J. Terry Norris is executive vice president of Georgia Sheriff's Association. In Georgia, sheriff's offices have complied with open records laws only 50 percent of the time, according to a statewide survey, a statistic that Attorney General Thurbert Baker called disappointing. The Albany Herald Officers don't accept many excuses when writing a ticket, but they certainly have plenty of excuses themselves for breaking the law when it comes to providing public information. It's very kind of funny,'' a Worth County Sheriff's deputy, who refused to identify himself, said before refusing to release the report without the sheriff there.
State law mandates that law enforcement agencies release incident reports to anyone who asks.
In a statewide survey, only 50 percent of sheriff's offices and 63 percent of police departments complied with the Open Records Act. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker called the survey results surprising and disappointing. It is an open record under state law and should be released. More than just the media can be affected when officers refuse to release incident reports. Neighborhood associations sometimes try to get access to reports to determine if there's a pattern of crime in their neighborhood.