Police fees for police can deter the applications, impact transparency

“It should only be a package fee.” Pria Dupont had a sticker shock when she saw an invoice for Avondale's international examination records.

She wanted the records to be checked how civil servants reacted to a situation of domestic violence in her house in 2023. She was asked to pay $ 1,370, mainly for video cam video clips from police cam clips. In the invoice, 38 videos were listed for 35 US dollars. She didn't pay.

“This is ridiculous because you can't choose how many officers will react and how many Body cam film products you will be there,” said Dupont. She added that she had previously paid a video cam video for police shops and came to her house from that day.

New law defines $ 46 limit

In a 2023 state law of Arizona, the law enforcement authorities enabled the public to be up to 46 US dollars per video hour according to a body camera or another police video.

Some police situations concern dozens of civil servants and can lead to hundreds of hourly material.

The police chiefs of Mesa and Glendale said in favor of the $ 46 law template in a hearing of 2023 in the amount of $ 46 and explained that the processing of such inquiries is a costly and time-consuming task.

“In our jurisdiction, we have two years waiting for someone to be borne by our recording department by our recording department,” said Mesa Chief Ken Cost. “We spend about 370 hours a month for camera material worn with body.”

“We did not expect we had the influx of inquiries that we had and not to know how much time for editorial offices would take,” said Glendale boss Chris Briggs at the time.

Relatives: ABC15 investigators dig into the transparency of Arizona Public Record during the 'Sunshine Week'

Some agencies, including the police authorities of Mesa and Gilbert, calculate the full fee. Other departments have left their fees unchanged. For a whole case, the Phoenix police authority calculates $ 4 for all Body-Camera film materials.

It is unclear how many departments have used higher fees to pay more people for the processing of videos or the reduction in waiting times. However, supporters from the open government say that the total fee for videos can prevent people from access to public records and reduce the transparency of the government.

“We need fewer obstacles to the timely access to important records, not for more obstacles,” Gunita Singh, lawyer of the reporter Committee for Freedom of the Freedom of the Press, told ABC15 in an interview last month.

“So that the state can invoice such exorbitant amounts for the processing of this type of footage, it endangers public access to decisive government documents, since these fees can obviously serve as a deterrent,” said Singh.

Police fees nationwide police fees

The ABC15 investigators examine which police authorities in other states use for the police-cam video of the police and found that the fees vary greatly.

In Ohio, a new law that has been passed this year will enable the departments to calculate up to $ 75 per hour to reduce the police video. This state had a maximum fee of $ 750.

In Massachusetts, the police authority in Boston calculates 25 US dollars per hour Personnel time to edit video inquiries, but the first two hours are free.

In Texas, police authorities can collect a fee of $ 10 for receiving the video plus 1 US dollar per minute actual film material.

In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee police authority calculates 38 US dollars per hour to find the film material and almost 43 US dollars per hour for the editorial team.

In Illinois, the Chicago police offer free of charge at the police authorities.

Avondale revised bill

In Arizona, victims and criminals can receive police documents free of charge for their cases, but Dupont has not fit into both categories since the police arrested from Avondale, but only a few days later the criminal complaints were dropped.

Dupont later submitted a claim to the claim, the forerunner of a lawsuit, against the Avondale Police Department. She claimed that her arrest was “inappropriate” and she was injured by the handcuffs. Since her arrest she saw a neurologist and operated on the carpal tunnel syndrome and another condition.

After contacting ABC15 over the 1,370 dollar bill last month, the ABC15 investigators sent an Avondale police spokesman with questions by e -mail.

The department replied that there was a mistake in her calculations because there were only seven body cam videos, not 38. The police spokesman said that the invoice had been reissued for $ 245.

The department rejected it to comment on the claims of Dupont that their constitutional rights were violated and the handcuffs led to permanent injuries.

Did you have problems to receive public records? We want to hear from you. You can reach ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius by e -mail at melissa.blasius@abc15.com Or call 602-803-2506. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @Melissablasius or Facebook.