U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Fact Sheet www.cops.usdoj.gov

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, 

is a statute enacted by Congress to provide the public the 

right to request access to certain federal agency records 

or information. Under FOIA, all agency records may be 

disclosed unless the records are exempt or excluded from 

disclosure as explained below.

There are nine statutory FOIA exemptions that permit 

the agency to withhold certain documents, or information 

contained in documents, from disclosure. Two disclosure 

exemptions are most frequently used for grants and 

related records:

1. Exemption 5 protects inter-agency or intra-agency 

communications that reflect deliberative process or 

privileged information.

2. Exemption 6 protects the personal privacy of a third party.

Any person can make a request for agency records under 

FOIA. The request must be in writing and can be submitted 

in one of three ways:

1. E-mail: cops.foia@usdoj.gov 

2. Fax: 202-514-3456

3. Mail: U.S. Department of Justice 

 Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Attn: Legal Division 

 145 N Street NE 

 Washington, DC 20530

Typically, it takes two to three weeks for the COPS Office 

to respond to a FOIA request, depending on the volume of 

requested records.

There is no required format to make a written request. 

You must, however, provide a reasonable description of the 

record(s) that you are requesting.

Most COPS Office records are provided at no charge. 

However, U.S. Department of Justice regulations state 

that by submitting a FOIA request, you agree to incur a 

reproduction and/or search fee up to $25. Certain fees 

for the search, review, and duplication of records may 

apply depending on the type of requester and volume 

of the request.

To help expedite a large request, please advise us how much 

over the $25 FOIA processing fee you are willing to pay. If 

it is necessary to exceed the amount you specify to process 

the request, we will contact you to discuss the anticipated 

cost. If fees are required, all fees will be collected before the 

records are released.

Please access our website at www.cops.usdoj.gov. Many 

records are readily available online, eliminating the need for 

a FOIA request.

Congressional and media inquiries, please contact the 

Communications Division at 202-514-9079.
2

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Frequently Asked FOIA Questions

1. How can I obtain a list of all COPS Office grants awarded in 

my city or state?

Go to the COPS Office homepage at www.cops.usdoj.gov. At 

the bottom of the page, click the “FOIA” topic heading. Lists 

of COPS Office grants by year and then state are accessible 

under the “Frequently Requested Records” section.

2. Can I request a copy of a COPS Office grantee’s 

grant-related records?

Yes. Your request should identify the department or city 

name, the name of the specific grant program, and the grant 

records requested (i.e., application, award document, budget, 

and progress reports).

Please be advised that some requested records or information 

within records may be withheld under the FOIA exemptions 

previously mentioned. If this is the case, we will explain the 

reasons for withholding documents in our response to you.

3. Can I obtain a “customized” computer listing of COPS Office 

grants awarded?

Yes, we can create a database query to meet specific criteria 

that you provide. Various formatting options are available, 

and your specific requirements should be noted in your 

request. The most common fields requested from the COPS 

Office database include the following:

•	 Agency name

•	 Full address

•	 Estimated award amount

•	 Award type

•	 Project start date

Large queries can be quite expensive, so if possible, limit 

your request to only one state or one specific grant program. 

To help expedite your request, please state whether you are 

willing to pay processing fees, and if so, the amount you 

are willing to pay. If it is necessary for us to exceed your 

specified amount to complete your request, we will contact 

you. You must pay the fee before we will release the data.

Customized computer listings may take as long as three to 

four weeks to process. We will make a reasonable effort to 

search for records in electronic form, but we can deny a 

request if it would cause significant interference with the 

operation of the agency’s automated information system.

4. How do I obtain a copy of an inspector general audit report 

of a COPS Office grantee?

To request a copy of an Office of the Inspector General 

(OIG) audit report, please contact the OIG FOIA Office 

at 202-616-0646. The COPS FOIA officer does not release 

OIG documents.

5. If I submit a FOIA request, could my name ever be released 

as the requester?

If a party submits a FOIA request asking for the identity of a 

requester, that information will be released. Making a FOIA 

request is not a confidential matter.

6. How can I find out the grant award balance due to a 

specific COPS Office grantee, the amount of grant funding 

a grantee has already drawn down, or the dates that the 

grantee drew down funds?

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) maintains the actual 

amount of funds disbursed and the date of disbursement. To 

obtain drawdown information, you should submit a request 

to FOIAOJP@usdoj.gov. You should provide the complete 

name of the grantee and the name of the grant program. The 

phone number for the OJP FOIA officer is 202-307-0790.

Contact the COPS Office

If you have additional questions concerning COPS 

Office FOIA policy and procedures, please call the 

COPS Office Legal Division at 202-514-3750 or visit 

the COPS Office website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Revised December 2015