Email system documentation (Department of Corrections)
| Multi Request | Email system documentation |
| Submitted | June 19, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the South Carolina Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
Documentation describing the email system(s) used by your agency, including the procedures and methods for performing searches of the email system.
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the Internet Archive and MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
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 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Department of Corrections
Ms. Best,
Our policy regarding e-mail retention and archival addresses the search capabilities of our e-mail system and is available on our internet site at www.doc.sc.gov<http://www.doc.sc.gov> under About SCDC --> SCDC Policies. The policy number is ADM-15.14. The e-mail system is Microsoft Exchange and the archive is a Barracuda E-Mail Archiver.
SCDC received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on June 21, 2018. While SCDC has documents that may be responsive to your request, the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code Section 30-4-10, et seq. defines public records that are subject to disclosure and also enumerates matters that are exempt from disclosure. The following exemptions apply: records that contain information of a personal nature as defined in 30-4-40(a)(2), records of law enforcement and public safety agencies (to include SCDC) compiled in the process of detecting and investigating a crime as defined in 30-4-40(a)(3) and its subsections, and correspondence and other work products of legal counsel and any other material that would violate the attorney-client or attorney work product privileges as outlined in 30-4-40(a)(7). Please note that medical records and all "other records which by law are required to be closed to the public" are not available through FOIA as stated in 30-4-20(c). Additionally, documents that contain information regarding SCDC security plans and devices are not available through FOIA as is stated in 30-4-20(c). Requested records that are subject to FOIA and not exempt will be provided once copied. Please note, SCDC may require a deposit and will charge a fee as permitted by 30-4-30(b) for all record production. This serves as the final opinion of SCDC on the public availability of the records you have requested as required by 30-4-30(c). However, please note that, as allowed by 30-4-30(c), redactions may be made pursuant to additional exemptions. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
SC Code Ann ยง 30-4-30(B) allows us to charge for "search, retrieval, and redaction" of records responsive to FOIA requests. This fee cannot "exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training" to complete the necessary search, retrieval, and redaction of the records. Additionally, the law allows us to charge a copy fee. We charge $0.25 per page for copying. In order to determine the cost for search, retrieval, and redaction, the FOIA office contacts the SCDC office which has custody of the requested records. That office indicates to us how long the search, retrieval, and redaction process will likely take and who they feel is the lowest paid qualified employee to perform it.
SCDC FOIA Office
Post Office Box 21787
Columbia, SC 29221-1787
FOIA@doc.sc.gov<mailto:FOIA@doc.sc.gov>
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following South Carolina Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 19, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Corrections
To Whom It May Concern:
The June 30, 2018 email I sent you below includes a detailed response and a link that answers your June 21, 2018 FOIA request. This serves as the final opinion of SCDC on the public availability of the records you have requested as required by 30-4-30(c)
Sincerely,
SCDC FOIA Office
Post Office Box 21787
Columbia, SC 29221-1787
FOIA@doc.sc.gov<mailto:FOIA@doc.sc.gov<mailto:FOIA@doc.sc.gov%3cmailto:FOIA@doc.sc.gov>>