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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    66

    Default Are Anonymous Tips Public Records

    Do anonymous tips that police receive through crime stoppers become public record if there is no active case or investigation?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Public Records

    In most states, police reports from closed investigations are available under Freedom of Information Act / "Sunshine" laws. Check the FOIA laws for whatever state is involved.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    66

    Default Re: Public Records

    Thank you Mr. Knowitall.
    I should have been more specific; this is in Florida. I have already received all the documents in relation to a certain incident, except for the actual tip as received by crime stoppers.

    I know that it is probably state specific and maybe even circuit specific; so, the answer is of course to consult an attorney. There is only one lawyer here that actually wins cases and, he charges 250.00 for a consultation and, there is a 2 month wait to see him. I will talk to him but only when I can hand him a convincing case.

    Right now, I am researching I am trying to interpret open records exemptions:
    "Ch. 119.071(2)(f) Any information revealing the identity of a confidential informant or confidential source as in s. 119.071(2)(f."
    Why does this refer to itself?

    It does not cover anonymous tips. I am being told by a records dept that an anonymous tip is a confidential source. They would not consider redacting identifying info.

    The definitions for CH. 119.000 do not cover anonymous tips. I searched my PD's policy (CALEA standards), it does not clarify either. I have found an SOP manual that does clarify that anonymous must be truly anonymous or it cannot be called such. And that it was important to keep it truly anonymous because it was discoverable, but it was for a high school police force in New Jersey. Crime stoppers are careful to tell you not to give any identifiable info. Why if it’s not discoverable? Of course, if it is truly anonymous, then there is no one to discover. In most cases the investigation of the tip is more important. The tip itself is treated more like a red flag than a source.

    Any input or clues on where to look would be helpful. I have searched most of the popular research sites and My Sunshine Law, FDLE, States Attorney and read many cases.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Public Records

    One of the "beauties" of things like CrimeLine and crime stopper programs is that they are not "the police", they are corporations; non-profit entities - and thus many things like Sunshine laws and other disclosure-related rules don't apply, or, they apply VERY differently. You're trying to apply 119.071, which applies to government entities, to a public corporation. VERY big difference. This setup isn't by mistake - it's by DESIGN, intended to keep the program separate and apart from governmental law enforcement agencies and thus not subject to the same standards, requirements, and criteria as part of the effort of establishing and maintaining the level of confidentiality that allows such programs to function. It allows police to say "we got the tip information from a third party", where the program often gets listed as "the complainant". Police are purposely NOT usually given any information that the tip taker may happen to have. If they don't have it, they can't be compelled to disclose it. If you plan to attack that third party status as it relates to receipt of the actual tip by the non-profit entity, you're going to need HEFTY amounts of attorney assistance to even attempt to crack that egg, because the attorneys from all of the individual program across the state, across the nation, the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers, and Crime Stoppers International have more than 30 years of experience in dealing with that particular issue (since 1977 here in Florida, when my mom sat on the very first board of directors and starred in the second televised crime re-creation with actress Lonnie Anderson) - and they've learned by experience (hundreds of people wanting to "crack" the tip) how to set up their bylaws, policies, procedures, record-keeping (or purposeful lack thereof), methods of advancing information from a tip to an investigator, and relationships with law enforcement entities, in order to accomplish their primary goal - protecting the confidentiality of tipsters.

    In other words, you're trying to shake a government orange tree and get corporate apples to fall out of it. You're going to need the services of an attorney with keen experience in public records law and applicability to non-profit entities. And a hefty retainer to get that research rolling. I suspect you won't like the outcome of that research, but it's your money to spend.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    66

    Default Re: Public Records

    OMG aardvard,that is just what the voices have been telling me.
    Seriously after over 300 hours of research I was slowly coming to that conclusion.I have read many of your posts so I can't accuse you of being a conspiracy theorist.

    I was 17 when Lonnie Anderson aired that.I would have agreed with anything she said.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Public Records

    My mom was the other bank teller depicted in the bank robbery re-creation =) She helped form the program and served as Executive Director for the first few years. She later managed the Florida Association of CrimeLines Anonymous (FACLA), so I grew up helping to proofread the exact types of bylaws, policies and procedures, and sitting in on meetings that addressed these exact issues, so I have a unique background of exposure to these operations.

    Seriously though, there are LOTS of different programs where tipster information is taken in and protected by various means - even by agencies such as the Florida state-level law enforcement agency that I work for now. We take tips via phone and online submission, and we VERY purposely DON'T use things like IP tracking, caller ID, or the "typical" tracking mechanisms exactly so that we don't HAVE such information and don't have to deal with release of that information. When records of those investiations are subpoena'd, the identity of the informant is simply "tip alert" or "anonymous". We identify tipsters with a code, like a color/number combination, and should there be any reward paid, just like with programs like CrimeLine, the check is actually made payable to a member of the command staff, converted into a cashier's check or other payment instrument, and the tipster is directed to retrieve the reward at a particular bank using a code system (over-simplified, but you get the idea). They give the teller the appropriate code, get the cash, and walk out. With no one knowing their identity. Means they can't be subpoena'd, and also means that the case can't move forward without law enforcement working to gather their own evidence on the case, since the tipster can't take the stand. A tip merely functions to tell law enforcement where to look for potential violations. Lots of really good tips often don't produce results, precisely because the information being given can't be substantiated via independent investigation. And of course, there are a TON of "tips" who are simply jilted lovers, business rivals, and other parties with a grudge who are trying to get someone else in trouble. That dynamic is understood to occur a LOT within tip systems, which is why the independent investigation aspect is so important.

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