Why This Measure Matters

Timely access to public records is essential to transparent government and public trust. Tracking the average time to process public records requests helps the City evaluate its ability to respond efficiently and identify operational challenges over time.

What’s the Story?

In 2024 the City saw a significant increase in records request processing times to an average 10 days. This increase is largely driven by the City's implementation of body-worn cameras in late 2023. While more than half of police records requests are still completed within one day, body-worn camera footage adds substantial volume and complexity, requiring additional review and redaction that has increased overall processing times. To address these challenges and improve efficiency, the Police Department introduced a simplified fee structure in 2024 and will launch an online payment system for records requests in early 2026.

Target

The current target is set at a maximum 10 days for processing; however, the goal is to maintain or reduce processing times to ensure timely and equitable access to public records. 

Reporting frequency