EDITORIAL: Delays in Rio Rancho's IPRA portal don't serve the public

Government transparency is the cornerstone of our business. Freedom of the press is outlined the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Open records laws, also called Sunshine Laws, exist to keep the public informed of what their government agencies — and therefore their tax dollars — are up to.

We’ve written on this topic before, and we will again. This particular issue regards the Inspection of Public Records Act. This is the preferred method the city of Rio Rancho asks us to use when seeking information, particularly the information our readership is vocal about getting — crime.

While Rio Rancho Police Department Capt. Jacquelynn Reedy, the public information officer for the police department, is great about answering emails, texts or calls when we get word of a major incident, getting information from the city’s IPRA portal can be like pulling teeth.

This is most evident when it comes to our requests for arrest reports. We submit an IPRA request each week for the previous week’s arrest records from RRPD. These often take weeks to get back, with some sort of indication from the records department that the request is “broad and burdensome.”

One recent example is the request put in Jan. 3 for arrest reports from Dec. 1-7. While some document have been released in several batches (Jan. 7, Jan. 22, Feb. 6, and Feb. 20), the remaining records were delayed to March 6 by the IPRA compliance administrator. “Due to the breadth of your request and the number of records requiring review, this request is excessively burdensome or broad at this time, and we need more time to process your request.”

This means those reports will be three months old when received.

According to law, “A custodian receiving a written request shall permit the inspection immediately or as soon as is practicable under the circumstances, but not later than fifteen days after receiving a written request. If the inspection is not permitted within three business days, the custodian shall explain in writing when the records will be available for inspection or when the public body will respond to the request. The three-day period shall not begin until the written request is delivered to the office of the custodian.”

However, just repeatedly referring to a request as “broad and burdensome” without further explanation or guidance on narrowing the request seems, at best, questionable to us.

“IPRA guarantees timely access to public records. Information in public records loses its power when the keeper of those records — in this case, the city of Rio Rancho — unlawfully delays or obstructs access to information. The First Amendment rights of freedom of the press and freedom of speech are threatened when a government prevents access to public records that the public has a right to inspect,” said Amanda Lavin, attorney for the Foundation for Open Government.

While these reports might not have an immediate public safety impact, they are something our readers ask for, so there is very clearly a large public interest. And it’s not something other communities don’t do.

Las Cruces publishes its weekly arrest blotter on the city website. The Santa Fe Police Department posts its daily call logs online as well. Even right here in Sandoval County, Corrales regularly posts its crime and safety update to its website.

In fact, in past conversations with FOG, it was stressed that initial reports of an incident or arrest should be available immediately upon request.

We think such delays, while they may be technically allowable by law, violate the spirit of the law. Open government laws exist for a reason. In fact, the example given above has prompted us, at the advice of and in conjunction with FOG, to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.

Our community has a valid interest in knowing if there’s been crime in their neighborhood, even if it is petty. It is something they clearly want to know about. They shouldn’t have to wait weeks or even months for that information to be available.

Note: The Observer received word Wednesday afternoon, after this editorial went to press, the Department of Justice did not find violation of IPRA. However, it is the belief of the members of Observer staff that the frequent and ongoing delays are not within the spirit of the law.