Richmond County Records clerks Valerie Taylor (left) and Robin Johnson answer phones while Lt. Judy McMinn, supervisor of the Records Division, helps customers at the Richmond County Records Department, located in the Law Enforcement Building on Fourth Street. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Records difficult to obtain

Web posted December 12, 1999

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 Georgia's right to know
 Agencies still in dark on sunshine laws

By Jason B. Smith
Staff Writer

When Staff Writer Jason B. Smith went to Jefferson County Sheriff's Department to see how accessible incident reports were, he encountered one of the most blatant violations of the state sunshine laws found in the Augusta area. Here is his account of the events.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department sits on a corner of the main square in Louisville, just across the street from the county commission office.

But in terms of open records compliance, the two offices are miles apart.

It was my job to ask the two offices for public records: the most recent approved meeting minutes from the county commission and the most recent day's police reports from the sheriff's office.

Inside information By law, our governments and public records should be accessible. But are they? Ten Georgia newspapers and newspaper groups, along with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and the Georgia Associated Press, collaborated in a massive 300-agency survey to find out just how accessible public documents are. Newspapers in South Carolina conducted a similar survey. The result is a seven-day series that looks at how open our government really is: Sunday: A broad look at public records in Georgia Monday: Law enforcement Tuesday: City government Wednesday: County commissions Thursday: Public schools Friday: State universities Saturday: The next step in public access in Georgia

I was in and out of the commission office, document in hand, in less than 15 minutes. I walked across the street to the sheriff's department and was detained for nearly an hour. I had to leave empty-handed after having to talk with my managing editor, the sheriff and three or four deputies. It was one of the most glaring examples of problems the public could encounter trying to gain access to public records.

I walked into the jail/sheriff's department at about 11:20 a.m. Friday, Sept. 17. It was the next-to-last stop on my Freedom of Information trip through Jefferson County.

There was a dispatcher at the front desk, a deputy behind him and a deputy in a back office. I asked to see the previous day's incident reports.

``They have not been approved yet,'' said the dispatcher -- B. Register, according to his name tag.

I asked to see the most recent approved reports. Deputy Register asked why I wanted to see the reports. I told him I was getting married soon and considering a move to Jefferson County. I wanted to see what kind of crimes were occurring throughout the county.

He handed me about two dozen reports ranging from Aug. 31 through Sept. 13 and said I could look at them. I asked to copy the pages; he said that a lieutenant would have to approve any copies and that the lieutenant on duty was in court for the day.

I took the reports and sat in the lobby and looked through them for about 15 minutes. Lt. Lee Miller came in the front door, went toward the back and came back out front to see me. He asked why I wanted to copy the reports, and I told him the same thing: Jefferson County could be my next home. For future purposes, he said, the sheriff's department would like residents to make an appointment to see reports.

``We have a skeleton crew here most of the time,'' he said.

Two or three minutes later, Maj. Charles Gibbons came out and asked me to follow him. He took me in a hall, stopped next to a dusty old copier, and asked my name and why I wanted to see the reports.

The problem, he said, was some of the reports were about incidents that were still ``under investigation.'' He said he had signed federal forms swearing not to release that kind of report.

``I don't want to get put in jail,'' he said. Access to the reports is usually controlled, he said.

Then he asked: ``Where do you work? Where do you live now?''

I told him I lived in McDuffie County.

``You know (McDuffie County Sheriff) Logan Marshall?'' he asked. ``If I call him, can he vouch for you?''

I told him yes and said he could look at my driver's license if that would help prove who I was. He told me to give it to him. He took it and copied it. While he was copying it, I showed him my Augusta Chronicle badge, which he also took.

He told me to go sit in the lobby. About five minutes later, a deputy came by and said it would be a few minutes, that Maj. Gibbons had my supervisor on the phone.

``At the newspaper?'' I asked.

``Well, yeah,'' he said.

``Why?'' I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and walked out the front door of the department.

A few minutes later, a woman came out of the hall and asked me to go to the back because I was wanted on the phone. I spoke to my supervisors at The Chronicle with Maj. Gibbons on anextension less than three feet away.

After I finished the phone conversation, I was told to go back to the lobby and wait.

Five minutes later, Sheriff Gary Hutchins came in the front door.

``Are you the one from The Augusta Chronicle?'' he asked.

He asked what had happened, and I told him. He said that he did not have a problem with our looking at the records but there were some in there that were ``still under investigation.'' He said he had spoken with the district attorney and that for me to get copies, I would have to file a written request with the sheriff's office.

I exchanged business cards with him and then asked whether I could leave the sheriff's office. He said yes and shook my hand, telling me he hoped I would choose to move into Jefferson County.

Reach Jason B. Smith at (706) 868-1222.