The Half Moon Bay Police Department scored a perfect 100 in a new audit of California law enforcement agencies’ responses to requests for public information. The audit was conducted by Californians Aware, a Sacramento-based group that advocates for transparent government and records access, reports the County Times. The HMB police bounced back from a dismal score of 35 last year to a perfect 100.
Written requests for information were mailed the day before oral requests were made. The agencies were scored on legal compliance and customer service, each on a 100-point scale. Legal compliance was scored on what information was or was not provided and copying costs, which by law is limited to the “direct cost of duplication,” and whether an agency took more than 10 days to allow a record to be inspected.
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Half Moon Bay Police Chief Don O’Keefe said his department was “very proud” of its score on the audit — a perfect 100, the highest mark in the county — but also criticized the audit for first giving the agency a low score of 35 earlier this year. The department only received the low score, he said, because the auditor was “abrupt,” demanding” and “unclear” in his requests.Nonetheless, O’Keefe worked closely with the city attorney and the city clerk to insure that the Police Department would better acquaint itself with state law to ensure that all public information requests would be honored.
CUSD next? They should request the last three contracts for CUSD Superintendent which are public records. The general public would find it most informative and might ask the question whether the School Board has a clue about the Brown Act!
Ken Johnson