Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice

Since 2010, agency Chief FOIA Officers have submitted to the Department of Justice an annual report detailing all of their agency’s efforts in implementing President Obama’s and Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Memoranda. These Chief FOIA Officer Reports have served as a valuable resource for agencies to describe the various initiatives undertaken to improve their administration of the FOIA.  With the completion of agencies’ 2015 Chief FOIA Officer Reports this past Sunshine Week, today OIP releases its summary and assessment of these reports and the progress made in implementing Attorney General Holder’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines.

Similar to last year, this year’s summary is broken down into five parts detailing the efforts of agencies in each of the five key areas from Attorney General Holder’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines:

• Applying the Presumption of Openness,
• Having Effective Systems for Responding to Requests,
• Making Information Available Proactively,
• Utilizing Technology, and
• Reducing Backlogs and Improving Timeliness.

Agencies and the public are encouraged to read both OIP’s summary and each agency’s individual report to learn more about the various efforts and steps taken over the last reporting year to improve the administration of the FOIA across the government.

In addition to the summary, OIP’s 2015 assessment once again provides a visual snapshot of agency efforts in several key areas of FOIA administration. The assessment includes all of the enhanced features introduced last year, including an expanded five-step scoring system, overall scores for each assessed section, and the inclusion of a detailed methodology. The full assessment is provided in both an open format and in PDF.

As announced in September 2014, a significant change for agency 2015 Chief FOIA Officer Reports is the separate reporting requirements for large and small volume FOIA agencies. This difference is incorporated into the 2015 assessment so that the milestones are tailored to the distinctive FOIA processes at different size agencies.

Finally, as a part of the 2015 summary and assessment, OIP has once again included guidance based on our review of the 2015 reports to assist agencies in making further improvements in the years ahead.

Based on our review of agency 2015 Chief FOIA Officer Reports, and as stated in OIP’s summary and assessment, “agencies have persevered through a difficult year of tight resources and ever-increasing demands to continue improving their administration of the FOIA through various initiatives connected to the five key areas of Attorney General Holder’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines.” At the same time, the level of success achieved by agencies in these efforts varies and there is still work to be done. OIP’s yearly assessment is intended to serve as a vehicle to both recognize agency successes and to identify areas where further improvement can be made.

You can read OIP’s 2015 Summary and Assessment of Agency Chief FOIA Officer Reports on our Reports page alongside previous summaries and assessments. OIP’s guidance for further improvement based on our review of agency 2015 Chief FOIA Officer Reports is available as a part of this year’s summary as well as on our Guidance page.

Source: United States Department of Justice

This week, the Privacy Office at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became the first federal agency to release a FOIA mobile application. You can read about the features of the new app in a post on DHS’ blog from their Chief Privacy Officer, Karen Neuman which is also reprinted below. OIP applauds the ingenuity of DHS as they implement innovative approaches to FOIA administration.

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Submit a FOIA request anytime, anywhere

By: Karen Neuman, Chief Privacy Officer

I am pleased to announce the release of a new mobile application to further simplify and enhance the process for submitting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The Department of Homeland Security is committed to transparency and accountability and the eFOIA app is the latest in a series of efforts that the DHS Privacy Office has taken to help modernize FOIA processes and improve the customer experience. In fact, this is the first FOIA mobile app in the entire Federal Government.

Using their mobile devices, requesters can now submit requests and check the status of existing requests anyplace, anytime.

Key features of the new eFOIA app will allow users to:

• Submit a FOIA request to any DHS Component
• Check the status of FOIA requests
• Access all of the content on the FOIA website, including the FOIA Library
• Receive updates, changes to events–such as stakeholder meetings/conference calls held by the Department, and recently published documents

DHS receives the largest number of FOIA requests of any federal agency, and produces the largest number of responses. We are continually working to improve our FOIA program by deploying advanced technology both for submitting and processing requests. These efforts include an improved online FOIA submission form, as well as a recently launched online check status capability.

As a result of these efforts, we are starting to see a steady reduction in the FOIA backlog. Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2015, DHS has reduced its FOIA backlog by 20 percent, from 103,480 to 82,324 as of July 1, 2015.

The DHS Privacy Office created the eFOIA app in partnership with the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer.

The free app is currently available for all Apple and Android devices.

Source: United States Department of Justice

President Obama and Attorney General Holder emphasized in their FOIA Memoranda the importance of agencies working with FOIA requesters “in a spirit of cooperation.”  A key element of that cooperation is establishing and maintaining good communication with requesters.  In 2010, before the first anniversary of the issuance of Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) issued guidance entitled The Importance of Good Communication with FOIA Requesters.  That guidance addressed several ways in which agencies could improve their communication practices. 

One of the topics addressed in OIP’s 2010 guidance was the use of  what is known as a “still-interested” inquiry, i.e., when an agency asks a requester whether he or she remains interested in the continued processing of their request.  OIP’s 2010 guidance advised agencies to be “mindful of the manner in which such inquiries are made,” and to afford requesters a reasonable amount of time to indicate their continued interest.

Today, OIP has released new guidance designed to further improve the way “still-interested” inquiries are utilized by agencies.  As noted in this new guidance:

“While use of ‘still-interested’ inquiries is an understandable way to help ensure that agency resources are appropriately spent processing requests for records where the requester remains interested in receiving the documents, it is equally important that requesters are not in any way disadvantaged by their use.”

The new guidance outlines a series of procedures that agencies should use when inquiring whether a requester remains interested in the continued processing of his or her request. 

These include:

• Reasonable Grounds to Make “Still-Interested” Inquiry in the First Instance – any “still-interested” inquiry should be limited to those situations where the agency has a reasonable basis to conclude that  the  requester’s interest in the records may have changed;
   
• Limiting the Number of Times “Still-Interested” Inquiries are Made – absent good cause, agencies should not inquire more than once whether a requester is still interested in the request;
   
• Using Requester’s Preferred Method of Communicating – email or telephone are often the most efficient ways to communicate with requesters and should be used as the default;
   
• Providing Requesters with a Reasonable Amount of Time and Method to Respond to “Still-Interested” Inquiries – the time period to allow requesters to respond to “still-interested” inquiries should be no shorter than thirty (30) working days and a simple response over the telephone, a reply to an email, or the checking of a box on a self-addressed form are all examples of easy methods that agencies can make available to requesters so that they can most readily respond to the inquiry; and
   
• Ensuring Requesters are Not Disadvantaged – in the event  a requester responds to a “still-interested” inquiry within a reasonable time after the deadline has passed, agencies should simply reopen the request and place it back into the agency’s queue in the same position it would have been had the “still-interested” inquiry not been sent.

Agencies should review their procedures on the use of “still-interested” inquiries to ensure they are in conformity with this new guidance.  OIP has prepared an implementation checklist to assist agencies in doing so. 

The full text of the guidance and its accompanying checklist, along with all other guidance issued by OIP, is available on our guidance page.   

Source: United States Department of Justice

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Thank you, U.S. Attorney [Joyce] Vance, for that kind introduction; for your lifelong commitment to public service; and for your exceptional work on behalf of the people of this community.  It’s a privilege to join so many law enforcement officers, student and faith leaders, and community officials as we take this opportunity to discuss the critical work underway here in Birmingham and in cities across the country.  I’d like to thank Chief of Police [A.C.] Roper for welcoming me to Birmingham and for his exemplary leadership of the Birmingham Police Department.  I’d also like to thank Priscilla Cooper, President of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, for hosting us this afternoon and for the wonderful tour of the institute.  And I’d like to thank everyone who helped make today’s event possible.

As you all know, our country has recently witnessed a series of deeply distressing events in cities experiencing a breakdown in trust between law enforcement officers and the citizens we serve.  Each new tragedy has weighed heavily on our hearts and put a spotlight on deeply-rooted issues we are still confronting as a nation.  That spotlight has in some ways helped us make progress.  Important conversations have begun within our communities and across our nation and groups that have felt marginalized are standing up and speaking out as never before.  These are important developments.  But in order to keep healing the rifts that divide us, we must continue to work together, to be constructive and assume good faith on all sides and to seek out new ideas and fresh approaches. 

Restoring essential trust where it has eroded is one of my top priorities as Attorney General and I want you all to know that the Department of Justice will do everything we can to help.  That’s why I am convening roundtable discussions like this one – beginning last month in Cincinnati and continuing in the coming weeks in East Haven, Connecticut; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Seattle, Washington; and Richmond, California.  Through conversations like this one, I want to highlight the innovative ways you all are strengthening police-community relations and to think about how the steps you’re taking can be translated into other jurisdictions.  I am hopeful that these vital conversations will help guide the transformative change we would all like to see nationwide. 

I’m here in Birmingham because this city’s law enforcement and elected leaders understand that progress requires us to work closely together – across issues, across backgrounds and across neighborhoods – to make sure the entire community thrives.  From the police department’s citizen’s police academy – which gives individuals from all walks of life a close-up view of police work and a deeper appreciation for its challenges – to the city’s demonstrated interest in using new technology to promote accountability and trust – Birmingham’s leaders have shown unwavering dedication to community-oriented policies that advance public safety, reduce crime and foster mutual trust and respect.  I’m also here in Birmingham because this community understands the need for commitment, engagement and ongoing communication with police and government on these important issues.  You have taken advantage of your unique history and used it to come together on this and so many other important issues.

The Department of Justice is committed to supporting you and your work at every step, which is why I am pleased that Birmingham is one of six pilot sites for the national initiative for building community trust and justice.  The initiative is a long-term effort to foster lasting ties and enduring trust between law enforcement officials and the citizens they serve.  By focusing on three core concepts – advancing procedural justice, reducing implicit bias and supporting reconciliation – the initiative is intended to strengthen community policing, ensure that people are treated fairly and put longstanding tensions and misconceptions finally to rest.  In Birmingham and our other pilot sites, we will work with local leaders to develop an overall plan for progress, as well as specific strategies tailored to each city’s needs.  We will lend guidance to help pilot sites implement data-driven methods to evaluate their success.  And we will use the results in each pilot city to identify and define best practices that will steer efforts nationwide for years to come.

This is vitally important work.  You know from your own experience that when police and residents share strong, reliable and resilient relationships, residents are more likely to help with investigations and police will more often hear from victims and witnesses of crime.  And when officers receive the tools, training and support they need, they are better able to serve their neighbors and constituents safely and effectively.  With the bold steps you are taking in Birmingham to realize those goals, you have put yourselves at the leading edge of what it will take to keep the American people safe in the 21^st century.

I want you to know that the Department of Justice – and the entire Obama Administration – will stay engaged on these issues and stand alongside you not just now, but for the long term.  We know how much work is ahead of us.  We understand we face difficult challenges.  I have no illusions that these issues will be solved overnight. But from what I have seen and heard in my visit today, I am confident that this city will provide a shining example of what we can achieve when dedicated public servants, passionate community members and  devoted law enforcement officers come together to create the stronger, safer, more united community that all Americans deserve.  I look forward to working with you in the days and months ahead and I want to thank you all, once again, for your partnership, your leadership and your justly renowned hospitality.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

As a part of the Second Open Government National Action Plan’s commitment to modernizing FOIA, OIP launched a new series of workshops focused on agency best practices in FOIA administration.  Next week OIP is hosting the second event in this Best Practices Workshop series on the topic of proactive disclosures and making posted information more useful for the public.  We are pleased to open this event to interested members of the public as well agency personnel.  

Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines encourage agencies to “readily and systematically post information online in advance of any public request.”  While increasing their proactive disclosures, agencies are also finding new and creative ways of making the information they post online easier to find and more useful to the public.  At this event, a panel of representatives from the Office of Science & Technology Policy, OIP, the Department of State, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will share their success stories and strategies on improving their proactive disclosures. 

As agencies continue to make progress in this area, it is important that they interact with the public in order to learn their needs and better understand how they access government information online.  To further that exchange, OIP is opening this event in the Best Practices Workshop series to the public. The details for next week’s event are:

The first event in this series focused on how agencies can reduce backlogs of FOIA requests and improve timeliness, and the panel of agency representatives identified a number of common approaches that they had each taken to achieve success in this important area.  As this series continues, we hope that FOIA professionals continue to learn from one another and leverage the successes of others in their own organizations for the overall benefit of FOIA administration across the government.

If you are interested in attending next week’s event, you can register by e-mailing your name and phone number to OIP’s Training Officer at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “July Best Practices Workshop.”  As space for this meeting is limited, registration is required to attend.  If you have any questions regarding this event or the Best Practices series, please contact OIP’s Training Officer at (202) 514-3642.