1033 MOU and annual inventory form (Rhode Island - Governor's Office)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act ("APRA"), I hereby request the following records:

The inventory spreadsheet (often called a "property book") of all equipment received by Rhode Island state and local law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program administered by the Defense Logistics Agency.

According to the DLA FAQ page regarding the 1033 program, the Adjutant General is the agency in charge of coordinating the 1033 program for Rhode Island. See http://www.dispositionservices.dla.mil/leso/Pages/StateCoordinatorList.aspx

The Adjutant General was appointed to serve in this role by the Governor of Rhode Island, and thus the APRA is determinative rather than the federal FOIA statute.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

Please confirm receipt of this APRA request.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Please confirm receipt of this APRA request.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Zuckerman -

I've called and left a voicemail with regard to this APRA request, which has yet to be acknowledged. Please confirm receipt.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Zuckerman -

Thank you for confirming receipt. For your reference, I've attached a couple of 1033 property book spreadsheets released by other states. To date, a total of 32 state 1033 coordinators have released such spreadsheets, including California, Florida, Texas and Connecticut.

Please let me know if I can provide any further information or clarification of this request.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Flax and Ms. Zimmerman -

Thank you for providing another copy of the MOA. As the Adjutant General is operating as an appointee of the governor in his capacity as the 1033 state coordinator, I consider this request to cover documents maintained by the Adjutant General in that capacity. Please advise as to whether your determination covers documents in the possession of the Adjutant General, as well.

Best,
Shawn

Ms. Flax -

Apologies for any confusion. I am requesting clarification as to whether your response covers documents in the possession of the Adjutant General in his capacity as the governor-appointed coordinator of the 1033 program.

Thank you for your help and commitment to transparency.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Flax -

Yesterday, a panel commissioned by President Obama released its findings regarding the need for increased scrutiny of the 1033 program and similar federal programs that provide funding or direct equipment transfers to law enforcement nationwide.

The report is available online here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/01/fact-sheet-strengthening-community-policing

In part, the report found that: "Both law enforcement and civil rights stakeholders agreed that there is often insufficient transparency to decisions surrounding the acquisition of equipment. These programs often permit LEAs to request equipment outside of a local government’s standard budget process and without civilian (non-police) government approval. Local elected officials are frequently not involved in the decision-making, and the general public is similarly unaware of what their LEAs possess."

In the spirit of promoting public accountability regarding the equipment that law enforcement agencies have received via the 1033 program, I once again respectfully ask that you release an unredacted spreadsheet of such equipment transfers. To date, 38 states have released this information. I urge Rhode Island to follow suit and help facilitate the productive dialogue around the 1033 program and its future that is only possible by evaluating the program's operation in detail.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 17, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.