270 R.I. Code R. § 270-RICR-40-00-1.6 - Guidelines

A. In order to ensure the Department is able to respond to the request as efficiently as possible, the request should identify the documents or information being requested with as much specificity as possible. If the description of records being requested is not sufficient to allow the Department to identify and locate the requested records, the Department will notify the person requesting such records that additional information is needed in order to properly respond to the request.

B. Statewide Uniform Crash Reports for Motor Vehicle Accidents can be purchased for a fee, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-28-37, either on-line from a website or by mail through the Rhode Island State Police Accident Bureau, 311 Danielson Pike, North Scituate, RI 02857.

1. Requests for Statewide Uniform Crash Reports that have not been placed on the above-mentioned website for the public shall be reviewed by Legal Counsel to determine whether the investigation is on-going and whether criminal charges are pending. Non-public information will be redacted prior to release.

a. Statewide Uniform Crash Reports shall be provided to individuals involved in the accident or their legal representation regardless of the status of the investigation, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-28-37.

C. You are not required to provide identification or the reason you seek the information. Your rights to access public records will not depend upon providing identification or reasons.

1. However, any parent, guardian, or attorney requesting records on a juvenile they represent will be required to provide identification prior to receiving the requested record.

D. Copies of public records will be provided electronically, by facsimile, by mail or may be picked up in accordance with the requesting party's choice, unless complying would be unduly burdensome due to the volume of records requested or the costs that would be incurred. The requesting party is responsible for the actual cost of delivery, if any.

E. The Access to Public Records Act allows a public body ten (10) business days to respond to a request for records, which can be extended up to an additional twenty (20) days for good cause, which will be explained in writing by the Department.

F. Any denial of access to records, in whole or in part, will be provided through a written response to the requestor indicating the reasons for the denial of access to records or for the denial of certain information contained in a record that is otherwise public pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2. The written response will also include the process for appeals outlined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8.

G. Any individual who receives a denial for copies of requested records or the ability to inspect records may petition the Director of the Department of Public Safety for a review of the determinations. The Director shall make a final determination whether or not to allow public inspection within ten (10) business days. If the denial is confirmed, the individual may file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General, who will then investigate and make a determination. The individual may also file a lawsuit in Superior Court.

H. The Access to Public Records Act requires public bodies to apply a case-by-case balancing test to non-exempt records to determine whether the privacy interests of individuals outweigh the public's interest in disclosure. That balancing requires a public body to consider both "the public's right to access to public records and the individual's right to dignity and privacy." R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-1.

I. The Department is not required to reorganize, consolidate, or compile data not maintained in the form requested, except the extent that such records are in an electronic format and the Department would not be unduly burdened in providing such data.

J. All records initially deemed to be public records which any person may inspect and/or copy shall continue to be public records whether or not subsequent court action or investigations are held pertaining to the matters contained in the records.

Notes

270 R.I. Code R. § 270-RICR-40-00-1.6