Right To Know Request - police

This policy outlines the proper procedures for requesting records from Upper Providence Township under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law 65 P.S. Section 66.1-66.9.

Open Records Officer
The Police Department Open Records Officer may be reached at

Open Records Officer
Upper Providence Township Police Department
1286 Black Rock Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
Phone: 610-933-7899
Email: asimmons@uprov-montco.org and/or khaines@uprov-montco.org

General

Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the township office during normal business hours (7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday - Thursday & 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Friday) with the exception of township-designated holidays. Appointments are required.

Under the Right-to-Know Law, Investigative Reports are exempt from the definition of a “public record”, therefore, any such request will be denied.

Requests

The “Records Request Form”(PDF) is provided for requests of records; the request should identify or describe the records sought with sufficient specificity to enable Upper Providence Township to ascertain which records are being sought. Once completed, the form may be mailed to:

Open Records Officer
Upper Providence Township Police Department
1286 Black Rock Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460 

You may also submit a Police RTK Request using our online form: https://montgomery.crimewatchpa.com/upperprovidencepd/right-to-know-request[5] [AS6] 

Fees

Paper copies shall be $.25 per page per side for black and white copies up to the first 1,000 pages and $.20 beyond 1,000 pages and $.50 for color copies. The certification of a record is $5 per record. Specialized documents, including but not limited to blueprints, color copies, and nonstandard-sized documents shall be charged the actual cost of production. If mailing is requested, the cost of postage will be charged. Other fees may apply.  Please see the Township Fee Schedule for more information. All fees must be paid before documents will be released. Prepayment is required if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.

Response

The Police Open Records Officer shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible and within the RTK Law’s five business day timeframe. If the Police Open Records Officer cannot do so within five business days, he/she is permitted to exercise a 30-day extension upon notifying the requester. The Police Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original documents while taking reasonable measures to protect original documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification.

If the request is denied, the Police Open Records Officer will send the requester a letter stating 1) a description of the record requested; 2) the specific reasons for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority; 3) contact information for the Open Records Officer; 4) the date of the response; and 5) the procedure to appeal the denial.

Appeals Process

If a written request is denied, the requester has the right to file an appeal in writing to: 

Executive Director, Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: 717-346-9903
Fax: 717-425-5343
openrecords@pa.gov

Appeals may also be filed through the Office of Open Records portal at OOR - File an Appeal (pa.gov).

Appeals of criminal records shall be made to the District Attorney of Montgomery County:

Montgomery County Courthouse
4th Floor
P.O. Box 311
Norristown, PA 19404-0311
Phone: 610-278-3090

Appeals must be filed within 15 business days of the date of the township's response. Please note that a copy of the requester's original request and the township's denial letter must be included when filing an appeal. The law requires an appeal to include reasons why the record is a public record and to address the reasons for denial that the township stated in its denial letter. 

Visit the OOR's website at www.openrecords.pa.gov for additional information on filing an appeal.