Description

National City established a goal to better support the implementation of the California Public Records Act (PRA). The objective of this project is to organize the various resources that guide police PRA response by creating a user–friendly outline/flow chart. The students addressed the city’s goals by (1) determining how other cities manage and process Public Records Act requests and (2) understanding the positions taken by other cities regarding certain types of requests in order to present formal observations and recommendations to improve the procedure of requests. Students were divided into three groups to better examine the different cities’ procedures for Public Records Act requests. Students then met with contacts from the cities where they identified city–specific procedures. Students and city staff collaborations included, but were not limited to: organizational tools, challenges, patterns, and strengths and weaknesses of current procedure. Due to the variety of Public Records Act requests, the findings and recommendations for each city may differ.