Richmond Virginia Arrest and Detention Data
| Submitted | Jan. 31, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | Feb. 19, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Tom Nash
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Requested information: I am requesting the data or log of all arrests and detentions related to unrest in Richmond from January 1st to January 31st. Fields of data include, but are not limited to, the following:
Name
Date of Birth
Race/Ethnicity
gender
Date and time of the arrest or detention
Charges or reason for arrest or detention
Location of arrest or detention
If you do not have this data related to unrest specifically, we will take all arrest and detention data for the above time period.
If this officer data is included in your arrest logs, we are also requesting these fields.
Officer name
Officer date of birth
Officer race/ethnicity
Officer gender
We are requesting the data be provided electronically, and we can accept the data in many common electronic formats, such as comma-separated values (CSV), spreadsheet formats and database formats. Data can be emailed to egerson@stanford.edu, or we can also provide a link for you to upload the data, depending on the size of the files.
In the event data must be sent physically on a CD or portable drive, please mail to:
Cheryl Phillips
760 Kendall Ave.,
Palo Alto, CA 94305
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.
Please note that I am a citizen of Virginia, and am using MuckRock's services to help manage and track my request.
Sincerely,
Tom Nash
From: Richmond Police Department
Good morning Mr. Nash,
Virginia Code §2.2-3704 (I) allows for a public body to require the requester to pay any amounts owed to the public body for previous requests for records that remain unpaid for 30 days or more after billing.
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RE: Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request: FOIA Request: Police Department drone usage policies (Richmond Police Department)
From: Richmond Police Department
Good afternoon Mr. Nash,
I was advised yesterday that payment for the outstanding invoices has been received. As such, our office will begin processing your most recent request. Please note that Virginia Code §2.2-3704 (B) requires the requester to identify the requested records with reasonable specificity. In your request, the parameter of time for the search to cover was not provided; no year was specified. Additionally, the term “unrest” is ambiguous. Please be more specific by what you mean by “unrest.”
Best regards,
William K. Shipman
Associate General Counsel
From: Richmond Police Department
Mr. Nash,
Attached please find the Richmond Police Department's request for an extension for your request for records related to arrests and detentions related to unrest in Richmond from January 1st to January 31st.
Thank you,
Karla E. Peters
Richmond Police Department
Office of General Counsel
(804) 646-5147
The contents of this email are CONFIDENTIAL and may be protected by attorney-client privilege. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure by others is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, PLEASE NOTIFY ME and PROMPTLY DELETE this email.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 31, 2021. 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: Richmond Police Department
Good morning Mr. Nash,
This request has not been processed because we are still awaiting your response to the email I sent you on February 2, 2021, requesting further information on the request (see below). Once we receive that information, we can then provide you with a cost/deposit estimate. Please note that law enforcement agencies are governed by Virginia Code §19.2-389 as it relates to the release of “criminal history record information.” Criminal history record information is defined as records and data collected by criminal justice agencies on adult individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal charges and any disposition arising therefrom. Virginia Code §9.1-101
That being said, Virginia Code §9.1-126 states that there is no prohibition on a criminal justice agency from disclosing to the public factual information concerning the status of an investigation, the apprehension, arrest, release or prosecution of an individual, the adjudication of charges, or the correctional status of an individual, which is related to the offense for which that individual is currently within the criminal justice system.
As a practical matter, it may be difficult for a law enforcement agency to ascertain the status of an individual beyond the initial stages of the criminal justice process. Therefore, the release of arrest information is commonly understood to apply to “reasonably contemporaneous” arrests to avoid placing a law enforcement agency in the position of violating the restrictions on release of criminal history record information.
As I stated above, once you have provided the specific information we requested, we can determine the number of relevant arrests that occurred during the relevant time frame. We would then have to go through each arrest to determine if it is still currently within the criminal justice system which will be time consuming. We are more than happy to provide a cost/deposit estimate. Additionally, you will be responsible for all costs associated with searching for the records, even if no records are released. Please advise on how you would like to proceed.
Best regards,
William K. Shipman
Associate General Counsel
From: Richmond Police Department
Mr. Nash,
Per the extension letter, the Richmond Police Department’s response is due on or before February 19, 2021. We will respond accordingly.
Karla E. Peters
Richmond Police Department
Office of General Counsel
(804) 646-5147
The contents of this email are CONFIDENTIAL and may be protected by attorney-client privilege. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure by others is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, PLEASE NOTIFY ME and PROMPTLY DELETE this email.
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~WRD000
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 31, 2021. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Feb. 19, 2021. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Richmond Police Department
Good morning Mr. Nash,
The time frame on your request has been tolled since February 2, 2021. We have made several requests for additional information in order for us to properly process your request. As of today’s date, you have failed to provide us with any of that information. Please review the emails below and advise on how you would like to proceed.
Best regards
William K. Shipman
Associate General Counsel
Files
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02/01/2021
RE: Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request: FOIA Request: Police Department drone usage policies (Richmond Police Department)
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