Police Transparency Handbook – FAQ

Police Transparency Handbook FAQ Download Police Transparency Guide Frequently Asked Questions Obtaining law enforcement misconduct and use-of-force records and recordings in California What types of law enforcement personnel and investigatory records are open to the public in California? California law requires agencies to release eight categories of records about officer conduct: Officer-involved shootings: Records related to the discharge of a firearm by an officer, regardless of whether anyone was struck or whether the shooting was

Read More »

FAC’s Brown Act Primer

RESOURCES ACCESS TO Meetings Accessing Public Meetings in CALIFORNIA Ralph M. Brown Act Primer Download the Brown Act Primer Menu | Ralph M. Brown Act Table of Contents This primer is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship. It is copyrighted by the First Amendment Coalition. Contact the First Amendment Coalition at FAC@firstamendmentcoalition.org. California Brown Act Primer I. Introduction This primer was last updated

Read More »

California agencies have no business claiming copyright protection for public records

BY PETER SCHEER—When deciding how to vote on one of the hundreds of bills in the political sausage maker that is our State Legislature, lawmakers should always ask this one question: Is there a problem that this legislation seeks to fix? Given that all laws have costs—even if their magnitude is debatable or unpredictable—a law that does nothing to fix any discernible problem is, by definition, a bad law. Legislators who vote for such laws

Read More »

A&A: Taping of public charter school meetings curtailed by corporate owners

Q: I am  the parent of a child attending a public charter school. About a year ago when transparency appeared to be an issue, parents started to videotape school board meetings.  Currently two parents videotape the  board meetings using handheld cameras. No disturbance is made. Tapes are not edited and are posted on a Facebook page that is open to all. At a recent  board meeting, the CEO of the corporation that operates the public charter school announced that in

Read More »

In settlement with FAC, LA County Jail releases inmate visitor log, agrees to relax secrecy rule

SCHEER–As part of a legal settlement with the First Amendment Coalition, the Los Angeles County Jail has agreed to pull back its veil of secrecy on the identities of persons who visit incarcerated public officials. The jail’s prior policy had been to withhold—on grounds of privacy-protection–the names of visitors to all jail inmates. Going forward, the state’s biggest jail will apply a “presumption” of access when the requests (made under the Public Records Act) relate

Read More »