Letter to Orange County Supervisor
Dear Ms. Bartlett,
We are citizens of San Juan Capistrano, and it has come to our attention that the OC Sheriffs Department has made a decision, based on a number of factors, to completely eliminate the summaries of events published in the Sheriffs Blotter. In their places, the Sheriffs now want citizens to submit Public Records Requests.
The Blotter summary information is far too important a communication link between the Sheriffs and citizens to abandon. The summaries show citizens not only where an event has occurred but as well the resolution of the call and aspects of the people involved in the call. Is this a burglary that happened to a car or a home? Was the car secured or unsecured? Are people casing a neighborhood? Are addicts stumbling down the street? Are known transients harassing a particular business? Is a Disturbance “just” a loud party, a 100 person flash mob, or a neighbor yelling at another neighbor? Is a Terrorist Threat an ex-spouse harassing the other, or someone threatening a business, or an extremist group being disbanded?
The Blotter summaries also benefit the Sheriffs. When citizens understand the threats our Sheriffs face each day, we appreciate them more. When citizens understand that Sheriffs are called to handle overdoses, the mentally ill, addicts, transients and gangs, citizens can better advocate and vote to provide resources sheriffs and cities need to address these broader issues. Likewise, citizens who read the blotter can identify trends that Sheriffs do not have time to consider or analyze. Indeed, in this age of information, hiding this content by requiring Public Records Requests flies in the face of transparency. The Sheriffs should be able to adequately redact their events, and the public should be able to analyze the data. Stripping the content from teh Sheriffs Blotter will mean that citizens will only learn about local problems when they are finally reported in newspapers, which are an increasingly diminishing resource as well.
We ask that you urge the OC Sheriffs Department and all the police departments of Orange County to ensure this information is easily and freely available.
Sincerely,
We are citizens of San Juan Capistrano, and it has come to our attention that the OC Sheriffs Department has made a decision, based on a number of factors, to completely eliminate the summaries of events published in the Sheriffs Blotter. In their places, the Sheriffs now want citizens to submit Public Records Requests.
The Blotter summary information is far too important a communication link between the Sheriffs and citizens to abandon. The summaries show citizens not only where an event has occurred but as well the resolution of the call and aspects of the people involved in the call. Is this a burglary that happened to a car or a home? Was the car secured or unsecured? Are people casing a neighborhood? Are addicts stumbling down the street? Are known transients harassing a particular business? Is a Disturbance “just” a loud party, a 100 person flash mob, or a neighbor yelling at another neighbor? Is a Terrorist Threat an ex-spouse harassing the other, or someone threatening a business, or an extremist group being disbanded?
The Blotter summaries also benefit the Sheriffs. When citizens understand the threats our Sheriffs face each day, we appreciate them more. When citizens understand that Sheriffs are called to handle overdoses, the mentally ill, addicts, transients and gangs, citizens can better advocate and vote to provide resources sheriffs and cities need to address these broader issues. Likewise, citizens who read the blotter can identify trends that Sheriffs do not have time to consider or analyze. Indeed, in this age of information, hiding this content by requiring Public Records Requests flies in the face of transparency. The Sheriffs should be able to adequately redact their events, and the public should be able to analyze the data. Stripping the content from teh Sheriffs Blotter will mean that citizens will only learn about local problems when they are finally reported in newspapers, which are an increasingly diminishing resource as well.
We ask that you urge the OC Sheriffs Department and all the police departments of Orange County to ensure this information is easily and freely available.
Sincerely,