Records Retention Policy for Internal Police Memoranda

City of Santa Cruz
Public Records Request Receipt
This notification is to inform you that the following records request you submitted has been received by the City of Santa Cruz City Clerk, Records Division. In observance of the Holidays, City offices will be closed starting December 24, 2018 and re-opening January 2, 2019. Accordingly, our response times for public records act requests during this closure will be delayed. We will, however, diligently process any pending requests upon our return. In the meantime, thank you for your patience.
Request Date: 7/23/2019
Name of Requestor: Maureen Johnson
Phone Number: 6172991832
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Street Address:
City, State, ZIP:
Description: To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:Any information regarding this Department's policies with respect to retention of internal police memoranda. I am seeking anything you have that relates to the length of time your department maintains internal police memoranda on any subject. In addition, please provide citations to relevant legal authority relating to the destruction or retention of records after a specified period of time.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 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.Sincerely,Maureen JohnsonUpload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

Hello Ms. Johnson,

In response to your request for Public Records from the City of Santa Cruz, dated July 23, 2019:

"Any information regarding this Department's policies with respect to retention of internal police memoranda. I am seeking anything you have that relates to the length of time your department maintains internal police memoranda on any subject. In addition, please provide citations to relevant legal authority relating to the destruction or retention of records after a specified period of time."

Your request as written does not identify a record that would be retained by the City of Santa Cruz. We have no records related to your request.

On a broader level the Public Records Act at Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (a), exempts from disclosure preliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency memoranda that are not retained by the public agency in the ordinary course of business, if the public interest in withholding those records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
That being said, the retention of a particular document would be based on content and retained based on statute, not internal policy. Additionally if a record (including memoranda) is transitory in nature, meaning it is not used in the ordinary course of City Business, it would have no retention at all. If a recorded or memoranda had short term value it might qualify as an administrative record and thus be retained for 2 years. I hope this information helps you with your search.

The City will close this request but please feel free to submit a new, more descriptive request in the future.

If you would like more information about a particular subject matter relevant to the City of Santa Cruz, please clarify your request so that we can better identify the records you are seeking. I am happy to assist you in narrowing your request, should you need help. Please feel free to contact our office.

Thank you,

Kelly Thompson
Records Coordinator
City of Santa Cruz
831-420-5030

Public Records Requests may be submitted online via the Public Records Request form, by email to
kthompson@cityofsantacruz.com<mailto:kthompson@cityofsantacruz.com>, or by hard copy form available at the City Clerk's Office located at 809 Center Street, Room 9, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Please note: Public Record Act Requests submitted via email, fax, USPS, or dropoff after 5:00 p.m. on a business day, Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays will be processed as received on the next open business day. The 10-day response period begins when the request is received.