Legal Research

Utah Police Seek To Block Public Access To Disciplinary Files

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, February 15, 2008.

"Utah's largest police department and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker are backing a controversial bill that would severely limit public access to the disciplinary records of police officers, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. Police Chief Chris Burbank cast the effort as a way to put city cops on par with Salt Lake County officers who enjoy greater protection of disciplinary records. In what could be a litmus test for the new mayor on records-access issues, Becker is taking the chief's advice. The proposal would give police throughout the state the same exemption carved out for county officers: disciplinary charges against them would not be made public unless the officer appeals the sanction or agrees to open the records."

"Public watchdog groups oppose the bill, say it is a way to cloak information that should be available to taxpayers who support police departments. 'Just because the county officers have this secret police system doesn't mean we want to have a statewide police system of secrecy,' said attorney Michael O'Brien, who represents the Utah Media Coalition, of which The Salt Lake Tribune is a member. Some detractors say Salt Lake City's motivation for pushing more restrictive access to discipline records stems from misconduct cases that got media attention."

Salt Lake Tribune

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on February 15, 2008 (boomark / email).