![]() ![]() These numbers remained steady in 2021.Īlmost half of all appeals last year were made by residents, according to the annual report. Appeals for records denied by local police departments shot up even more, from 141 in 2019 to 366 in 2020. The OOR saw appeals for State Police information nearly double from 2019 to 2020, according to its 2021 annual report. ![]() Pennsylvania State Police told Spotlight PA that the number of public records requests filed to the agency has increased every year since 2016, with 1,890 requests filed last year alone. Law enforcement information has also been a common interest among requesters. “They’re more enraged, a little bit, and a little less trusting in institutions overall.”ĬOVID-19 cases, public school funding, and election data are among the most popular topics of public records requests since 2020, Wagenseller said. “I think that the public is more engaged,” Wagenseller said. Liz Wagenseller, only a year and a half into her six-year term as the office’s executive director, said she doesn’t see this “new normal” declining any time soon. Last year, the third consecutive year cases increased, the office received 2,990 appeal filings. The Office of Open Records is an independent state agency that oversees and decides on appeals for public records requests if they are denied by a state or local government. ĭisputes over public records reached a record high last year, with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records reporting 322 appeals involving local and state police departments out of nearly 3,000 for all government agencies. Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. IMAGE: Pennsylvania State Police told Spotlight PA that the number of public records requests filed to the agency has increased every year since 2016, with 1,890 requests filed last year alone.
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