RECORDS OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS
Executive Order No. 69
Issued May 1997(3/98)
RECORDS
OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS
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     WHEREAS,
Chapter 73, P.L. 1963, as amended, finds and declares it to be
the public policy of this State that public records shall be readily
accessible for examination by the citizens of this State for the
protection of the public interest except as otherwise provided
in said law; and
     WHEREAS,
some limitation upon the right to examine and copy records provided
by Chapter 73 is essential and not detrimental to the public interest
as recognized by existing statutory and common law; and
     WHEREAS,
disclosure of information must be consistent with existing statutory
law regarding confidentiality in certain areas; and
     WHEREAS,
said Chapter 73 provides that records which would otherwise be
deemed to be public records, subject to inspection and examination
and available for copying, pursuant to the provisions of said
law, may be excluded therefrom by Executive Order of the Governor
or by any regulation promulgated under the authority of any Executive
Order of the Governor; and
     WHEREAS,
Section 3(e) of Executive Order No. 9, issued by Governor Richard
Hughes in 1963, and reaffirmed by Executive Order No. 123, issued
by Governor Thomas H. Kean in 1983, states that fingerprint cards,
plates and photographs and other similar criminal investigation
records which are required to be made, maintained or kept by any
State or local governmental agency shall not be deemed to be public
records subject to inspection and examination and available for
copying pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 73; and
     WHEREAS,
the Attorney General has undertaken a complete review of this
subject area, seeking input from prosecutors, police, representatives
of the news media, and victims' rights organizations, and has
recommended that certain aspects of the system be clarified;
     NOW,
THEREFORE, I, Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of the
State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by
the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby
order and direct:
- Executive
Order No. 9 of Governor Richard J. Hughes and Executive Order
No. 123 of Governor Thomas H. Kean are modified as hereinafter
set forth, and any regulations adopted and promulgated under
those prior Executive Orders shall be deemed null and void
to the extent such regulations are inconsistent with the provisions
of this Executive Order.
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The
following records shall not be deemed to be public records
subject to inspection and examination and available for copying
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 73, P.L. 1963, as amended:
fingerprint cards, plates and photographs and similar criminal
investigation records that are required to be made, maintained
or kept by any State or local governmental agency.
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Notwithstanding
the above section 2, the following information shall be available
to the public within 24 hours, or sooner if practicable, of
a request for such information:
- where
a crime has been reported but no arrest yet made, information
as to the type of crime, time, location and type of weapon,
if any;
-
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if
an arrest has been made, information as to the name, address
and age of any victims, unless there has not been sufficient
opportunity for notification of next of kin of any victims
of injury and/or death to any such victim or where the
release of the names of any victim would be contrary to
existing law or court rule. In deciding on the release
of information as to the identity of a victim, the safety
of the victim and the victim's family, and the integrity
of any ongoing investigation, shall be considered;
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if
an arrest has been made, information as to the defendant's
name, age, residence, occupation, marital status and similar
background information and the identity of the complaining
party, unless the release of such information is contrary
to existing law or court rule;
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information
as to the text of any charges, such as the complaint,
accusation and indictment, unless sealed by the court
or unless the release of such information is contrary
to existing law or court rule;
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information
as to the identity of the investigating and arresting
personnel and agency and the length of the investigation;
-
information
of the circumstances immediately surrounding the arrest,
including but not limited to the time and place of the
arrest, resistance, if any, pursuit, possession and nature
and use of weapons and ammunition by the suspect and by
the police; and
-
information
as to circumstances surrounding bail, whether it was posted
and amount thereof.
The term "request" shall mean either a written or oral
request; provided, however, that all requests are made
with sufficient clarity so as to enable a reasonable person
to understand the information that is being sought. The
law enforcement official responding to oral requests should
make best efforts to respond orally over the telephone;
however, it shall not be unreasonable to require the requester
to appear in person to receive the information. Unless
the parties note otherwise, it shall be understood that
there is no duty to release or obtain information that
is not in the possession of the law enforcement agency
at the time of request.
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Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Executive Order, where it
shall appear that the information requested or to be examined
will jeopardize the safety of any person or jeopardize
any investigation in progress or may be otherwise inappropriate
to release, such information may be withheld. This section
is intended to be narrowly construed to prevent disclosure
of information which would be truly harmful to a bona
fide law enforcement purpose or public safety if released.
It is also intended to prevent such release that would
violate existing law regarding confidentiality in areas
including, but not limited to, domestic violence and juveniles.
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Each
county prosecutor shall prepare a plan outlining the procedures
for providing and/or disseminating the information required
by this Executive Order and shall submit same to the Division
of Criminal Justice for its review and filing. Each prosecutor
shall consult with the police departments within his or
her county and to the extent possible, include within
the prosecutor's plan the local procedures for responding
to informational requests. The Division of State Police
shall submit its plan to the Office of the Attorney General.
Whenever any changes are made in any such plan, said changes
shall immediately be forwarded to the appropriate county
prosecutor and/or the Division of Criminal Justice or
Office of the Attorney General for review and filing.
In addition, each county prosecutor's office shall designate
a person(s) who is(are) responsible for responding to
requests for public information by the media on nights,
weekends and holidays. The name of the person(s) so designated
shall be available at the communication center in each
county.
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The
Attorney General, as chief law enforcement officer of
the State, or his designee, or where appropriate, the
county prosecutor, as chief law enforcement officer of
the county, shall promptly resolve all disputes as to
whether or not the release of records would be "otherwise
inappropriate" between the custodian of any records referred
to herein and any person seeking access thereto or similar
disputes. Where the Attorney General or the county prosecutor
determines that the release of records would be "otherwise
inappropriate," he or she shall issue a brief statement
explaining the decision.
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The
terms of the Order shall be carried out in the spirit
of Chapter 73, P.L. 1963, as amended, and shall not relate
to requests pursuant to Chapter 60, Section 4, of P.L.
1994. It shall be carried out by keeping in mind the right
of citizens to be aware of events occurring in their community.
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This
Order shall take effect immediately.
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