Open Government Groups Blast State Police Rules

Open Government Groups Blast State Police Rules

Several open government groups today blasted the state Department of Public Safety for new regulations that they say would “significantly restrict” access to key public records held by the State Police and other state agencies.

The three groups—the ACLU, ACCESS RI, and Common Cause—said the new rules would allow the state to withhold information from arrest reports, daily police logs, and any other documents and policies, even if the information is not exempted from public disclosure in the state open records law.

“We’re very worried that Rhode Islanders will not know, and will not be able to find out, what the police are doing in their communities once the State Police put these regulations into effect,” said Barbara Meagher, president of Access RI.

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Meagher and her colleagues also faulted the state for not giving adequate notice to the public on the changes, saying the new rules were slipped in just hours before a public hearing on a revised draft of the regulations.

“When a public agency promulgates new rules, the public has the right to be heard,” said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island. “The Department of Public Safety did not afford the public their rights in this instance by providing insufficient advance access to the final rules.”