Information from prison spotty

Information from prison spotty
State agency fails to respond to request
Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

It's a mixed bag when seeking public records from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
In some instances, the department has responded quickly to requests for documents regarding prison budgets and other operations.

But when the information sought is not something the department's Sacramento-based media representatives can immediately locate, requests can drag on indefinitely.

"If we had that (record) on the shelf up here, you would have had it by now," George Kostyrko , the department's acting communications manager, said in response to a recent request. "It's just not something we had in hand."

On March 8, The Sun's sister newspaper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, asked for copies of several different documents relating to operations at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

The request included reports and audits outlined in a "corrective action plan" instituted last year after an officer was stabbed to death at the prison. The plan included dozens of recommended changes and improvements to the department's operations.

While prison officials say much has changed since the killing, a recent investigation by the state Office of the Inspector General found deficiencies at the prison in Chino and several others throughout the state.

Dozens of potentially violent inmates were being held in improper housing months after the department made changes to prevent that from happening, according to the inspector general's report released in March.

The Daily Bulletin's request sought to determine whether other deficiencies that may have contributed to the officer's death had been corrected at the Chino prison.

Although state law requires public agencies to respond to such requests within 10 days and to notify anyone seeking records whether or not they will be released, the Corrections Department has not done so.

Instead, Kostyrko sent a letter that acknowledged the request and said "a determination will be made shortly" on whether the documents can be released. State law allows some records to be kept confidential, such as medical reports or certain files from police investigations.

As of Thursday more than six weeks later no such determination had been made.

"The fact that they sent you a letter, that was very nice of them, but they're not in compliance with the law," said Jim Ewert , staff attorney for the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Ewert noted that the California Public Records Act requires records to be produced "promptly" and allows for an extension of up to 14 days, if the head of the department notifies the requesting party of "unusual circumstances" that would cause a delay. No such notification has been sent to the newspaper.

Kostyrko admitted the error and apologized for the delay, but said the department's large bureaucracy slowed the official response.

"Until others get back to me on the whereabouts of the documents, I cannot give you a reasonable time that we will be getting back to you," he wrote in an e-mail.

Previous attempts to obtain public records from the department have fared better. In February, Kostyrko promptly supplied a requested budget document outlining the fiscal year 2004-05 operating budget for each institution in California.

That same month, Lt. Tim Shirlock, the Chino prison's public information officer, provided information regarding the prison's operating budget within days of receiving an e-mailed request.

At the prison, officials have taken other steps to improve communication with neighbors. The warden recorded a series of public service announcements now airing in Chino that explain the prison's escape-warning system, and he has met with local officials to discuss potential concerns about the facility.

But the Corrections Department's record on releasing information is less than stellar. Last year, the correctional officers' union took the department to court after it delayed the release of properly requested budget documents by more than five months.

Also last year, interns from Quill, the monthly magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists, tried to obtain information about prison violence from five states and the federal Bureau of Prisons.

The journalists spent 23 days trying to get the records, which are public and accessible under the federal Freedom of Information Act. California's prisons agency never produced the information.

Ewert said it's not unusual for the Corrections Department to drag its feet on processing such requests, even though state law including the California Constitution requires quick response.

"If they know the information is disclosable, and that no exemption applies, then - the act requires that they make the record promptly available," he said. "We've always interpreted that to be as soon as possible."

Editor's note: The Sun is devoting this space to a new feature, "Freedom Friday." Each week, we will spotlight a government agency and detail its willingness to provide documents it is required to make available to the public. We'd also like to know your experiences when it comes to obtaining public information from public agencies.

E-mail us at: citydesk@sbsun.com.

A request for information from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been met with weeks of delay.

The information sought is outlined in a report created by the department last year to address critical needs at the California Institution for Men in Chino, where an officer was stabbed to death in January 2005.

Though a department representative said the records will likely be released, he offered no timeline and no official response outlining what information will be included.

But the department has supplied information in response to other requests in the past. Additionally, a wealth of statistical data and other information including population reports, demographics and historical trends is available at the CDCR Web site, www.cdcr.ca.gov.

More information about the California Public Records Act can be found online from the California First Amendment Coalition at www.cfac.org.