City of Seattle Seattle Police Department

Seattle Police Department, 610 Fifth Avenue, PO Box 34986, Seattle, WA 98124-4986 An equal employment opportunity, affirmative action employer. Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request. Call (206) 233-7203 at least two weeks in advance.

11-­‐16-­‐15  

To  Block  Watch  Captains    

The  City  has  received  a  request  under  the  Washington  Public  Records  Act,  RCW  Chapter  42.56  (PRA),  for  public  records  held  by  SPD  including  the  names,  addresses,  home  phone  numbers,  fax  numbers,  email  addresses,  for  the  persons  who  helped  organize  a  Night  Out  party  on  their  block  in  August  of  2014,  those  who  have  signed  up  for  this  year’s  program,  and  the  3,800  currently  or  formerly  registered  with  SPD  as  a  Block  Watch  Captain  or  Contact.    As  we  have  these  records,  we  are  legally  obligated  to  disclose  some  of  them  as  required  by  the  Public  Records  Act.    When  we  get  a  Public  Records  Request,  the  City  may  withhold  only  that  part  of  the  public  record  to  which  an  exemption  applies  and  must  disclose  the  rest.    In  this  case  the  applicable  exemption  is  RCW  42.56.250(3),  which  exempts  disclosure  of  the  residential  addresses,  telephone  numbers,  personal  electronic  mail  addresses,  social  security  numbers,  and  emergency  contact  information  for  those  members  of  Block  Watch  who  may  be  contained  in  the  above  referenced  records.    This  exemption  does  not  exempt  the  names  of  volunteers,  such  as  Block  Watch  Captains.    The  City  must,  therefore  disclose  your  name  to  the  requestor,  but  the  remaining  contact  information,  such  as  email  address,  residential  address,  and  phone  number,  are  not  being  released.      The  Public  Records  Act  states  that  it  shall  not  be  construed  as  giving  authority  to  anyone  to  give,  sell  or  provide  access  to  lists  of  individuals  requested  for  commercial  purposes,  as  such  the  requestor  has  been  required  to  sign  a  declaration  under  penalty  of  perjury  stating  that  he  will  not  use  the  list  of  names  provided  in  response  to  the  request  for  commercial  purposes.    I  sincerely  regret  any  concern  this  disclosure  may  cause  you,  but  we  must  comply  with  the  law.      We  are  reviewing  our  policies  and  procedures  regarding  the  information  we  collect  to  try  to  prevent  this  type  of  disclosure  from  happening  again.    For  more  information  please  see  the  City’s  Privacy  Program:  http://www.seattle.gov/information-­‐technology/privacy-­‐program    

Sincerely,   Asst/Chief  Steve  Wilske   Patrol  Bureau  Commander