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CPRA Police Records

Are police notes following an auto accident public records?

If a police officer took notes about an auto accident and wrote down witness statements on a piece of paper, is that paper considered public record? I've requested this document but have been told that the agency doesn't have that document.

March 6, 2025
Posts

FAC Joins Coalition Urging SF Mayor to Restore Rights Under Sunshine Ordinance

FAC joined a coalition of media and transparency groups urging San Francisco Mayor London Breed to restore all aspects of the city's open- government ordinance, parts of which she suspended after the city declared an emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. The letter to Mayor Breed sent Friday, April 17 by the Northern California […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
April 20, 2020
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Blog

US releases to FAC new legal memo on 2010 killing of Anwar al-Awlaki. Here’s our analysis.

[…] earlier opportunity to target Awlaki. The February 19 memo focuses on the key issues posed by the planned strike: Awlaki’s rights, as a citizen, and limitations on government power (if any) that derive from those rights. The July 10 memo covers that territory too, but is devoted mainly to an analysis of potential constraints […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 15, 2014
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Blog

Tracy case tests the power of government officials to avoid disclosure of their emails on public business

[…] By Peter Scheer Those enterprising members of the Tracy City Council have come up with a strategy to hide from public view all their written communications about government business. With a bit of legal legerdemain, they claim to be able to evade state open-government laws, transforming their communications from public records into private correspondence. […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
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Blog

No more slaps on the wrist: Public Spankings for violators of open-government laws

[…] spanking of children. While few legislators seem to want to follow the San Jose Democrat off this particular cliff, Lieber’s idea does suggest another possible connection between government and spanking. A source of great frustration to advocates of government openness and accountability is the absence of any meaningful enforcement of California’s open government laws. […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
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Blog

Leading gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown need to show voters, by their own actions, that they are committed to transparency in government. Promises won’t cut it.

[…] SCHEER---As California voters begin the process of selecting the next Governor of the ungovernable Golden State, the leading candidates owe them a demonstration of their commitment to government transparency. All politicians are supportive of open-government "in principle;" the question is whether they are committed in practice. The best test for that is a candidate's […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 9, 2010
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Blog Events

It’s Sunshine Week. Here’s how to get involved.

Join us for Sunshine Week events and beyond Join us for two special events highlighting the importance of a more open and accountable government, with a focus on the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. For Sunshine Week 2021, we are teaming up with the News Leaders Association to take you inside the fight […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 15, 2021
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Blog

It starts again: A Washington, DC judge has ordered 5 journalists to name their confidential sources for stories about the anthrax letters of 2001

By Peter Scheer Just when you thought it was safe again for journalists to talk to confidential sources inside government, a federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered five prominent reporters---Allan Lengel of the Washington Post; Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, both of Newsweek; Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today; and James Stewart of […]
- Press Freedom
June 3, 2009
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FAC News Press Release

Introducing Our Police Transparency Guide

[…] have better information about how police officers interact with the public and do their jobs, as recent protests helped show. Protecting the public’s right of access to government records is essential to the democratic process. I’m very pleased to create a resource that is available to anyone seeking answers about police conduct in California." […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
October 6, 2020
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Blog Cases

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

[…] Angeles County Jails is information that falls under the California Public Records Act (CPRA). With regard to inmates who are also high-ranking public officials, as defined in Government Code section 82048 and also to include judicial officers and high-ranking officials of the federal government, given their unique status and the public's interest, there is […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 5, 2013