,,,,,,,,
<h2>Foia The Police</h2>
One of the many tools that the public can use in order to learn more about the activities of police departments is through public records requests. This process can be long and frustrating but we are here to help.
First, tell us more about yourself. Have you ever sent a public records request? If not, you may want to learn more about the Illinois public records law, called the //Freedom of Information Act// ([[FOIA]]).
If you have questions about type of records fall under FOIA, you may want to investigate [[what is a public record?->What is a public record]]
If you have have never sent a FOIA request before but what like to get started, you can find out more about [[how to form your request->firstrequest]].
If you are looking for inspiration, maybe you want to see how public records have helped others [[challenge->Civil Asset Forfeiture]] police [[misconduct->Kalven vs CPD]].
If you have sent requests before and you know exactly what you want to research, select a topic below:
* [[Surveillance<-Surveillance]]
* [[Civil Asset Forfeiture<-Asset Forfeiture]]
* [[Stop and Frisk<-Stop and Frisk]]The Illinois public records act shares its name with the federal law. They are both known as the //"Freedom of Information Act"//(FOIA) although they are distinct laws with separate provisions. One of the key frustrations with FOIA is that while you have a //right// to records, you will often not get them. Therefore, familiarizing yourself intimately with the FOIA <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=85&ChapterID=2"; target="_blank">statute</a> is a key tool for liberating your data. Many times, government agency will unjustly deny your request, overly redact them, claim the <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/apr/26/chicago-police-cellebrite/"; target="_blank">records don't exist</a> or refuse to release records in a <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/delayed-denied-dismissed-failures-on-the-foia-front"; target="_blank">timely manner</a>.
Some important features to know about FOIA:
* Timelines - //You are due records within 5 days. Agencies are allowed one 5 day extension unless you agree to a further extension//
* Requesting records - //You may file your request in any format: phone call, visit in person, email or fax etc.//
* [[Exemptions]] - You can't ask for everything under FOIA but often times exemptions will be improperly applied and you can challenge them.
* Appeals - //Many States allow you to appeal FOIA denials or redactions. In Illinois, you may appeal all FOIAs within 60 days of any denial to the Illinois Public Access Counselor by <a href="mailto:PAccess@atg.state.il.us" target="_top">email</a> or by mail://
<div style="text-align:center">
{{{Public Access Counselor}}}
{{{Office of the Attorney General}}}
{{{500 S. 2nd Street}}}
{{{Springfield, Illinois 62701}}}
{{{773 299 3642}}}
</div>
* Right to attorney fees - //If you sue for your public records and win, the agency you sued must pay "reasonable attorney fees" to you and your legal representation//.
* No obligation to "answer" your questions - //An agency will reject your FOIA if you submit it in the form of a question. For example, if you want to know if an agency purchased a specific software license ask for "documents or receipts about the purchase of Cellebrite"//.
Ultimately, there will be many challenges to doing public records requests. You will most likely learn the nuances of the laws by practicing and doing requests. Thankfully it is possible to re-send your requests multiple times with different language until you get your records. Police surveillance can take many types of forms. Often, these programs are clouded in secrecy and hard to uncover. You may have to think creatively about how the records are stored, look for money being spent <a href = "https://www.propublica.org/article/private-donors-supply-spy-gear-to-cops"; target="_blank">outside</a> of the <a href="https://boingboing.net/2015/08/17/lapd-chicago-bought-stingr.html"; target="_blank">regular police budget</a>, or file lawsuits for records.
Additionally, as we saw in the case of the struggles against the North Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), surveillance can take many forms including <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/05/27/leaked-documents-reveal-security-firms-counterterrorism-tactics-at-standing-rock-to-defeat-pipeline-insurgencies/"; target="_blank">private military contractors</a>, local police, and <a href="https://theintercept.com/document/2017/05/27/intel-group-email-thread/"; target="_blank">the FBI</a>. This is further complicated with data sharing agreements between <a href="https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2017/mar/14/tennessee-fusion-center-monitored-july-protests-in-memphis-emails-reveal/"; target="_blank">local police</a>, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/07/24/documents-show-department-homeland-security-monitoring-black-lives-matter-since-ferguson/"; target="_blank">fusion </a> <a href="https://privacysos.org/blog/so-called-counterterror-fusion-center-in-massachusetts-monitored-black-lives-matter-protesters/"; target="_blank">centers</a> and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/documents-show-monitoring-black-lives-matter-171128110538134.html"; target="_blank">Department of Homeland Security</a>.
<hr>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/surveillance/NoDAPL.png"></img>
<hr>
Some topics you can investigate include:
* [[Automatic License Plate Readers]]
* Cell Site Simulators, otherwise known as [[Stingrays]]
* [[Security Cameras]]
* [[Cellebrite]]
Civil asset forfeiture is a process by which police and prosecutors keep cash, cars, and other valuables from people after seizing the property during a traffic stop, an arrest, or an investigation. In Illinois, as in many states across the country, you don't have to be convicted of a crime or even charged before prosecutors can maneuver to keep your property. Many cities and states have forfeiture laws, as well as the federal government. Historically, asset forfeiture was
There are many ways to analyze the scope of these programs. You might be interested in //where the money is being spent//, or //who had their property seized//, or //the size of the program//. However, there are multiple offices involved: prosecutors, police departments and judges are all involved at various levels. There are also local, state and federal partners involved. Often they work as task forces and each member of the task force will also get a percentage of the net value of property seized.
* In Illinois, the program is administered by the [[Illinois State Police|ISPassets]] (ISP) which receives 10% of all seizures. If you are interested in //the size of the program// you would start here.
* The [[Cook County States Attorneys|CCSAOassets]]' office handles the civil court cases, and they receive 25% of the seizures ultimately forfeited. If you were investigating the //demographics of who was having their proper seized//, you might start by looking into this office for information.
* The [[Chicago Police Department|CPDassets]] seizes the property, keeping 65% of the proceeds and spending the money on their own in <a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/police-department-civil-forfeiture-investigation/Content?oid=23728922"; target="_blank">secret budget.</a> If you wanted to learn more about the //day to day operations of asset forfeiture// and where the funds ultimately end up, you would send FOIAs to CPD.
When Garry McCarthy was in charge of the Chicago Police, Chicago had the most intense stop-and-frisk program in the nation—<a href="https://www.aclu-il.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ACLU_StopandFrisk_6.pdf"; target="_blank">four times the rate that New York</a> did at the height of its stop-and-frisk program. Gathering the raw data has been a contentious issue among Chicago activists.
Obtaining data on this practice has long been a priority for Chicago activists and community advocates. But this has proved difficult. As part of the //<a href="http://wechargegenocide.org"; target="_blank">We Charge Genocide<a/>// a group of young black activists worked to compile a report of Chicago Police's pattern of abuses. As part of their efforts they worked to gather information such as Taser use, misconduct settlements and police stops
During their efforts, We Charge Genocide attempted to introduce a bill in the Chicago City Council that would severely restrict the CPD's ability to conduct stops. Before that bill could be introduced, the City announced it would enter into a <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32361-aclu-of-illinois-sells-out-chicago-s-black-youth"; target="_blank">private agreement</a> with the ACLU of Illinois regarding stop and frisk. One condition of that agreement was that the ACLU *would not* <a href="http://wechargegenocide.org/an-open-letter-to-the-aclu-of-illinois-regarding-stop-frisk/"; target="_blank">release the data</a> they had obtained on stop-and-frisk.
The Department of Justice's 2015-2016 investigation of the Chicago Police found a pattern of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/justice-department-chicago-police-report/513113/"; target="_blank">abusive practices</a>: shooting people who posed no risk to officers, widespread and systemic racism, and unlawful use of Tasers, among others. After the DOJ <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/chicago-169/city-hall-all-doj-documents-32678/"; target="_blank">report</a> was released, LPL filed a public records request with the City for an <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/chicago-169/city-hall-all-doj-documents-32678/"; target="_blank">"index" of requested documents</a>. That request showed that the thousands of pages of police records reviewed by the DOJ included so-called "<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4443649-2016-11-14-Ltr-From-LG-to-Taft-Re-USDOJ-Seventh.html#document/p3/a419234"; target="_blank">contact cards</a>"---forms that CPD officers are required to fill out after every stop-and-frisk. According to the DOJ,
{{{The CLEAR description of the “contact cards” table indicates that it is the “[m]ain record for a contact card or traffic safety stop.” The CLEAR description of the “`contact_traffic_`stops” table indicates that it “[s]tores additional fields relating to contact cards of source Traffic Stop.”}}}
Based on this information, Lucy Parsons Labs was able to send <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/chicago-169/cpd-contact-cards-2012-2014-38540/"; target="_blank">two</a> more specific <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/chicago-169/cpd-contact-cards-2014-2016-34241/"; target="_blank">requests</a> and finally obtain over six years of data. A copy of the request is below:
<blockquote>
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 to 11), I hereby request the following records:
According to public records, the CLEAR database contains two tables: `contact_cards` and `contact_traffic_stops`.
Therefore, for the years between 2014 to 2016, we request all records in both the `contact_cards` and `contact_traffic_stops tables`.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align:center">**FOIA Request**</div>
As part of the <a href="https://chicagodatacollaborative.org/"; target="_blank">Chicago Data Collaborative</a> the full data set was released. Included in the release are preliminary <a href="https://dataforjustice.github.io/chicagostopandfrisk/"; target="_blank">data visualizations</a> and an <a href="https://github.com/DataForJustice/chicagostopandfrisk"; target="_blank">open-source</a> analysis. Paola Villarrea, a data scientist, volunteered her time and skills to analyze the data and publish the preliminary visualizations. The original documents are available for <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lq4uvm5bb2ikur7/AAB4AuGpbTvHFcMP8xq4rfsJa?dl=0"; target="_blank">download</a>.
<hr>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/stop_and_frisk.png"></img>
<hr>
<div style="text-align:center">**Pictured: Overwhelmingly African-Americans are stopped in Chicago**</div>
* //Law Enforcement Sensitive// - One of the provisions of the FOIA is that you cannot FOIA for documents that are law enforcement sensitive. This means a lot of things, for example you cannot FOIA for the name of confidential information. This could also apply to things like the location of surveillance cameras. However, this exemption is often misapplied by law enforcement. [[Learn more.|fightLEOsensitive]]
* //Trade Secret// - A common denial when seeking electronic records, such as a database schema, is that the request's responsive records would violate a trade secret. Often, corporations will be consulted by the FOIA officers if you are asking about one of their products. However, just because it relates to a corporation's intellectual property does not mean the records are exempt from release. The agency would have to demonstrate that there is `"`<a href="https://www.rcfp.org/federal-open-government-guide/exemptions-disclosure-under-foia/4-trade-secrets"; target="_blank;">substantial competitive harm</a>`"` to the corporation before invoking this exemption. [[Learn more.|fightTrade]]
* //No Obligation to Create Records// - You can only request records of a public body that the public body has in its possession at the time of the request. You may see this denial if your request does not accurately describe the location you want searched or if the records require significant sorting to be responsive to your request. [[Learn more.|fightCreaterecords]]
* //Unduly Burdensome// - You may run into this exemption when you are requesting a large volume of records or when documents are saved in inaccessible formats. While you have a right to request records in any format, there is no guarantee that an agency will actually respond accordingly. It should be noted that the unduly burdensome exemption will vary from agency to agency. [[Learn more.|fightBurdensome]]
* //Constructive Denials// - One principle frustration with FOIA is that while you are entitled to records under the law, you will often not get the records you are entitled to. For example, an agency may attempt to charge you <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/03/foilies-2016-recognizing-worst-government-responses-public-records-requests/#fee"; target="_blank";>$660 million dollars</a> for the records. A constructive denial is when an agency may not necessarily say `"no"` but will attempt to withold records. [[Learn more.|fightConstructive]]
TO DO:
Add information here about Jamie Kalven's suit for CR (CPD complaint records).
Links:
https://cpdb.co/
https://invisible.instituteThe Institute for Justice <a href ="http://ij.org/pfp-state-pages/pfp-illinois/"; target="_blank">reports</a> that Illinois State Police (ISP) seize an average of $22.6 million dollars from citizens between 2009 and 2013.
Approximately $20 million of that was US currency and another $1.6 million was vehicles.
<img src = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/isp/isp_seizures.png">
<div style="text-align:center">//Source: Institute for Justice//</div>
After obtaining records from ISP about their expenses we noticed a huge amount of money was going to food service, K9s and vetenarian bills.
<img src= "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/isp/isp_vet.png">
Other expenses by ISP include paying for phone services, phone tapping equipment (PenLink), five hundred thousand to pay for IT consultant and Bushmaster firearms. You can see the full expenditures covering several years on our <a href="https://github.com/lucyparsons/1505-documents/blob/master/ISP/ISP_FOIA15-2221.pdf"; target="_blank">GitHub page</a>.
ISP was able to turn over all this data by running one expense report so we were able to get all of the data in one FOIA request. Add information here about how we were able to get the information about seizures after years of efforts.
That includes information about the history of:
- Original requests
- Original Denials
- Follow up for seizure letters
- Second denial
- Request for data base schema
- SQL query for a FOIA request
- Returned data in a CSV
- Work with Reason to get that article
-- After Reason Published Kim Foxx pushed for reform
-- Bill passes both houses
-- bill signed
When Lucy Parsons Labs began its investigation into Civil Asset Forfeiture, we had no idea what the ``"1505/1505 ML"`` program was. We did what everyone else does, looked it up in a search engine but that information was still insufficient. However, we knew it was a program within the Chicago Police Department (CPD) that was being used to purchase controversial surveillance equipment. We thought that we might find other interesting surveillance equipment if we audited the expenditures of the 1505 program.
<hr><div style="image-align:center">
<img src="https://github.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/blob/master/images/stingray_1505.png?raw=true">
</div>
We then sent a separate public records request and found ``"1505"`` refered to civil asset forfeiture. The actual request is below:
<hr><div style="image-align:center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/1505_first_req.png?raw=true"></div>
Unfortunately, unlike [[ISPassets<-Illinois State Police]], we did not get the expenditures from Chicago Police in one request. CPD asked us to narrow our request and then only gave us the overall size of the checking and savings accounts but not any information about expenses.
<hr><div style="image-align:center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/balances.png?raw=true">
</div>
From this, we gathered that getting documents from Chicago Police Department would not be easy. However, we thought that we would continue to dig into the program and see what //outgoing// expenditures looked like.
<div style="text-align:center">[[Digging into outgoing expenditures<-Chicago Police Expenditures]]
</div>
After thinking about the surveillance equipment that police departments are likely to buy, we thought that the really interesting surveillance purchases would have to be expensive; potentially tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. We did a previous FOIA and received all outgoing expenses and noticed many of them for small amounts of money, less than a hundred dollars. Therefore we made a decision to only request all outgoing expenses above $5,000. (There was nothing special about the $5,000 treshold, it was an arbitrary number that we chose). Our response came in the form of a PDF with the outgoing check numbers.
<hr><div style="text-align:center">
<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4425772-1505-ExpendituresCheck-Narrowed-Rpt.html"; target="_blank"><img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/1505_outgoingchecks.png?raw=true"></img>Outgoing Expenses over $5,000</a></div><hr>
Knowing that this was a lot of work, we decided to organize it on <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/"; target="_blank">MuckRock</a>. MuckRock is a popular platform for managing your FOIA requests: it automatically hosts documents you receive and follows up with departments when they are tardy to fill requests. At the same time, we reached out to MuckRock about doing a joint project. After some discussions, we launched the <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/project/opening-the-chicago-surveillance-fund-25/"; target="_blank">Opening the Chicago Surveillence Project</a> as an umbrella effort to share capacity. Eventually the project would span over [[two years and hundreds of requests]].To learn more about the process of asset forfeiture, we knew we had to do more with reporting beyond where the money was being spent by the police. We reached out to Joel Handley because we knew him from his reporting on [[automatic license plate readers->Automatic License Plate Readers]]. Collaberatively we visited the court house to find cases about asset forfeiture and understand the civil process.
We also found out that the Cook County State's Attorney had previously been challenged to the United States <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/alvarez-v-smith/"; target="_blank">Supreme Court</a> for her administration of asset forfeiture. So we reached out to <a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2009/10/26/clinic-students-help-see-case-supreme-court"; target="_blank">Craig Futterman</a> at University of Chicago to learn more. Finally, we reached out to the //Chicago Reader<// about all the work we had done.
<div style="image-align:center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/misc/python_notebook.png?raw=true">
</div>
We wrote an <a href="https://github.com/lucyparsons/1505analysis/blob/master/preprocess/Exploratory.ipynb"; target="_blank";>IPython notebook</a> to convert our data into a useable format for D3, a popular library for producing dynamic data visualizations.
Since we wanted to know where that money was going, we collected about <a href="https://github.com/lucyparsons/1505analysis/blob/master/deposits/1505Deposits.pdf?raw=true"; target="_blank";>six years of deposits</a> of civil assset forfeiture in an PDF. Since the data was not machine readable, the first thing we did was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition"; target="_blank">OCR</a> the PDFs using Python code. From there, we verified the output by doing manual checks. Satisfied that our data was accurate we dumped the the data and entered into a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17c8E6Jys28aHNc2MgLw41ov67J_V5qU39vOdhD2wTUg/edit?usp=sharing"; target="_blank";>speadsheet</a> that we shared internally to our organization.
<hr>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/deposits_spreadsheet1.png?raw=true"></img>
<hr>
Since we had over six hundred checks that we wanted to request, we knew that this was not something we could do in one request because it would be [[unduly burdensome->fightBurdensome]]. We then send over sixty requests by requesting ten checks at a time by crowdsourcing our requests. This whole process took over a year in half in terms of organizing the data, waiting for the requests to come back and processing the data for input. (You can also <a href="https://github.com/lucyparsons/MuckRockLambda"; target="_blank";>automate this process</a>).
<hr>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/cpd/deposits_spreadsheet2.png?raw=true"></img>
<hr>
However, we didn't really know what to do with this information. We saw that the checks referenced [[automatic license plate readers->Automatic License Plate Readers]] so we reached out to our reporter friend Joel Handley to do some [[additional reporting-> Additional Reporting]].
We have often ran into the "law enforcement sensitive" exemption when attempting to understand the details of surveillance equipment that is used by police departments. This provision is found in all public records statues, for example the Federal FOIA statue has a similar statue called //<a href="https://www.justice.gov/oip/foia-guide-2004-edition-exemption-7e"; target="_blank">b 7 (E)</a>//.
If you want to fight back you against this exemption you should carefully read the statue. For example, an agency may respond to your FOIA with a denial in part because the Illinois FOIA statue allows this exemption:
<blockquote><b>
(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative techniques other than those generally used and known or disclose internal documents of correctional agencies related to detection, observation or investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public body that is the recipient of the request
</b></blockquote>
This exemption is often used when we were doing public records requests around <a href="https://lucyparsonslabs.com/projects/stingray/"; target="_blank">Cell Site Simulators</a>. However, this equipment is not "unique or specialized techniques" as this equipment is //generally used and known//. In the popular film, //Zero Dark Thirty//, you can see a fictional depiction about one of these techniques being used to track a cell phone. You can also see a Cell Site Simulator in the HBO Show //The Wire//.
<br>
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/exemptions/zerodarkthirty.png?raw=true"
<br>
<div style="text-align:center">//Image: Zero Dark Thirty//</div>
<div style="text-align:center">[[Read More|fightLEOsensitivereadmore]]</div>
<br>
Another common misapplication of this section of exemptions is that it would endanger "ongoing criminal investigations". This language is often envoked by police agencies when you request records of waste, fraud or abuse. For example, if you send a request to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), which oversees the Chicago Police Department, they may reply with a denial in part because the records would:
<blockquote><b>
(vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation by the agency that is the recipient of the request.
</b></blockquote>
However, the application of this section by IPRA (the predecessor to COPA) was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/19/chicago-laquan-mcdonald-police-shooting-video"; target="_blank">famously rejected</a> in a high-profile policing shooting. In part, the judge ruled that <a href="https://www.loevy.com/content/uploads/2015/11/11.20.2015-Ruling.compressed.pdf"; target="_blank">in part</a> that the ongoing criminal investigation was the investigations by the FBI and //not the investigation by the agency that is the recipent of the request//. While it may be seam a bit pendantic, it is important to know that the actual law reads and challenge against the misapplication of the law
<hr><div style="text-align:center">
<img src=" https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/exemptions/leo_vii_pt1.png?raw=true"><img><img src="
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/exemptions/leo_vii_pt2.png?raw=true"></img>
<div>A public agency is only obligated to turn over documents in its possession of the body at the time of the request. So if you know a report or spreadsheet exists, you can request it.
Here is an example of a typical denial for records that should exist:
<hr><img src ="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/exemptions/create_p1.png?raw=true"></img>
This was a request for records related to marijuana arrests; <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/exemptions/create_p2.png"; target="_blank">documents that the police department should have</a>.
In order to push back, think about the data you want:
* Is it a subsection of a set of records? Often times the records you want are all there, but agencies don’t want to sort it so you can request it all and clean it up yourself.
* You can also ask for //electronic searches// inside of named databases if you know the records are stored in a database. Often times, government agencies will publish the a //"System of Records"// that tell you where all of the documents would be stored.
* Does your request accurately describe the type of data you are requesting? Sometimes if you offer to describe the type of documents you are requesting, you may get the records.
* Can you prove the records exist? Often times, agencies will claim that <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/apr/26/chicago-police-cellebrite/"; target="_blank">record doesn't exist</a> when they actually do. If you can point to other documents (budget sheets, news reports, expense reports etc.) that prove your desired documents exist you may have some success.Government officials often argue about what is, and what is not, a public record and. Not surprisingly, they will also attempt to illegally compartmentalize their communications to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/06/rahm-emanuel-personal-email-government-wikileaks"; target="_blank">communication channels</a> such as <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/297850-foia-deal-could-speed-release-of-clinton-emails"; target="_blank">email servers</a>.
<hr><div style="image-align:center"><img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/misc/BGA_Rahm.png?raw=true">
</div>
As a general rule, a public record is available under the Freedom of Information Act if it is any tangible record created by a government employees during the transaction of public business. Not withstanding any [[exemptions|Exemptions]] all records are presumed open:
* Regardless of format; this could include PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, database schemas, and other storage formats like Laserdisk.
* Regardless of medium; this could include emails, Word documents, text messages, or 911 recordings.
* Regardless of where the record was created. If the document was created by a public employee on their personal laptop but emailed to their supervisor, it is still a public document. This also applies to messages created on <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/may/04/seattle-text-messages-phone/"; target="_blank">government issued cellphones</a>.
This also applies to agencies that conduct <a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180302/NEWS02/180309954/judge-rules-for-bga-in-navy-pier-transparency-case"; target="_blank">public business<a> even if they are not public body. For example, the University of Chicago (a private university) has a group called `"Crime Lab"` which is embedded at Chicago Police's <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/tag/strategic-decision-support-centers/"; target="_blank">Strategic Decision Support Centers</a>. While the Crime Lab might funded through private funds, you can argue that they are still subject to FOIA. Getting started with sending your first request can be an intimidating task, so knowing what makes a good request can be helpful. Occassionally, we will hear from people that they want to send FOIAs but have no idea how to get started. First of all, be aware that agencies do not have an obligation to answer your questions. You must almost reverse engineer your request to get documents that will answer your questions. Compare and contrast the below requests:
{{{
//“How many people sued the Chicago Police Department in 2016?//
}}}
{{{
//“Documents sufficient to show the number of lawsuits filed against your agency last year”//
}}}
Second, offer to explain or describe what documents you want. Many times, you might be requesting specific documents that the person processing your request has no clue about. A FOIA officer is likely not read into the specifics of a drug fund or investigative tools, so if you offer to give them more details about what you are looking for, it will save you from getting help in the future.
<blockquote>
//Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records://
//The CPD directive on "PROTECTION OF DEPARTMENT MEMBERS" (found here: <a href="http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57b38-13c72636-be313-c726-3871593988a070f0.html"; target="_blank">http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57b38-13c72636-be313-c726-3871593988a070f0.html<a>) contains references to documents regarding "social networking security measures." It states://
//"Department members will refer to... the Deployment Operations Center's current Informational Bulletin(s) (see Attachment No. 1) (see Attachment No. 2) on social networking security measures."//
//This request is for documents referred to above. That is, I am requesting
- "Attachment No. 1" and "Attachment No. 2" mentioned in the directive (linked to but inaccessible)
- any and all documents related to social networking security measures and recommendations, including Deployment Operations Center "Informational Bulletin(s)".//
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align:center"><strong>Sample: Good Request</strong></div>
Third, you can try to link to news stories or other public documents that prove responsive documents exist and are at that specific agency. This will make it harder for an agency to claim that <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/apr/26/chicago-police-cellebrite/"; target="_blank">records don't exist</a>.
Finally, the hardest part is you have to balance breadth & specificity. You want to use broad language such as `"I am requesting all documents, //including emails, Word documents, memos and other documents//"` with a specific request `"I am requesting the document titled //2014-INF-300//"`. This is important because agencies don’t have to answer ambiguous or unclear requests. However, since there is usually no cost to filling a request, you can always re-submit with different language until you find the right balance.
Links: http://inthesetimes.com/article/17659/cpd-tightlipped-about-use-of-license-plate-scanners-despite-new-contractBeginning in March of 2014, we noticed through reporting that local police had obtained cell site simulators through various Department of Justice grants. We also saw a report that prosecutors would rather <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/04/fbi-would-rather-prosecutors-drop-cases-than-disclose-stingray-details/"; target="_blank">drop cases</a> than reveal to defense attorneys when a Stingray was used. We saw additional reports that the Miami Dade police purchased a Stingray to <a href="https://fusiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/miami-dade.pdf"; target="_blank">monitor FTAA protests</a>. We knew there were large-scale protests against NATO in Chicago and that Chicago Police had a history of <a href="https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/confessions-of-a-red-squad-spy/Content?oid=3293807"; target="_blank">illegal</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention#The_Chicago_Police_riot"; target="_blank">activities</a> against <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/fred-hampton-black-panther-shot-killed-chicago-730503"; target="_blank">activists</a>. This was the motivation to send our first FOIA to the Chicago Police Department.
<hr><img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lucyparsons/foiathepolice/master/images/surveillance/stingray.png">
<div style="text-align:center">//Pictured: Cellphone Surveillance Equipment//</div>
<div style="text-align:center">[[ StingrayCPDSuit<-Read More about our FOIAs against CPD]]</div>
Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.The Illinois exemption preventing the disclosure of trade secrets is often abused when you ask for technical details of databases, electronic equipment or information about particular corporations. Often, FOIA officers will reach out to corporations when you are seeking information about them, and the corporation will claim <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1808819-baltimore-police-stingray-non-disclosure-agreement.html"; target="_blank">non-disclosures agreements</a> which in turn triggers a `"trade secret"` exemption. The specific language of the exemption is:
<blockquote><b>
(g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or commercial or financial information are furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, privileged or confidential, and that disclosure of the trade secrets or commercial or financial information would cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only insofar as the claim directly applies to the records requested.
</b></blockquote>
Sometimes you may have success if you ask for a person in the IT department assistance in responding to a FOIA; this has been a successful tactic when requesting database schemas. In many states, if the public interest in the records outweights the trade secret, you can successfully appeal or litigate for the records. However, an office can not just claim a trade secret exemption without //also// demonstrating `"that disclosure ... would cause competitive harm to the person or business"`. Often times, corporations will also claim technology they have public patents on trade secrets, which does not hold up well in court. In most cases, this exemption is frustrating to deal with, because these responses are often a proxy for corporate power. You may find yourself litigating over this exemption often. Often times, you will find this exemption when requesting a large number of files. You may also see this response when doing email searches if you can not specify specific keywords or email addresses you want emailed.
According to the Illinois FOIA: "a request may be considered unduly burdensome if there is no way to narrow the request and //the burden on the public body to produce the information outweighs the public interest in the information//" `[emphasis added]`. However, before relying on this exemption, the agency must first give the requester an opportunity narrow the request. There are no hard rules for what "unduly burdensome" actually means so often this exemption is applied incorrectly. However, there is relevant case law in //<a href="http://illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2013/4thDistrict/4120742.pdf"; target="_blank">Shehadeh v. Madigan</a>// as decided by the Illinois Court of Appeals.
Some things to know about fighting this exemption:
* Often times the data is all there but the agency may not don’t want to sort it. Request it all if you can.
* Ask for electronic searches instead of physical searches. You can also ask for electronic searches inside of named databases.
* You can also send another FOIA to see how documents are stored. This may require sending a separate FOIA to find the fields and rows in a database. Sometimes agencies will publish these records in a "<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/system-records-notices-sorns"; target="_blank";>System of Records</a>", especially on the federal level.
* Consider using an automation tool to send your requests. We wrote an <a href="https://github.com/lucyparsons/MuckRockLambda"; target="_blank">automation tool</a> that uses the MuckRock API that is triggered by an AWS Lambda for reoccuring FOIA requests.
Most importantly agencies **can not** claim a request is unduly burdensome if they miss the timeline they are obligated to responsed under. Failure to respond with records //or// take an extension both apply according to the FOIA <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=85&ChapterID=2"; target="_blank";>statue</a>. The language states:
<blockquote><b>
(d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or deny a request for public records within 5 business days after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section. Denial shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time for response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request.
</blockquote></b>
Therefore, pay careful attention to the timelines of your requests. It helps to be organized online in a calendar or via a tool like <a href="https://www.muckrock.com"; target="_blank";>MuckRock</a>. It may seem like a small detail but it will be interpreted narrowly under judicial review. Therefore follow up quickly keep a careful eye on your calendar.Almost everyone who has sent a public record request can tell you <a href="https://www.poynter.org/news/5-open-records-horror-stories-associated-press"; target="_blank";>horror</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/764476078815535107?tfw_creator=cjr&tfw_site=cjr&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cjr.org%2Ffirst_person%2Ffoia_freedom_of_information_act_doj.php"; target="_blank";>stories</a>. Some examples of constructive denials include sitting on requests and not processing them without huge up-front costs, refusing to perform an adequate search and then saying they have `"no responsive records"`, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2eTlyd7r54&t=2619s"; target="_blank";>delaying for months or even years</a> to release records. This is likely why the number of FOIA related lawsuits continues to climb <a href="http://foiaproject.org/2017/05/23/lawsuits-25year-high/"; target="_blank";>year after year</a>. In order to challenge these denials you may have to try a few things:
* You can always send a follow up FOIA to see how your FOIA was processed.
* You can always appeal the adequecy of their search.
* You can try to find out how records are stored. For example, if you offer to receive records on a CD or USB device that may save you hundreds of dollars in copying fees.
* If you are quoted a long time in searching for documents or for copying / redacting documents you should ask for a detailed list on how the officers came to that conclusion.
* Be persistent. Often times if a FOIA officer knows you will keep coming back for records, they may bend to your will and release documents.
* Send multiple requests for how the documents are stored. If they are electronic, see if there is a common database schema or a spreadsheet you can request.
* If records are not stored electronically, ask to inspect them in person to avoid copying fees.http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/pdf/faq_foia_government.pdf
Joel Handley - ALPR + Asset Forfeiture
People at LPL - redshiftzero, camille, travis, will, jake etc.
Michael Morisy & MuckRock
Matt Topic/ Josh Burday @ Loevy and Loevy
Jason Leopold
Erich Snow
Caitlin Henry
Jaime Kalven and Invisible Institute
Jon Satrom
Paola Villareal
https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-guideOur first <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/228989685/martinez-v-cpd-complaint"; target="_blank">lawsuit</a> against Chicago Police for the purchase of Stingray's was resolved fairly quickly. Since we had only requested purchase orders the judge ruled in our favor. We found that this invasive surveillance equipment was purchased using [[civil asset forfeiture funds->Civil Asset Forfeiture]] without any approval from the City Council. This is likely because they signed a <a href="http://rubyhornet.com/inside-chicago-polices-secret-cell-phone-spying-agreement-with-the-fbi/";target="_blank">non-disclosure agreement with the FBI</a> and Harris Corporation as a pre-condition to obtain this equipment. The City of Chicago spent $120,000 defending this lawsuit which was obtained by a separate public records request.
{{{
<br>
//I am seeking under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act the following thread and similar documents. We had previously requested, and received under FOIA #15-0098 a email thread between Chicago Police Bureau of Organized Crime and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. (page 1-2) In it, it describes a "trial edition" of a new "platform" for use and testing.//
<br>
<br>
//I am seeking, under the Freedom of Information Act, any correspondence between the BOC and the FBI related to any NDA or "non-disclosure agreement" with all attachments related to cell site simulators or "Hailstorms" or "Stingray". Further since, the actual "platform" is redacted, I request that you search for records related to the "redacted" platform".//
<br>
<br>
//I further seek that all correspondence be unredacted or if they are redacted that the exact reason for the exemption be stated. For background, there are numerous NDAs related to "cell site simulators" from various parts of the US; I request the NDA between CPD and the FBI be unredacted in full//
}}}
<div style="text-align:center"><strong>FOIA Request We Sent for the Non Disclosure Agreement</strong></div>
<div style="text-align:center">[[CPDStingrayUse<-Learn More about the Use of Stingrays]]</div>
After confirming that Chicago Police were using Stingray devices we wanted to find out more about how they were using these devices. We also read reports that law enforcement has hidden the source of information from defense attorneys. An ACLU blog post even mentioned that police were creating <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/internal-police-emails-show-efforts-hide-use-cell-phone-tracking?redirect=blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/internal-police-emails-show-efforts-hide-use-cell"; target="_blank";>fictional</a> <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140620/10271327635/new-emails-show-that-feds-instructed-police-to-lie-about-using-stingray-mobile-phone-snooping.shtml"; target="_blank";>informants</a> to launder evidence.
We decided to FOIA for all the policies and procedures that the police department had about the use of Stingrays. We also asked for any search warrants and discussions about the constitutionally of using such an invasive surveillance technique.
<hr>
{{{
//I am seeking the following public records, regardless of physical form or characteristics, under the Freedom of Information Act://
<br>
<br>
//Documents sufficient to show, for each individual occurrence, when, where, how, why, and by whom Chicago Police deployed any devices commonly known as IMSI catchers or "stingrays" (including but limited to Stingray, StingRay II, Amberjack, TriggerFish, Gossamer, Hailstorm (4G LTE upgrade), Harpoon or Kingfish, collectively "IMSI Catchers" as used in any of the requests in this email)//).
<br>
<br>
//All search warrants for any instances in which Chicago Police deployed IMSI Catchers.//
<br>
<br>
//All formal or informal policies, procedures, orders, directives, or
other such records that pertain to when, why, where, how, and by whom IMSI Catchers may be deployed.//
<br>
<br>
//All records discussing the constitutionality of deploying IMSI Catchers.//
<br>
<br>
//All records explaining what happens to data collected by Chicago Police IMSI Catchers, including but not limited to what data is stored and where, retention of collected data, and purging of collected data, for both targets and non targets of the use of IMSI Catchers.//
}}}
<div style="text-align:center"><strong>FOIA Request We Sent for Deployments</strong></div><hr>
However, Chicago Police denied our FOIA on multiple grounds including that publishing their operations manual online would constitute an "arms export" under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Traffic_in_Arms_Regulations"; target="_blank";>International Traffic in Arms Regulations</a>. Based on the fact that police may have been using <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/01/09/dark-side/secret-origins-evidence-us-criminal-cases"; target="_blank";>parallel construction</a> in criminal cases, we decided it was important to file a <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/06/is-chicago-using-cell-tracking-devices-one-man-tries-to-find-out/"; target="_blank";>lawsuit</a> to challenge these denials.
<div style="text-align:center">[[CPDDeployments<-Learn More About Our Court Case]]y78</div>In their arguments against disclosing records, lawyers for the police department argued that the records are sealed automatically under the "Pen Register / Trap and Trace" authorization of Federal law. The Pen Register/ Trap and Trace (PRTT) authorization have a lower standard of evidence than a warrant. A PRTT order also comes with an automatic seal and the City's lawyers argued we should petition the individual judges who sealed the cases to unseal the case. (//Which cases are under seal and which judges// to petition is left as an exercise in creative double-think to the reader).
Judge Kennedy <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/295163479/CPD-Denied-motion-to-dismiss"; target="_blank";>refused</a> the city's motions to dismiss our lawsuits which forced the release of over <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3144571-10-11-16-Martinez-ISMI-Documents.html"; target="_blank";>three hundred pages of documents</a> on how CPD's deployments of Stingrays. We found that the language they use to describe Stingrays was intentionally deceptive to courts. In an article written by <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/10/18/how-chicago-police-convinced-courts-to-let-them-track-cellphones-without-a-warrant/"; target="_blank">The Intercept</a>, they found:
<blockquote>
In most applications to use an IMSI catcher, officers identified the device as “a pen register in the form of a digital analyzer.” In identical footnotes in each case, a digital analyzer is depicted as nothing more than a simple antenna that detects “signals emitted by the target telephone.” According to the filings, the device “does not intercept any content of communications” but instead locates a phone by a number already known to investigators while in the same general area. (However, it only takes a simple software upgrade to allow the Stingray to track the contents of calls and text messages.)
</blockquote>
In particular, we have seen that CPD describes their use of Stingrays as “digital analysis”, which doesn’t fully portray the Constitutional or privacy implications of Stingray use. According to CPD’s description of “digital analysis” to the courts, they never disclosed that Stingrays can capture the numbers of non-target phone numbers; a major concern for civil liberties. As reported in The Intercept “while these court records reflect how Stingrays and other cellphone trackers were authorized for use in serious criminal cases — such as murders, kidnappings, and aggravated battery — they also demonstrate how little judges knew about the devices prior to approval.
State legislations took up the case after multiple articles were published about the warrrantless use of Stingrays — and their intentional deception to the courts. After years of litigating the Stingray use and acquisition, there was an effort for stronger regulation. Beginning on January 1st 2017, all police agencies are required to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/illinois-governor-signs-new-law-requiring-stricter-rules-for-stingrays/"; target="_blank";>get a warrant</a> before using a Stingray. <script src="assets/js/lottie_light.min.js"></script><nav><span class="toggle-button"> <div class="menu-bar menu-bar-top"></div><div class="menu-bar menu-bar-middle"></div><div class="menu-bar menu-bar-bottom"></div></span><div class="menu-wrap"> <div class="menu-sidebar"> <ul class="menu"> <li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li><li><a href="#">About</a></li><li><a href="#">Link 3</a></li></li><li><a href="#">Link 4</a></li><li><a href="#">More Links</a></li></ul></div></div></nav><div class="paperpagecover"><div/><div class="bodymovin animcanvas" data-bm-path="assets/js/foia-paper-anim2.json" data-bm-renderer="svg" data-bm-name="paperanim" data-bm-autoplay="false"></div><header><h1>F<span id="baff">OIA</span> the Police</h1><img id="paperover" onClick="javascript:runPaperAnim()" src="images/pg4c.svg"></header><header-bg></header-bg><section id="mainsection"><h2>(print: (passage:)'s name)</h2>
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