Public officials, inside and outside Connecticut, frequently cite an increase in the number of public records requests as the cause for backlogs and long response times.
There is a marked increase in the number of requests being filed across jurisdictions (though whether this is as big a problem as public officials sometimes claim is up for debate). And some of those requests are voluminous and poorly worded.
That’s not necessarily the fault of requesters, who may not be familiar with best practices for filing requests (If you need help getting started with a request, the National Freedom of Information Center is a great resource. They have recommended language for filing requests in all 50 states).
Public information officers, or other public officials charged with overseeing requests, have a duty to help facilitate requests when they’re unclear. Sometimes, they fail to do so. And sometimes, those failures include providing information or answering questions that could cut down on the number of requests that need to be filed.
Case in point: I recently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Hartford Police Department seeking any current contract they have with Flock Safety, a company that provides automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras and contracts with a number of police departments around the state.
Flock also offers other services, including autonomous drones intended serve as first responders to 9-1-1 calls. In recent reporting on a bid by Bridgeport to deploy the technology (which has since been shot down), CT Insider quoted Flock employee Joe Rosenberg claiming the company has contracts for the drone service with Hartford and Southington.
Inside Investigator’s request to Southington Police Department for its current contract with Flock is still outstanding, but Hartford Police Department officials informed me on January 28, a week after I filed a request for any contract Hartford PD has with Flock, that they don’t have any responsive documents.
Hartford does have ALPR cameras, but through Massachusetts-based Axis Communications, not Flock.
One of two things seemed likely to be true: either Rosenberg was mistaken about Flock having a contract with Hartford, or that contract is with a different city department.
In his response to my FOIA request, Sergeant Gary Benway, an employee in the department’s FOI Unit, wrote, “Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please reply to this email.” Which I did, because clearing that up without having to file additional FOIA requests seemed like the easiest and quickest way to clear up the confusion.
But over a week later, I still haven’t received a response. It is, of course, possible that the police department isn’t aware of the answer to this question (though it seems unlikely they wouldn’t be aware of a service that integrates with 9-1-1). But if that’s the case, they could have said so.
Now, because I couldn’t clear up the answer via email, I have to turn back to FOIA. And because Hartford, like many municipalities, requires requests for different departments to be filed separately, I need to file multiple requests.
This is where we get to an area of FOIA that’s never great: guesswork.
If there’s another Hartford department that does have a contract with Flock, I have to make an educated guess about which department that’s likely to be. And to be safe, that means filing requests with several different departments.
Because of Rosenberg’s statement, I also want to see, even if Flock doesn’t currently have a contract with Hartford, whether there have been discussions about entering one. And that’s additional FOIA requests, not only to Hartford PD, but to other departments, such as the city council, who might weigh in.
So, in total, we’re talking about at least a half a dozen FOIA requests I’ll be filing with various city departments that likely wouldn’t be needed if Hartford PD had answered my fairly simple question.
This is where breakdowns in communication with communications or public information officials can be very frustrating, especially against a background where filing many requests is frowned on (although that’s an occupational hazard for journalists).
If you ask most people who utilize FOIA frequently, they’ll tell you that public records requests should rarely be a first step in trying to obtain information. First, you should research what information is already available via tools like public data portals or reporting. Next, you should contact the department that maintains the information you’re seeking and see if they can answer questions or provide you with information outside of FOIA.
I generally agree with that advice, but I also don’t think it’s best practice when dealing with many Connecticut public agencies. Too often, when trying to go down this route of avoiding FOIA, my questions are either ignored, turned into FOIA requests independently, or I’m told questions won’t be answered outside a FOIA request. The only practical effect this has is delaying when I file a request. And, because there is no effective limit on how long agencies have to respond to requests in Connecticut, outside of filing an appeal with the Freedom of Information Commission, days or weeks spent waiting for answers from public officials that aren’t coming can be quite costly (especially when you’re after information to source a story in the public interest).
Which is what’s happened here: giving Hartford PD a reasonable time frame to answer my question has only resulted in delaying filing requests and starting the process that hopefully answers my question.
Sunshine Week 2026 is March 15 to March 21. We’ll have FOIA stories and tips to help you better use the state’s public records law. Have questions of topics you’d like to see addressed? Email katherine@insideinvestigator.org.
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