Records Request

I.    Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines necessary to comply with the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act.

II.   Policy

It is the policy of the Phoenixville Borough Police Department to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act (Act 3 of 2008), 65 P.S. Sections 67. 10 I, et seq.

III.  Procedure                                

  1. Public records are available upon written request on the state issued form. A written request form shall be made available in the police department lobby. Records may be requested by mail with the appropriate fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope. If a request for records is granted, the following fee schedule will apply:
    1. Accident Reports - $15.00
    2. Reports - $.25 per page
    3. Photographs - $25.00 per CD/DVD/Flash drive
  2. There shall be no limitation on the number of public records which may be requested or made available for inspection or duplication. Fees will be assessed per page requested. Certain public records may contain sensitive information such as social security numbers, medical history, phone numbers, birth dates, juvenile information, etc. Therefore, certain information deemed sensitive on a document may be redacted prior to inspecting or duplicating. If the written request is to inspect a document only; no fee will be assessed. If the written request is for duplication of a report, a fee of 25 cents per page will be assessed. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall determine what information is redacted.
  3. There shall be no requirement to disclose the purpose or motive in requesting access to records which are considered public.
  4. Under the "Right to Know Law," investigative and incident reports are exempted from the definition of "public records," therefore, any such request may be denied
  5. Criminal History information is not accessible under the "Right to Know Law."
  6. The Borough of Phoenixville Records Custodian, Jean Krack, will handle requests pertaining to Borough incidents or inquiries. All Police Department requests will be handled by the department’s Records Custodian, Chief Marshall. Each Custodian will make a good faith effort to determine if the record requested is a public record and respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of the request in regard to all police correspondence. No police department record shall be viewed by a requestor, nor shall any record be copied and provided to a requestor until Chief Brian Marshall has reviewed, redacted and approved the record for public dissemination. He may also be reached at bmarshall@phoenixville.org or 351 Bridge Street 1st Floor Phoenixville, PA   19460. Office (610) 933-1180 ext. 812.
  7. APPEALS PROCESS- If a requested record or record(s) are denied by the Phoenixville Police Depa1tment, a written correspondence will be sent to the requesting party. The Phoenixville Police Department shall act in accordance with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act (Act 3 of 2008), 65 P.S. Sections 67.10 I, et seq. If record(s) are denied based on a criminal investigation exemption, an appeal may be made to the Chester County District Attorney's Office 201 West Market Street, Suite 4450 P.O. Box 2746 West Chester, PA 19380-0989 Phone: (610) 344-6801. All other appeals must go to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Commonwealth Keystone Building 400 North Street 4th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225. Phone (717)-346-9903 E-mail openrecords@state.pa.us
  8. Acceptable forms of payment are cash, check, money order, or the following credit cards: Master Card, Visa, or Discover. A check returned from a financial institution for any reason shall incur a $25.00 returned check fee.
  9. This policy shall be posted for public view in the police department lobby area.