Police Data Collection Request (2016-2020) • MuckRock

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Communications

From: Samuel Sinyangwe

12/23/2022

Subject: Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request: Police Data Collection Request (2016-2020)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

the total number of use of force incidents, separated by year, from 2016-2020 (for example, 302 use of force incidents in 2016, 287 use of force incidents in 2017, etc.)

When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data for each item in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.

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,

Tom Nash, a citizen of Virginia, in coordination with Samuel Sinyangwe.

From: Prince William County Police

12/29/2022

Subject: FOIA2022-1611 re: PWCPD Data Collection Request (2016-2020)

Good Afternoon,

This responds to your Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request you submitted to the Prince William County Police Department for records related to incidents involving our officer's involved response to resistance (RTR) events, also referred to as use of force (UOF). Please consider the following to be the Department's response to your request.

Pursuant to Section § 52-28.2 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, our Department has reported all officer involved shooting (OIS) events since 2016 to Virginia State Police. That data can be located on the Virginia State Police Beyond 2020 website. Additionally, in 2019, our Department began submitting "use of force" data to Virginia State Police, and in 2020, we began publishing that data in our Department's Annual Crime Report. Those reports can be located on our Department's website, Prince William County Police Published Reports<https://www.pwcva.gov/document-center?guid=1>.

As for data prior to 2020, although we investigated and documented all events of RTR, OIS, and UOF, the requested data isn't easily aggregated. It would require a lengthy search of our system. Section §2.2-3704(D), states, no public body shall be required to create a new record if the record does not already exist. However, a public body may abstract or summarize information under such terms and conditions as agreed between the requester and the public body.

Our Department's goal is always transparency and if you wish to receive the prior years, we will conduct a search of our records and summarize the information. However, the cost associated with the search is $507.20. If you would like to proceed with your request for the data relevant to years 2016-2019, we would require a $200 deposit.

Please notify us if you wish to receive an invoice for the deposit. If we don't receive a response prior to January 12, 2023, we will assume you no longer wish to proceed with the prior year's data.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions relevant to the deposit or published data.

Regards,

Prince William County Police FOIA Office
Office: 703.792.6559
PoliceFOIA@pwcgov.org<mailto:policefoia@pwcgov.org>

Prince William County Government
Police Department | Office of the Chief
5036 Davis Ford Road, Woodbridge, VA 22192
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