition to the Attorney General based on the denial of my FOIA request.

All of the communications between the City and myself are attached. I look forward to a thorough review of this denial by your office.

Freedom of Information Act Appeal

Via Email to: Edward.Black@state.de.us
Delaware Department of Justice
Edward Black, Deputy Attorney General
FOIA Coordinator
820 North French Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear. Mr. Black:

I submit this request to the Delaware Department of Justice as a petition to review the denial of records by the City of New Castle under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).

The initial request was made on 3/20/2015 for a complete copy of the City of New Castle Personnel Manual and a complete copy of the City of New Castle Police Department’s policies and procedures manual. On 4/20/2015, the City through their counsel, Daniel Losco, produced the personnel manual in its entirety but denied the request for the police departments manual citing that the entire manual was exempt from disclosure.

In response to the denial, I submitted a response to the City advising that the denial of the entire manual was inconsistent with the opinion of the Attorney General in opinion 05-1B-19 where your office stated that only confidential law enforcement techniques could be withheld.

In response, the City advised that in order to produce the manual that they were charging a minimum of $1,548.00 to have a Senior Lieutenant review the manual for confidential law enforcement techniques. I then requested that the City produce the Table of Contents for the manual so I could narrow the scope of my request to those policies that would be considered “administrative” in nature. The City responded to the request narrowing the scope that it would still be charging fees for the Senior Lieutenant to review all of the policies requested. During the City’s accreditation assessment by the state’s Police Accreditation Commission, they advised that they use model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In narrowing the scope of my request, I reviewed those model policies to determine which City police policies to request based on them not containing “confidential” techniques.

I advised the City that it is my belief that the charging of fees in this matter is in violation of 10003(m)(2) in where “administrative fees shall not include any cost associated with the public body’s legal review on whether any portion of the requested records is exempt from FOIA”. I am submitting this petition to the Attorney General based on the denial of my FOIA request.

All of the communications between the City and myself are attached. I look forward to a thorough review of this denial by your office.