As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates,
the following terms mean:
Any meeting, record or vote closed to the public.
If requested by a member of the public, copies provided as detailed in Section 140.110 of this Chapter, if duplication equipment is available.
All matters which relate in any way to performance of the
City's functions or the conduct of its business.
Any legislative, administrative or governmental entity created
by the Constitution or Statutes of this State, orders or ordinances
of the City, judicial entities when operating in an administrative
capacity or by executive order, including:
Any advisory committee or commission appointed by the Mayor
or Board of Aldermen.
Any department or division of the City.
Any other legislative or administrative governmental deliberative
body under the direction of three (3) or more elected or appointed
members having rulemaking or quasi-judicial power.
Any committee appointed by or at the direction of any of the
entities and which is authorized to report to any of the above-named
entities, any advisory committee appointed by or at the direction
of any of the named entities for the specific purpose of recommending,
directly to the public governmental body's governing board or its
Chief Administrative Officer, policy or policy revisions or expenditures
of public funds.
Any quasi-public governmental body. The term "quasi-public
governmental body" means any person, corporation or partnership
organized or authorized to do business in this State pursuant to the
provisions of Chapters 352, 353 or 355, RSMo., or unincorporated association
which either:
Has as its primary purpose to enter into contracts with public
governmental bodies or to engage primarily in activities carried out
pursuant to an agreement or agreements with public governmental bodies;
or
Performs a public function, as evidenced by a statutorily or
ordinance-based capacity, to confer or otherwise advance, through
approval, recommendation or other means, the allocation or issuance
of tax credits, tax abatement, public debt, tax exempt debt, rights
of eminent domain, or the contracting of lease-back agreements on
structures whose annualized payments commit public tax revenues; or
any association that directly accepts the appropriation of money from
the City, but only to the extent that a meeting, record or vote relates
to such appropriation.
Any meeting of a public governmental body subject to this
Chapter at which any public business is discussed, decided or public
policy formulated, whether such meeting is conducted in person or
by means of communication equipment, including, but not limited to,
conference call, video conference, internet chat, or internet message
board. The term "public meeting" shall not include
an informal gathering of members of a public governmental body for
ministerial or social purposes when there is no intent to avoid the
purposes of this Chapter, but the term shall include a vote of all
or a majority of the members of a public governmental body, by electronic
communication or any other means, conducted in lieu of holding a public
meeting with the members of the public governmental body gathered
at one (1) location in order to conduct public business.
Any record, whether written or electronically stored, retained
by or of any public governmental body including any report, survey,
memorandum, or other document or study prepared for the public governmental
body by a consultant or other professional service paid for in whole
or in part by public funds, including records created or maintained
by private contractors under an agreement with a public governmental
body or on behalf of a public governmental body. The term "public record" shall not include any internal memorandum
or letter received or prepared by or on behalf of a member of a public
governmental body consisting of advice, opinions and recommendations
in connection with the deliberative decision-making process of said
body, unless such records are retained by the public governmental
body or presented at a public meeting. Any documents or study prepared
for a public governmental body by a consultant or other professional
service as described in this subdivision shall be retained by the
public governmental body in the same manner as any other public record.
Any vote, whether conducted in person, by telephone, or by
any other electronic means, cast at any public meeting of any public
governmental body.
A.
All meetings,
records and votes are open to the public, except that any meeting,
record or vote relating to one (1) or more of the following matters,
as well as other materials designated elsewhere in this Chapter, shall
be closed unless the public governmental body votes to make them public:
1.
Legal
actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental
body and any confidential or privileged communications between a public
governmental body or its representatives and its attorneys. However,
any minutes, vote or settlement agreement relating to legal actions,
causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body
or any agent or entity representing its interests or acting on its
behalf or with its authority, including any insurance company acting
on behalf of a public governmental body as its insured, shall be made
public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the
signing by the parties of the settlement agreement, unless, prior
to final disposition, the settlement agreement is ordered closed by
a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a plaintiff
or plaintiffs to the action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations
of Section 610.011, RSMo., however, the amount of any monies paid
by, or on behalf of, the public governmental body shall be disclosed;
provided however, in matters involving the exercise of the power of
eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately
following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such
a legal action. Legal work product shall be considered a closed record.
2.
Leasing,
purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where
public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal
consideration therefor. However, any minutes or vote or public record
approving a contract relating to the leasing, purchase or sale of
real estate by a public governmental body shall be made public upon
execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate.
3.
Hiring,
firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public
governmental body when personal information about the employee is
discussed or recorded. However, any vote on a final decision, when
taken by a public governmental body, to hire, fire, promote or discipline
an employee of a public governmental body shall be made available
with a record of how each member voted to the public within seventy-two
(72) hours of the close of the meeting where such action occurs; provided
however, that any employee so affected shall be entitled to prompt
notice of such decision during the seventy-two (72) hour period before
such decision is made available to the public. As used in this Subsection,
the term "personal information" means information
relating to the performance or merit of individual employees.
4.
Non-judicial
mental or physical health proceedings involving an identifiable person,
including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism or drug
dependency diagnosis or treatment.
5.
Testing
and examination materials, before the test or examination is given
or, if it is to be given again, before so given again.
6.
Welfare
cases of identifiable individuals.
7.
Preparation,
including any discussions or work product, on behalf of a public governmental
body or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups.
8.
Software
codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof.
9.
Specifications
for competitive bidding, until either the specifications are officially
approved by the public governmental body or the specifications are
published for bid.
10.
Sealed
bids and related documents, until the bids are opened; and sealed
proposals and related documents or any documents related to a negotiated
contract until a contract is executed, or all proposals are rejected.
11.
Individually
identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining
to employees or applicants for employment, except that this exemption
shall not apply to the names, positions, salaries and lengths of service
of officers and employees of public agencies once they are employed
as such.
12.
Records
which are protected from disclosure by law.
13.
Meetings
and public records relating to scientific and technological innovations
in which the owner has a proprietary interest.
14.
Records
relating to municipal hotlines established for the reporting of abuse
and wrongdoing.
15.
Confidential
or privileged communications between a public governmental body and
its auditor, including all auditor work product; however, all final
audit reports issued by the auditor are to be considered open records
pursuant to this Chapter.
16.
Operational
guidelines and policies developed, adopted, or maintained by any public
agency responsible for law enforcement, public safety, first response,
or public health for use in responding to or preventing any critical
incident which is or appears to be terrorist in nature and which has
the potential to endanger individual or public safety or health. Nothing
in this exception shall be deemed to close information regarding expenditures,
purchases, or contracts made by an agency in implementing these guidelines
or policies. When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception,
the agency shall affirmatively state in writing that disclosure would
impair its ability to protect the safety or health of persons, and
shall in the same writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure
outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records. This exception
shall sunset on December 31, 2008.
17.
Existing
or proposed security systems and structural plans of real property
owned or leased by a public governmental body, and information that
is voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity owning or operating
an infrastructure to any public governmental body for use by that
body to devise plans for protection of that infrastructure, the public
disclosure of which would threaten public safety.
a.
Records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to security
systems purchased with public funds shall be open.
b.
When
seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the public
governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing that disclosure
would impair the public governmental body's ability to protect the
security or safety of persons or real property and shall in the same
writing state that the public interest in non-disclosure outweighs
the public interest in disclosure of the records.
c.
Records
that are voluntarily submitted by a non-public entity shall be reviewed
by the receiving agency within ninety (90) days of submission to determine
if retention of the document is necessary in furtherance of a State
security interest. If retention is not necessary, the documents shall
be returned to the non-public governmental body or destroyed.
d.
This
exception shall sunset on December 31, 2008.
18.
Records
that identify the configuration of components or the operation of
a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network and would allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption
of a computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network of a public governmental body. This exception shall not be
used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file,
document, data file or database containing public records. Records
related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to such computer,
computer system, computer network or telecommunications network, including
the amount of monies paid by, or on behalf of, a public governmental
body for such computer, computer system, computer network or telecommunications
network, shall be open.
19.
Credit
card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital certificates,
physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes that
are used to protect the security of electronic transactions between
a public governmental body and a person or entity doing business with
a public governmental body. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed
to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card held
in the name of a public governmental body or any record of a transaction
made by a person using a credit card or other method of payment for
which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body.
Any member of a public governmental body who transmits any message
relating to public business by electronic means shall also concurrently
transmit that message to either the member's public office computer
or the custodian or records in the same format. The provisions of
this Section shall only apply to messages sent to two (2) or more
members of that body so that, when counting the sender, a majority
of the body's members are copied. Any such message received by the
custodian or at the member's office computer shall be a public record
subject to the exception of Section 610.021, RSMo.
A.
All public
governmental bodies shall give notice of the time, date and place
of each meeting and its tentative agenda in a manner reasonably calculated
to advise the public of the matters to be considered, and if the meeting
will be conducted by telephone or other electronic means, the notice
of the meeting shall identify the mode by which the meeting will be
conducted and the designated location where the public may observe
and attend the meeting. If a public body plans to meet by internet
chat, internet message board, or other computer link, it shall post
a notice of the meeting on its website in addition to its principal
office and shall notify the public how to access that meeting. Reasonable
notice shall include making available copies of the notice to any
representative of the news media who requests notice of meetings of
a particular public governmental body concurrent with the notice being
made available to the members of the particular governmental body
and posting the notice on a bulletin board or other prominent place
which is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for
that purpose at the principal office of the body holding the meeting,
or if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting
is to be held.
B.
Notice conforming with all of the requirements of Subsection (A) of this Section shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays when City Hall is closed, prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible shall be given.
C.
The City shall allow for the recording by audiotape, videotape or other electronic means of any open meeting. The City may establish guidelines regarding the manner in which such recording is conducted so as to minimize disruption to the meeting. No audio recording of any meeting, record or vote closed pursuant to the provisions of Section 140.020 shall be permitted without permission of the City; any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of an ordinance violation.
D.
Each governmental body proposing to hold a closed meeting or vote shall give notice of the time, date and place of such closed meeting or vote and the reason for holding it by reference to a specific exception allowed pursuant to Section 140.020 hereof. The notice shall be the same as described in Subsection (A) herein.
E.
A formally
constituted subunit of a parent governmental body may conduct a meeting
without notice during a lawful meeting of the parent governmental
body, a recess in that meeting, or immediately following that meeting
if the meeting of the subunit is publicly announced at the parent
meeting and the subject of the meeting reasonably coincides with the
subjects discussed or acted upon by the parent governmental body.
A.
Except as set forth in Subsection (C) of Section 140.040, no meeting or vote may be closed without an affirmative public vote of the majority of a quorum of the public governmental body. The vote of each member of the governmental body on the question of closing a public meeting or vote and the specific reason for closing that public meeting or vote by reference to a specific Section of this Chapter shall be announced publicly at an open meeting of the governmental body and entered into the minutes.
B.
Any meeting or vote closed pursuant to Section 140.020 shall be closed only to the extent necessary for the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies shall not discuss any business in a closed meeting, record or vote which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced to justify the closed meeting or vote. Public governmental bodies holding a closed meeting shall close only an existing portion of the meeting facility necessary to house the members of the public governmental body in the closed session, allowing members of the public to remain to attend any subsequent open session held by the public governmental body following the closed session.
[Ord. No. 573 §§1 —
3, 3-19-2007]
A.
Those
records maintained by the City as identified in Section 610.021, RSMo.,
are hereby deemed and ordered to be closed, and all present and future
City personnel, employees and agents of the City are hereby directed
to treat the same as closed records.
B.
Closed
records shall only be released for public dissemination in accordance
with applicable provisions of law, or if such release is directed
and ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
C.
Closed
votes shall only be taken during that portion of any meeting which
is closed in accordance with applicable laws and procedures; and any
closed vote shall be released and made public under those circumstances
and within those time frames described in Chapter 610, RSMo., or as
provided in other applicable provisions of law or as may be directed
by a court of competent jurisdiction.
A.
Except as provided in Section 140.020, rules authorized pursuant to Article III of the Missouri Constitution and as otherwise provided by law, all votes shall be recorded, and if a roll call is taken, as to attribute each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name of the individual member of the public governmental body. Any votes taken during a closed meeting shall be taken by roll call. All public meetings shall be open to the public and public votes and public records shall be open to the public for inspection and duplication. All votes taken by roll call in meetings of a public governmental body consisting of members who are all elected, shall be cast by members of the public governmental body who are physically present and in attendance at the meeting. When it is necessary to take votes by roll call in a meeting of the public governmental body, due to an emergency of the public body, with a quorum of the members of the public body physically present and in attendance and less than a quorum of the members of the public governmental body participating via telephone, facsimile, Internet, or any other voice or electronic means, the nature of the emergency of the public body justifying that departure from the normal requirements shall be stated in the minutes. Where such emergency exists, the votes taken shall be regarded as if all members were physically present and in attendance at the meeting.
B.
A journal
or minutes of open and closed meetings shall be taken and retained
by the public governmental body including, but not limited to, a record
of any vote taken at such meeting. The minutes shall include the date,
time, place, members present, members absent, and a record of votes
taken. When a roll call vote is taken, the minutes shall attribute
each "yea" and "nay" vote, or abstinence if not voting, to the name
of the individual member of the public governmental body.
A.
Each
meeting shall be held at a place reasonably accessible to the public
and of sufficient size to accommodate the anticipated attendance by
members of the public and at a time reasonably convenient to the public
unless for good cause such a place or time is impossible or impractical.
Every reasonable effort shall be made to grant special access to the
meeting to handicapped or disabled individuals.
B.
When
it is necessary to hold a meeting on less than twenty-four (24) hours'
notice, or at a place that is not reasonably accessible to the public,
or at a time that is not reasonably convenient to the public, the
nature of the good cause justifying that departure from the normal
requirements shall be stated in the minutes.
If a public record contains material which is not exempt from
disclosure, as well as material which is exempt from disclosure, the
custodian shall separate the exempt and non-exempt material and make
the non-exempt material available for examination and copying in accord
with the policies provided herein. When designing a public record
the custodian shall, to the extent practicable, facilitate a separation
of exempt from non-exempt information. If the separation is readily
apparent to a person requesting to inspect or receive copies of the
form, the custodian shall generally describe the material exempted
unless that description would reveal the contents of the exempt information
and thus defeat the purpose of the exemption.
A.
The City
Clerk shall be the custodian of records and will be responsible for
maintenance and control of all records. The custodian may designate
deputy custodians in operating departments of the City and such other
departments or offices as the custodian may determine. Deputy custodians
shall conduct matters relating to public records and meetings in accord
with the policies enumerated herein.
B.
Each
public governmental body shall make available for inspection and copying
by the public of that body's public records. No person shall remove
original public records from the office of a public governmental body
or its custodian without written permission of the designated custodian.
No public governmental body shall, after August 28, 1998, grant to
any person or entity, whether by contract, license or otherwise, the
exclusive right to access and disseminate any public record unless
the granting of such right is necessary to facilitate coordination
with, or uniformity among, industry regulators having similar authority.
C.
Each
request for access to a public record shall be acted upon as soon
as possible, but in no event later than the end of the third (3rd)
business day following the date the request is received by the custodian
of records of a public governmental body. If records are requested
in a certain format, the public body shall provide the records in
the requested format, if such format is available. If access to the
public record is not granted immediately, the custodian shall give
a detailed explanation of the cause for further delay and the place
and earliest time and date that the record will be available for inspection.
This period for document production may exceed three (3) days for
reasonable cause.
D.
If a
request for access is denied, the custodian shall provide, upon request,
a written statement of the grounds for such denial. Such statement
shall cite the specific provision of law under which access is denied
and shall be furnished to the requester no later than the end of the
third (3rd) business day following the date that the request for the
statement is received.
A.
The remedies provided by this Section against public governmental bodies shall be in addition to those provided by any other provision of law. Any aggrieved person, taxpayer to, or citizen of, this State, may seek judicial enforcement of the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo. Suits to enforce Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., shall be brought in the Circuit Court for the County in which the public governmental body has its principal place of business. Upon service of a summons, petition, complaint, counterclaim or cross-claim in a civil action brought to enforce the provisions of Sections 610.010 to 610.027, RSMo., the custodian of the public record that is the subject matter of such civil action shall not transfer custody, alter, destroy or otherwise dispose of the public record sought to be inspected and examined, notwithstanding the applicability of an exemption pursuant to Section 610.021, RSMo., or the assertion that the requested record is not a public record until the court directs otherwise.
B.
Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., and has held a closed meeting, record or vote, the burden of persuasion shall be on the body and its members to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo.
C.
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body or a member of a public governmental body has knowingly violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the public governmental body or the member shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). If the court finds that there is a knowing violation of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the court may order the payment by such body or member of all costs and reasonable attorney fees to any party successfully establishing a violation. The court shall determine the amount of the penalty by taking into account the size of the jurisdiction, the seriousness of the offense, and whether the public governmental body or member of a public governmental body has violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., previously.
D.
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body or a member of a public governmental body has purposely violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., the public governmental body or the member shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). If the court finds that there was a purposeful violation of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., then the court shall order the payment by such body or member of all costs and reasonable attorney fees to any party successfully establishing such a violation. The court shall determine the amount of the penalty by taking into account the size of the jurisdiction, the seriousness of the offense, and whether the public governmental body or member of a public governmental body has violated Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., previously.
E.
Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a public governmental body has violated any provision of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., a court shall void any action taken in violation of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., if the court finds under the facts of the particular case that the public interest in the enforcement of the policy of Sections 610.010 to 610.026, RSMo., outweighs the public interest in sustaining the validity of the action taken in the closed meeting, record or vote. Suit for enforcement shall be brought within one (1) year from which the violation is ascertainable and in no event shall it be brought later than two (2) years after the violation. This Subsection shall not apply to an action taken regarding the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness of a public governmental body if a public hearing, election or public sale has been held regarding the bonds or evidence of indebtedness.
F.
A public
governmental body which is in doubt about the legality of closing
a particular meeting, record or vote may bring suit at the expense
of that public governmental body in the Circuit Court of the County
of the public governmental body's principal place of business to ascertain
the propriety of any such action, or seek a formal opinion of the
attorney general or an attorney for the governmental body.
A.
Except
as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body shall
provide access to and, upon request, furnish copies of public records
subject to the following:
1.
Fees
for copying public records, except those records restricted under
Section 32.091, RSMo., shall not exceed ten cents ($.10) per page
for a paper copy not larger than nine (9) by fourteen (14) inches,
with the hourly fee for duplicating time not to exceed the average
hourly rate of pay for clerical staff of the public governmental body.
Research time required for fulfilling records requests may be charged
at the actual cost of research time. Based on the scope of the request,
the public governmental body shall produce the copies using employees
of the body that result in the lowest amount of charges for search,
research, and duplication time. Prior to producing copies of the requested
records, the person requesting the records may request the public
governmental body to provide an estimate of the cost to the person
requesting the records. Documents may be furnished without charge
or at a reduced charge when the public governmental body determines
that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because
it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of
the operations or activities of the public governmental body and is
not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
2.
Fees
for providing access to public records maintained on computer facilities,
recording tapes or disks, videotapes or films, pictures, maps, slides,
graphics, illustrations or similar audio or visual items or devices,
and for paper copies larger than nine (9) by fourteen (14) inches
shall include only the cost of copies, staff time, which shall not
exceed the average hourly rate of pay for staff of the public governmental
body required for making copies and programming, if necessary, and
the cost of the disk, tape or other medium used for the duplication.
Fees for maps, blueprints, or plats that require special expertise
to duplicate may include the actual rate of compensation for the trained
personnel required to duplicate such maps, blueprints, or plats. If
programming is required beyond the customary and usual level to comply
with a request for records or information, the fees for compliance
may include the actual cost of such programming.
B.
Payment
of such copying fees may be requested prior to the making of copies.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the
following definitions:
An actual restraint of the person of the defendant, or by
his/her submission to the custody of the officer, under authority
of a warrant or otherwise for a criminal violation which results in
the issuance of a summons or the person being booked.
A record of a law enforcement agency of an arrest and of
any detention or confinement incident thereto together with the charge
therefor.
An investigation in which no further action will be taken
by a law enforcement agency or officer for any of the following reasons:
A decision by the law enforcement agency not to pursue the case.
Expiration of the time to file criminal charges pursuant to
the applicable statute of limitations or ten (10) years after the
commission of the offense, whichever date earliest occurs.
Finality of the convictions of all persons convicted on the
basis of the information contained in the investigative report, by
exhaustion of or expiration of all rights of appeal of such persons.
A record of a law enforcement agency consisting of the date,
time, specific location, name of the victim, and immediate facts and
circumstances surrounding the initial report of a crime or incident,
including any logs of reported crimes, accidents and complaints maintained
by that agency.
A record, other than an arrest or incident report, prepared
by personnel of a law enforcement agency inquiring into a crime or
suspected crime either in response to an incident report or in response
to evidence developed by Law Enforcement Officers in the course of
their duties.
A.
The Police Department of the City shall maintain records of all incidents reported to the Police Department and investigations and arrests made by the Police Department. All incident reports and arrest reports shall be open records. Notwithstanding any other provision of law other than the provisions of Subsection (C) of this Section or Section 320.083, RSMo., investigative reports of the Police Department are closed records until the investigation becomes inactive. If any person is arrested and not charged with an offense against the law within thirty (30) days of the person's arrest, the arrest report shall thereafter be a closed record except that the disposition portion of the record may be accessed and except as provided in Section 140.150.
B.
Except as provided in Subsections (C) and (D) of this Section, if any portion of a record or document of a Police Department Officer or the Police Department, other than an arrest report, which would otherwise be open, contains information that is reasonably likely to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of any victim, witness, undercover officer or other person; or jeopardize a criminal investigation, including records which would disclose the identity of a source wishing to remain confidential or a suspect not in custody; or which would disclose techniques, procedures or guidelines for Police Department investigations or prosecutions, that portion of the record shall be closed and shall be redacted from any record made available pursuant to this Chapter.
C.
Any person, attorney for a person, or insurer of a person involved in any incident or whose property is involved in an incident may obtain any records closed pursuant to this Section or Section 140.150 for purposes of investigation of any civil claim or defense as provided by this Subsection. Any individual, his/her attorney or insurer involved in an incident or whose property is involved in an incident, upon written request, may obtain a complete unaltered and unedited incident report concerning the incident and may obtain access to other records closed by the Police Department pursuant to this Section. Within thirty (30) days of such request, the Police Department shall provide the requested material or file a motion pursuant to this Subsection with the Circuit Court having jurisdiction over the Police Department stating that the safety of the victim, witness or other individual cannot be reasonably ensured, or that a criminal investigation is likely to be jeopardized. Pursuant to Section 610.100(4), RSMo., if, based on such motion, the court finds for the Police Department, the court shall either order the record closed or order such portion of the record that should be closed to be redacted from any record made available pursuant to this Subsection.
D.
Any person
may apply pursuant to this Subsection to the Circuit Court having
jurisdiction for an order requiring a Law Enforcement Agency to open
incident reports and arrest reports being unlawfully closed pursuant
to the Section. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence
that the Law Enforcement Officer or Agency has knowingly violated
this Section, the officer or agency shall be subject to a civil penalty
in an amount up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). If the court
finds that there is a knowing violation of this Section, the court
may order payment by such officer or agency of all costs and attorneys'
fees, as provided by Section 610.027, RSMo. If the court finds by
a preponderance of the evidence that the Law Enforcement Officer or
Agency has purposely violated this Section, the officer or agency
shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount up to five thousand
dollars ($5,000.00) and the court shall order payment by such officer
or agency of all costs and attorney fees, as provided in Section 610.027,
RSMo. The court shall determine the amount of the penalty by taking
into account the size of the jurisdiction, the seriousness of the
offense, and whether the Law Enforcement Officer or Agency has violated
this Section previously.
E.
The victim
of an offense as provided in Chapter 566, RSMo., may request that
his/her identity be kept confidential until a charge relating to such
incident is filed.
If the person arrested is charged but the case is subsequently nolle prossed, dismissed, or the accused is found not guilty, or imposition of sentence is suspended in the court in which the action is prosecuted, official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be closed records when such case is finally terminated, except as provided in Section 140.150 and except that the court's judgment or order or the final action taken by the prosecutor in such matters may be accessed. If the accused is found not guilty due to mental disease or defect pursuant to Section 552.030, RSMo., official records pertaining to the case shall thereafter be closed records upon such findings, except that the disposition may be accessed only by law enforcement agencies, child care agencies, facilities as defined in Section 198.006, RSMo., and in-home services provider agencies as defined in Section 660.250, RSMo., in the manner established by Section 140.150.
A.
Records
required to be closed shall not be destroyed; they shall be inaccessible
to the general public and to all persons other than the defendant
except as provided in this Section and Section 43.507, RSMo. The closed
records shall be available to: criminal justice agencies for the administration
of criminal justice pursuant to Section 43.500, RSMo., criminal justice
employment, screening persons with access to criminal justice facilities,
procedures, and sensitive information; to law enforcement agencies
for issuance or renewal of a license, permit, certification, or registration
of authority from such agency including but not limited to watchmen,
security personnel, private investigators, and persons seeking permits
to purchase or possess a firearm; those agencies authorized by Section
43.543, RSMo., to submit and when submitting fingerprints to the central
repository; the Sentencing Advisory Commission created in Section
558.019, RSMo., for the purpose of studying sentencing practices in
accordance with Section 43.507, RSMo.; to qualified entities for the
purpose of screening providers defined in Section 43.540, RSMo.; the
Department of Revenue for driver license administration; the Division
of Workers' Compensation for the purposes of determining eligibility
for crime victims' compensation pursuant to Sections 595.010 to 595.075,
RSMo., Department of Health and Senior Services for the purpose of
licensing and regulating facilities and regulating in-home services
provider agencies and Federal agencies for purposes of criminal justice
administration, criminal justice employment, child, elderly, or disabled
care, and for such investigative purposes as authorized by law or
presidential executive order.
B.
These
records shall be made available only for the purposes and to the entities
listed in this Section. A criminal justice agency receiving a request
for criminal history information under its control may require positive
identification, to include fingerprints of the subject of the record
search, prior to releasing closed record information. Dissemination
of closed and open records from the Missouri criminal records repository
shall be in accordance with Section 43.509, RSMo. All records which
are closed records shall be removed from the records of the Police
Department and Municipal Court which are available to the public and
shall be kept in separate records which are to be held confidential
and, where possible, pages of the public record shall be retyped or
rewritten omitting those portions of the record which deal with the
defendant's case. If retyping or rewriting is not feasible because
of the permanent nature of the record books, such record entries shall
be blacked out and recopied in a confidential book.
Except as provided by this Section, any information acquired by the Police Department by way of a complaint or report of a crime made by telephone contact using the emergency number "911" shall be inaccessible to the general public. However, information consisting of the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding the initial report of the crime or incident shall be considered to be an incident report and subject to Section 140.130. Any closed records pursuant to this Section shall be available upon request by law enforcement agencies or the Division of Workers' Compensation or pursuant to a valid court order authorizing disclosure upon motion and good cause shown.
A.
The City
of Strafford Police Department, if it maintains a daily log or record
that lists suspected crimes, accidents or complaints, shall make available
the following information for inspection and copying by the public:
