A review by the City of Seattle Auditor's staff suggests that the Seattle Police Department could make big improvements in how it receives, tracks and fulfills public records request.
According to the report presented Wednesday afternoon to a City Council committee, SPD received a daunting 4,700 public records requests in 2014 -- about 13 a day, including weekends and holidays. The auditor credits the department for its regular communication with the City Attorney and the dedication of the Public Disclosure Unit's director. But due to the complexity of fulfilling that many requests, including many hours of dashboard and body worn videos that often record sensitive and sometimes exempted material, the report found "significant gaps in the resources and systems SPD currently uses to process public records requests."
Without sounding accusatory about the shortcomings in the face of huge demands, the auditor's report names five areas where the department needs improvement: staffing and technology, access, processing, staffing and workload analyses and communication with people who have filed requests.
The auditor recommends a number of solutions. The current manager of the Public Disclosure Unit spends much of her time fulfilling requests rather than supervising. "SPD should create a new position to handle the manager’s current caseload," the report finds.
The report also recommends installing a whole new software management system. And the auditor believes those tasked with processing public records need to be better educated on what they must and must not disclose under the Washington's Public Disclosure Act.
The report was shared with SPD, which agreed with the auditor's recommendations.
