A guard tower on the Utah State Jail on Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information
The Utah Division of Corrections is devoted to transparency. We’re supported by taxpayers and we all know they should see how we fulfill our mission to handle offenders. However we additionally should keep public security, and this consists of the security and safety of our operations and the privateness of on a regular basis residents, workers and offenders.
Just lately, the division has come below scrutiny in information storiesfor information requests that had been both closely redacted or denied upon request. Tales have claimed that the division is just not clear and prompt that we're deliberately masking up information.
Really, our practices stem from Utah regulation. In enacting the Authorities Data Entry and Administration Act (GRAMA), the Legislature acknowledged two constitutional rights: 1) the general public’s proper of entry to data regarding the conduct of the general public’s enterprise; and a couple of) the precise of privateness in relation to non-public knowledge gathered by governmental entities.
The Legislature additionally acknowledged that there are circumstances the place it's within the public’s curiosity for a authorities company to limit entry to sure information and data, comparable to the place the discharge of knowledge would jeopardize public security or the safety of a correctional facility. (See Utah Code § 63G-2-102).
The second-to-last factor we would like as state workers is to withhold data that needs to be accessible to the general public; nevertheless, the very last thing we wish to do is launch data that may compromise our efforts to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, and shield the security of officers, offenders and the general public.
It’s a real balancing act.
Right here’s some perception on our processes and why current information launched to the media might have been redacted or initially denied:
After we obtain a public information request, we should decide if the knowledge within the document is classed below GRAMA.
● Personal data — comparable to medical information, for instance — can sometimes solely be launched to the topic of the document or their designee.
● Managed data is discovered solely in psychological well being information and is usually solely launched to a psychological well being skilled who offers the state with sure assurances, limiting additional disclosure.
● Protected data, together with data that may intrude with ongoing investigations, jeopardize any individual’s life or security or threaten the security and safety of Utah’s correctional amenities, is usually not launched to the general public.
This is the reason the division recurrently redacts data from authorities information: to guard privateness pursuits, to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations and to guard the security of officers, offenders and public residents.
The division’s GRAMA workers should be cautious in fulfilling their duties. As soon as data is launched, there’s no getting that data again. And the varieties of knowledge the division’s GRAMA workers handles regularly may topic Utahns to substantial bodily hurt or demise if launched publicly.
Typically these classifications are clearly outlined below GRAMA, comparable to an individual’s medical information or a public worker’s residence deal with. Different occasions, a information officer should train his or her finest judgment to determine whether or not broader provisions of GRAMA apply, comparable to the supply that classifies data as personal if its disclosure would represent “a clearly unwarranted invasion of non-public privateness.” (See Utah Code § 63G-2-302(2)(d).
As such, it’s not unusual for a member of the division’s GRAMA workers to err on the aspect of warning in classifying and redacting data.
Because of this, the state has a simple and sturdy course of in place to attraction redactions. If a requester or their authorized counsel believes data has been incorrectly redacted from information produced to them, the requester has the chance to have these redactions reviewed, first by an govt officer from the division, after which by outdoors entities just like the State Data Committee and the Utah District Court docket.
We perceive that this course of will be prolonged. With that stated, the UDC Administrative Companies Bureau and the Communications Workplace will provoke a overview this month to find out if there's a higher strategy to overview and reply to GRAMA requests that doesn't compromise our efforts to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, and shield the security of officers, offenders and all Utahns.
Brian Nielson is govt director of the Utah Division of Corrections.