Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy
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Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy

Ohio Public Records

3/3/2016
Find out why, if you’re an undercover officer, your birthday is a public record but your photograph is not.

The Ohio Public Records Act requires law enforcement agencies to provide appropriate records to inmates, media organizations -- any person, including anonymous requesters. 

The law, however, sets limits on how vague or voluminous a public records request can be, and there are a number of exceptions to the Public Records Act that allow law enforcement agencies to withhold some records from release. 

This course reviews what documents in your office are or are not “records,” how the records retention laws apply, the proper steps to take in responding to a public records request, and how to find and apply exceptions to requested records. 

If you’ve never heard of the “security and infrastructure” exemption, or you’ve always wondered when or how the confidential law enforcement investigatory records exemption applies to cruiser and body-worn camera video, this is the in-depth course you want for the tools to respond to public records requests properly. 

The course includes a copy of the current Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual, and discusses commonly requested records, such as officer personnel and discipline files, initial incident reports, 9-1-1 tapes, and investigation files. 

This free course will be offered four times this year in London and Richfield. Click here for more information and to sign up.