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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
The Rights of the Requestors and the Responsibilities of the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located §2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees. A public record is any writing or recording – regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format – that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officer, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies. The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.
Your FOIA Rights
- You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records or both.
- You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
- If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in the district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA.
Turnaround
We will respond within five working days. If we cannot respond to a request within the five-day period, you will be informed in writing with an explanation as to why. This allows the County an extension of seven additional working days to respond, providing a total of 12 working days.
If someone requests a very large number of records, and we determine it cannot be filled within 12 working days without disrupting other County organizational responsibilities, the County may petition the court for additional time. However, FOIA requires that a reasonable effort be made to reach an agreement concerning the production of the records before going to court.
Our Response
The Sheriff's Office will do one of the following:
- Provide the records requested in their entirety.
- Withhold all of the records requested, because they are subject to a specific statutory exemption (see below for information regarding exemptions). If records are withheld, you will receive a written explanation identifying the volume and subject matter of the records withheld and the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows the exemption.
- Provide an entire record that will not be withheld if only a portion is subject to an exemption. You will receive a written response stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows the exemption of a portion of the records.
- Respond in writing that the requested records cannot be found or do not exist. However, if another public body has the requested records, contact information will be included in the response.
General Guidelines for Requests
- You must identify the records needed with reasonable specificity. This does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records requested; instead, it requires that a request be specific enough to identify and locate records.
- You must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA allows for inspection or copying of records; it does not require the County to answer general questions about the work of the department involved, nor does it require the department to create a record that does not exist.
- Records can be provided in the format in which they were created.
- For example, if you’re requesting records maintained in an Excel spreadsheet, you may elect to receive those records electronically, via email or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records. Records created by hand can only be provided in print.
- You may be contacted if there are questions.
Effective November 1, 2018, standard FOIA rates shall apply for all labor and materials. Rates include an hourly rate cap of $25.00/hr. which will be charged for the administration of record retrieval.
The County’s charges for FOIA are consistent with the following guidelines:
- A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records.
- No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication.
- All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
- If the estimated cost is more than $200, a deposit may be required (not to exceed the amount of the estimate), before the County proceeds with your request. The five days allowed the County for a response does not include the time between a request for a deposit and a response from the requester.
- Cost covers items such as staff time, copying, or any other resources directly related to supplying the requested records. It does not include general overhead.
- If requested, an estimate of the charges will be provided prior to supplying the records requested.
- If money is owed from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, Prince William County may require payment of the past-due bill before responding to a new FOIA request.
General Guidelines for Requests
- You must identify the records needed with reasonable specificity. This does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records requested; instead, it requires that a request be specific enough to identify and locate records.
- You must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA allows for inspection or copying of records; it does not require the County to answer general questions about the work of the department involved, nor does it require the department to create a record that does not exist.
- Records can be provided in the format in which they were created.
- For example, if you’re requesting records maintained in an Excel spreadsheet, you may elect to receive those records electronically, via email or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records. Records created by hand can only be provided in print.
- You may be contacted if there are questions.
Exemptions
The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure. Prince William County commonly withholds records subject to exemptions such as:
- Personnel records
- Records subject to attorney-client privilege
- Vendor proprietary information
- Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded
- Security matters
Code of Virginia citations for the complete list of record exemptions:
- 2.2-3705.1: exclusions of general application to public bodies
- 2.2-3705.2: records relating to public safety
- 2.2-3705.3: records relating to administrative investigations
- 2.2-3705.4: educational records and certain records of educational institutions
- 2.2-3705.5: health and social services records
- 2.2-3705.6: proprietary records and trade secrets
- 2.2-3705.7: records of specific public bodies and certain other limited exclusions
- 2.2-3705.8: Limitation on record exclusions
FOIA requests are processed by the Department's FOIA Liaison Deputy and can be submitted in person, by U.S. mail, fax, phone, or by email.
To request records by email, please send an email with your contact information and specific request for records.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Who is eligible to submit a FOIA request?
FOIA laws vary by state. The Federal Government is also governed by their own FOIA laws. As a local police agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Prince William County Police Department is governed by Virginia state FOIA laws.
Pursuant to Virginia FOIA, FOIA requests will be accepted from any resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia or by any representative of the news media with a print publication in the state or a television/radio broadcast from or into the state.
- How long will it take to receive a response to my request?
The Sheriff's Office is committed to responding to your request as soon as possible. Under the Code of Virginia, the Sheriff's Office has five business days to respond to your request with one of the following:
- The records/documents as requested in their entirety.
- A denial of your request if FOIA is not applicable, the record does not exist or the police department is not the custodian of the record, or your request meets one of the exemptions or is otherwise prohibited to disclose under state law.
- Partial records/documents, while denying others as explained above.
- A notice of extension of seven business days to complete the request, meaning 12 business days in total.
For requests of a very large number of records/documents, the Sheriff's Office may petition the court for additional time to respond. This will only occur if the Department feels the 12-day period is insufficient to complete the request without disrupting organizational responsibilities.
Day one of the requests is considered the next business day after your request is submitted. A business day is any working day and does not include weekends or County-recognized holidays or closures.
*NOTE: Your request may include redactions which is permitted if the information restricted meets an exemption or is otherwise prohibited under state law.
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