One of the first rules of filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests is don’t use them as a fishing expedition
I, like many FOIA experts, routinely emphasize this point when dishing out advice on filing FOIAs. In short: FOIA requests are too time-consuming and expensive to file on a whim. Plus, if you don’t do your research beforehand, you may wait a long time to be told information you’re looking for is exempt, doesn’t exist, or can be obtained without FOIA requests. That’s why it’s best to do your research beforehand: look at what information agencies collect, what’s publicly posted, and reach out to public officials if you have questions.
But here’s my dirty little secret: I rarely follow this advice myself.
In Connecticut, with no effective time limit on how long agencies have to respond to and fulfill requests, and with some state agencies who are as reticent to answer media questions as to turn over public records, it is easier to just file a FOIA request than wait for a media request to be ignored. Depending on the agency, your questions might be turned into a FOIA anyway.
Back in September 2024, I emailed the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to inquire about whether they were on track to meet an October 1 start date for a requirement from a 2024 law that guidelines for body-worn cameras include training for when body-worn cameras can not be paused. I also asked for a copy of the new guidelines, if they were available.
I never got a response. What I did get was a notice that my media request had been turned into a FOIA request.
As is typical with DESPP requests, I waited for months without hearing any updates on the request. On February 20, I finally received responsive documents. They included a copy of the new guidelines and a copy of a public notice announcing the changes.
In addition to not receiving communication from DESPP before they created a FOIA request I didn’t ask for (I can understand if an agency can’t answer a question in the moment and wants to turn it into a FOIA request so they don’t lose track of it, but there should be some discussion with me before that happens), they had publicly posted two of the three documents they provided nearly a month prior, on January 28.
There is absolutely no excuse for that nearly month-long delay. Even if those guidelines weren’t generally public information, which they are, the second they were posted online, they should have been turned over.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the version of the guidelines DESPP sent me was finalized on January 6. Prior to that, POST issued a model policy that was revised on October 1, 2024. While not as broad as the finalized changes posted in January, the revisions address the changes required by the 2024 law. That policy is directly responsive to the question I asked way back in September 2024. DESPP could have waited a few days to respond to my question and provide it. They also could have turned it over through FOIA shortly after it was posted.
Instead, they waited five months after they turned my media request into a FOIA request and five months after it was publicly posted on POST’s website to send me a copy of it along with the finalized versions of the policy that had been publicly posted nearly a month earlier.
I know I’m not the only journalist to have had this happen; I’ve directly heard this is something DESPP officials do to other journalists working in the state. And it’s not the first time I’ve had a state agency point to FOIA instead of answering questions.
Given how long DESPP takes to process requests (I have four outstanding requests older than this one with the agency), it’s hard to conclude this is anything other than a calculated move by agency officials to avoid transparency.
If you’re a journalist trying to follow best practices and get questions answered so you can report stories in the public interest, there’s really no way to win. Waits for even simple FOIA requests like police reports (which you have to pay for before DESPP will even begin to process your request) stretch from months into years. My oldest request is currently nine months old. And requests for simple comments can be turned into FOIA requests that DESPP can then sit on.
This is a problem resulting from FOIA in Connecticut not having a specific timeframe in which public agencies are required to respond to requests. Instead, the law requires agencies to respond to requests “promptly.” But “promptly” effectively means however long a agency officials feel like because the only way to force them to turn over records is to file a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission. That by itself is not a simple or a quick process. And it has its own limitations.
So long as public agencies know this, they can basically do whatever they want when it comes to filling FOIA requests and responding to questions. And as long as they do, I find it increasingly difficult to tell members of the public in good faith to reach out with questions before filing FOIAs.
Until this is fixed, if you care about transparency and you’re on the fence about whether to file a FOIA request, my advice is: keep fishing.
Have your own frustrations about obtaining information through FOIA? Email katherine@insideinvestigator.org.
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