2004-79

Final Decision

At its October 14, 2004 public meeting, the Government Records Council (Council) considered the September 1, 2004 Findings and Recommendations of the Executive Director and all related documentation submitted by the parties. The Council voted unanimously to adopt the entirety of said findings and recommendations.  The Council, therefore, dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the Custodian has made available to the Complainant that which the Custodian has that is responsive to the Complainant’s June 7, 2004 Open Public Records Act request.

This is the final administrative determination in this matter. Any further review should be pursued in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey within forty-five (45) days. Information about the appeals process can be obtained from the Appellate Division Clerk’s Office, Hughes Justice Complex, 25 W. Market St., PO Box 006, Trenton, NJ 08625-0006.

Final Decision Rendered by the
Government Records Council
On The 21st Day of October, 2004

I attest the foregoing is a true and accurate record of the Government Records Council.

Virginia Hook, Secretary
Government Records Council 

Return to Top

Findings and Recommendations of Executive Director

Records Requested: Any communication (e-mail, letter, memo, purchase order, etc) pertaining to the order, purchase, grant, acquirement, distribution, etc., of any weapon trigger locking devices between the New Jersey Department of Corrections and any vendor, government agency or department, and/or any other party that may have provided any such weapon trigger locks to the New Jersey Department of Corrections for the last three calendar years
Custodian: Kathleen Wiechnik
Request Made:   June 7, 2004
Response Made:  June 16, 2004
GRC Complaint filed: June 22, 2004

Background

Complainant’s Case Position

The Complainant filed a Denial of Access Complaint with the Government Records Council on June 22, 2004 pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et. seq. alleging the following:

Denial of Access to any communication (e-mail, letter, memo, purchase order, etc) pertaining to the order, purchase, grant, acquirement, distribution, etc., of any weapon trigger locking devices between the New Jersey Department of Corrections and any vendor, government agency or department, and/or any other party that may have provided any such weapon trigger locks to the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC). The period of the request is to include the last three calendar years. The Complainant also states that there was no response to his request.

Public Agency’s Case Position

In response to the Complainant’s allegations, the Custodian asserts the following:

The Complainant’s assertion that the DOC did not respond to his request is unsupported by the record. The Custodian states that Mr. Smith e-mailed his request to the Department on Sunday June 6, 2004, and a response was provided on June 16, 2004, therefore falling under the seven business day period allowed by the Open Public Records Act. In the June 16, 2004 letter, as well as the Statement of Information, the Custodian states that the Complainant was advised that his request for “any communication pertaining to the order” of trigger locking devices was too broad because it failed to identify the record he seeks, and he was then asked to provide a more specific description of the record. The Custodian also advised the Complainant that there is no specific “commodity code” for trigger locking devices in the DOC’s procurement database, so a search of the database could not immediately provide the purchase orders that he was seeking. However, all correctional facilities and operational units that utilize weapons were contacted and asked whether any trigger locking devices were purchased within the past three years. There were 11 pages of documents found when doing this search, and a charge of $8.00 was requested as payment for the documents. (On July 15, 2004, in response to an e-mail from the Government Records Council, the Complainant informed the GRC that he sent the payment of $8.00.)

The Complainant clarified his request to the Custodian in a July 26, 2004 letter, seeking any “paper trail” of the acquisition of weapon trigger locking devices by the New Jersey Department of Corrections Commissioner’s Office. He states that, “it has been reported that an extremely large number of weapon trigger locking devices were obtained and distributed to several groups/individuals by the Commissioner’s Office of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, and he is trying to find out where they came from, how they were funded, to whom they were distributed, and who authorized and/or was involved with each aspect of same. And, for the reasons stated, a search of e-mails to/from Devon Brown, and his Executive staff concerning trigger locks, may serve to provide the requested information.”

The Custodian responded to the clarified request in an August 13, 2004 letter to the Custodian as well as in the form of a certification to the Government Records Council. In both, they stated that “there is correspondence to the acquisition of trigger locks, however, the DOC’s Commissioner’s office did not ultimately acquire the trigger locks. Commissioner Brown made a request for 3500 trigger locks to the President of the NJ Association of Chief’s of Police on 11-13-03, but he did not receive a response.  Also, the DOC Chief of Staff “advised the union presidents of an alternative possibility to obtain trigger locks, by advising them through e-mails and letters dated 5-26-04 and 7-30-04 of the potential to obtain the locks through “Project Child Safe.” Ultimately, “the NJDOC Commissioner’s office did not acquire trigger locks, so there is no paper trail of the acquisition of trigger locks by the DOC Commissioner’s office.” Finally, the Custodian states that if the Complainant wants copies of the documents referred to in the letter, he should send a check or money order for $3.00, payable to the State of New Jersey.

Analysis

The following corresponds directly with the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Executive Director listed below.

N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 states that a "Government record" or "record" means any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the course of his or its official business by any officer, commission, agency or authority of the State.

In response to the Complainant’s July 26, 2004 letter, seeking any “paper trail” of the acquisition of weapon trigger locking devices by the New Jersey Department of Corrections Commissioner’s Office, the Custodian certified that “there is correspondence to the acquisition of trigger locks, however, the NJDOC’s Commissioner’s office did not ultimately acquire the trigger locks. Commissioner Brown made a request for 3500 trigger locks to the President of the NJ Association of Chief’s of Police on 11-13-03, but he did not receive a response.  Also, the DOC Chief of Staff “advised the union presidents of an alternative possibility to obtain trigger locks, by advising them through e-mails and letters dated 5-26-04 and 7-30-04 of the potential to obtain the locks through “Project Child Safe.” Ultimately, “the NJDOC Commissioner’s office did not acquire trigger locks, so there is no paper trail of the acquisition of trigger locks by the NJDOC Commissioner’s office.” Finally, the Custodian states that if the Complainant wants copies of the documents referred to in the letter, he should send a check or money order for $3.00, payable to the State of New Jersey. Based upon the Custodian’s certification that “there is correspondence to the acquisition of trigger locks, however, the NJDOC’s Commissioner’s office did not ultimately acquire the trigger locks,” and, the fact that they have made copies of the documents referred to in the August 13, 2004 letter available to the Complainant, they have fulfilled their obligation.

Documents Reviewed

The following records were reviewed in preparation for this Findings and Recommendations of the Executive Director:

1. May 7, 2004 – Complainant’s request to the Department of Corrections
2. June 16, 2004 – Custodian’s response to the Complainant’s request
3. June 22, 2004 – Denial of Access Complaint
4. June 23, 2004 – Offer of mediation to Complainant
5. June 23, 2004 – Offer of mediation to Custodian
6. June 30, 2004 – Custodian’s Statement of Information (w/attachment)
7. July 12, 2004 – E-mail from the GRC to the Complainant
8. July 26, 2004 – Letter from the Custodian to the GRC
9. August 6, 2004 – E-mail from the GRC to the Custodian
10. August 13, 2004 – Letter from the Custodian to the Complainant
11. August 13, 2004 – E-mail from the Custodian to the GRC
12. August 26, 2004 – Certification from the Custodian to the GRC

Conclusions and Recommendations of the Executive Director

The Executive Director respectfully recommends that the Council dismiss this complaint on the basis that the Custodian has made available to the Complainant that which the Custodian has that is responsive to the Complainant’s June 7, 2004 OPRA request.

Prepared By:
Approved By:
Paul F. Dice
Executive Director
Government Records Council

Return to Top