From The Indianapolis Star:
Q: Aren’t individual police agencies required to keep a daily log? We shouldn’t have to go through a county dispatch to get information, should we?
A: Yes, each police agency is responsible for providing the daily log or record information required under the Access to Public Records Act at IC 5-14-3-5(c).
I could see where a town might contract with the sheriff’s department to keep that log (as a matter of convenience with a common dispatch service), but if that is the case, the vendor (county) should be able to transmit the record to the law enforcement agency so that a records requester would not be required to drive to the county site to inspect or copy the record.
It might be easier to get all the towns’ daily log or record from one location – the sheriff – but that should be an option, not a requirement for someone in Fishers, Arcadia, Sheridan, etc., to drive to Noblesville to inspect their town law enforcement agency’s record.
Contact Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, with media law questions at skey@hspa.com or (317) 624-4427.
