Looks like "police secrecy" (what exactly is that?) is going to remain the status quo.
http://connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=344843&paper=59&cat=104
Police Documents Remain Secret
Panel rejects bill that would have forced people to go to court to get documents available elsewhere.
By Michael Lee Pope
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Virginia has some of the most restrictive laws in the country shielding garden-variety police documents — basic incident reports — from public view. And that’s not about to change anytime soon.
This week, the Criminal Investigative Records Subcommittee of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council killed a bill originally introduced by state Sen. John Edwards (D-21) of Roanoke. As originally drafted, Edwards’ bill would have allowed access in cases that are no longer under investigation. During a subcommittee meeting in August, he offered a compromise that would have forced people wanting public documents to go before a judge to get them. Then subcommittee member Del. Morgan Griffith (R-8) suggested that the draft under consideration place the burden on the petitioner rather than the government.
"By saying that the public interest is automatically on the side of withholding is kind of putting a thumb on the scale," said Craig Merritt, a lobbyist representing the Virginia Press Association, during Monday’s subcommittee hearing. "We are not sure this is consistent with the purpose and the policy of the Freedom of Information Act."
Public-safety officials from across the commonwealth have opposed increasing transparency of police documents, whether a court hearing is required or not. And because the Virginia Press Association had concerns about how the bill had evolved since Edwards initially introduced it, the effort was tabled. Subcommittee member E.M. Miller said there was no reason to move forward with an effort that nobody liked anyway.
"Oh, I’m definitely a FOIA advocate," said Miller after the hearing. "This is a little different situation, where you are dealing with police investigation records. I’m a little more, I guess, cautious when it comes to opening up those kinds of records."
AFTER THE SUBCOMMITTEE adjourned, Virginia Press Association Executive Director Ginger Stanley said she didn’t consider the vote a total loss. As it was written, she said, the bill was a flawed vehicle for increasing transparency of government. And the vote will now give her time to sit down with stakeholders, including police, prosecutors and sheriffs, to craft a bill that everybody can get behind. She expects to spend the next year crafting a compromise that would be acceptable to all involved in advance of the 2012 General Assembly session.
Meanwhile, Stanley praised a related effort of the subcommittee to standardize information that is released by police departments throughout Virginia. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act requires that certain kinds of criminal information be released, including a general description of incident as well as the date, location and identity of the investigating officer. Yet Stanley said this information isn’t always consistently released, especially in Fairfax County, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
"We’ve had incidents where the basic information is not being released, and it’s not being released in a timely manner," said Stanley. "Many times, you’re having to go to court to get this information, so I think this will help."
If approved by the Freedom of Information Advisory Council, the proposed bill to standardize basic information would be considered in the 2011 session of the General Assembly.