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Stories based on Public Records Requests

Published: January 27, 2005
Last Updated: January 27, 2005

If you are interested in doing one or more special reports that rely on public records access, we recommend you check the Investigative Reporters and Editors Web site for synopses of reporters' work in a variety of subject areas, with links to their stories. There are also useful beat books with how-to information, such as the "Covering Pollution" handbook prepared in conjunction with the Society of Environmental Reporters.

We also recommend that you make a special effort to explain to readers the importance of public records—and the difficulty of obtaining them when that is the case—in reporting the story you are presenting. Each such report makes a statement for transparency, and it has greater resonance when readers are engaged with the substance of the report.

Here are some ideas, loosely grouped by topic:

The Long Arm of Uncle Sam

Gun Sales Records

Responding to the gun lobby, Congress in 2003 passed an appropriations bill that prohibits the spending of federal funds to track the source of firearms used in crimes. The change forces the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to more quickly purge information obtained in background checks of buyers, and ATF has since turned down FOIA requests for those gun records. But law enforcement agencies still have access, and it still should be possible for reporters in any community to obtain that information on individual local crimes where guns are confiscated and to develop their own, ongoing records of gun dealing.

Confidential Infrastructure Information

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 includes a provision that allows owners of critical infrastructure to voluntarily supply information about vulnerabilities to the Department of Homeland Security in exchange for protection from public disclosure of the shared information through FOIA, and from civil lawsuits based on the shared information.

The Department of Homeland Security won't identify the companies that have filed Confidential Infrastructure Information. But it might be interesting to ask some of the likely suspects around town how they have dealt with the information sharing requests from DHS, and how they are separating their "safety" responsibilities to the community from the "security" concerns that potential terrorist threats create.

Sensitive Security Information

The Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Transportation are empowered to obtain information about security involving any form of transportation from local, regional and state governments, and to block release of that information from the public by designating it as Sensitive Security Information and requiring officials to sign non-disclosure agreements. That’s why airport screeners won’t talk about the procedures they follow, and why you may not be able to find out if oil-storage tanks have met safety test requirements.

A few airport directors have embraced the SSI regulations as a way to close off vast amounts of information. Some local records checking might produce some surprising "No" responses—and a few good stories.

Chemical Hazards

What dangerous chemicals stored in your area? How do the hazards affect residents? If any local activists have or are trying to find out, tell their story. If not, ask the local and agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or other federal agencies probably won't tell you, but the explanations should be informative. But ask soon. They don't have to even respond to FOIA requests for 20 days.

Similarly, check on information about local drinking water and contamination of local wells. The Department of Defense, among others, has been known to withhold maps showing contaminated areas.

Workplace Injuries

The New York Times won a lawsuit in mid-2004 forcing The Occupational Safety and Health Administration to disclose the names of the 13,000 U.S. companies with workplace injury rates above the norm, and what those rates were. That means similar information for your area or state may not be available through a FOIA request.

Education

Quality of Schools

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that a third of Florida's teachers had failed the test for a teaching certification test at least once. Their analysis also showed that schools in poor neighborhoods and those with a high number of minority students were assigned a higher percentage of teachers who failed the test and those who scored lower on the test. The paper also wrote about the state's reluctance to release public information.

Social Promotions

Using state education statistics, the Plain Dealer reported that Cleveland-area schools promoted 95 percent of fourth and sixth graders, even though more than 50 percent failed state mandated reading or math exams. The promotion gap was greatest among black and Hispanic students.

Suspicious Test Scores

Two Dallas Morning News reporters used regression analysis on state test data to suggest that the cheating alleged at one school might be far more widespread. The statistical comparison showed a number of suspicious improvements, including one school where fourth graders had trouble just adding and subtracting but nearly all the fifth graders got perfect scores on the math portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Another analysis challenged one school's reading scores for third-graders—the highest in the state—showing that these weren't consistent with scores at higher grade levels, which were consistently below the state average. The paper's coverage prompted state officials to take over the district's operation.

Comparing School Expenses

Newsday obtained computer records of spending for Long Island's 125 school districts and showed how one district spent far more, but much less wisely, than other similar-sized districts. For instance, the district spent an average of $63,000 a year on bottled water—more than 22 times the combined annual average of all the other districts analyzed.

Comparing Graduate Success

The Des Moines Register looked at the academic performance of the state's high school graduates who went on to one of the state’s three public universities. It found that about 5 percent took remedial math courses covering material they should have learned in high school.

Violence in the Schools

KIRO-TV in Seattle used records kept by schools to show that most violent incidents were not reported to police. It reported that there were 468 students disciplined for fights, 180 assaults and 123 violent threats, but, contrary to district policy, police were called just 13 times for fights, 95 times for assaults and 29 times for threatening behavior.

Faculty Travel

When local schools began cutting back on student trips to save money, The San Antonio Express-News took a look at official travel and found that members of the board and top administrators had spend $72,800 in recent years attending conventions.

Charter Schools

The East Valley Tribune in Phoenix requested salary information on principals at the state’s 81 charter schools. Two thirds either said "no" or failed to respond. The state considers charter schools as public, and most receive state funding.

The Environment

Enforcement of Air Pollution Standards

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram discovered that the Environmental Protection Agency "quietly allowed oil refineries nationwide to miss court-mandated deadlines to reduce air emissions, prolonging the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people to dangerous pollutants." The article was based on an analysis of progress reports, obtained through a FOIA request, that had been submitted by refineries in settling disputes.

Toxic Chemical Releases

The Louisville Courier-Journal looked at risk-management plans submitted to the EPA and discovered that 33 companies that said their worst-case scenarios could expose people to harmful concentrations of chemical vapors in the six area counties. Another story examined public access to such data, and noted that security fears often won out over accountability. The Courier Journal also checked local sewer district enforcement records and e-mails and found that the agency was slow to act in enforcement cases and reluctant to issue fines when it did find violations. The paper looked at 860 cases; only 15 resulted in fines.

A Cheesy Enforcement Record

The Sacramento Bee examined state records showing that a Merced County cheese company had saved millions in waste treatment equipment costs by dumping polluted materials onto land it had leased. Although a local water board had recorded more than 4,000 violations over a four-year period, the cheese factory had never been fined and no injunction had ever been sought.

An Auto Inspection System that Flunked

If you've ever had to go through the auto inspection routine, you’ll appreciate the Bergen Record story on the 25 percent failure rate of New Jersey emission testing equipment. The report was based on state audits the paper got in a records search.

Some Very Big Swimming Pools

The Salt Lake Tribune used records from the city's Public Utilities Department to compile a list of the town's top water users—and abusers. It found one local estate owner used more than seven million gallons of water a year. And former NBA star Karl Malone's home used more than 3.3 million gallons.

And a Very, Very Dirty River

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency records showed municipal utilities were dumping billions of gallons of sewage into the Cuyahoga River every year, with more than 800 million gallons of that only partially treated, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

Some Very Polluted Air and a Sick Neighborhood

The Indianapolis Star used both environmental records on air pollution and health statistics to show the unexpected price residents of a heavily industrial neighborhood may be paying. About 75 percent of the air pollution emitted in the area came from industries with two miles of a low-income neighborhood with a high incidence of lung cancer and respiratory problems.

Public Safety

Bad Highways and Byways

The Wichita Eagle used a state database of highway deaths to point out that the Kansas portion of U.S. 50 is the state's deadliest road. Only Interstate 70, with far more traffic, matched it.

No Silver Bullets Here

The Miami Herald used public records to trace the history of every bullet fired by Miami police officers. It showed a handful of officers were responsible for most of the shooting incidents, and that some had killed innocent bystanders. The report led to an overhaul of police-training procedures.

No Fire, Just Joyriding with a Friend

The Sacramento Bee sought city records concerning the suspension of firefighters for misdeeds such as drinking on duty, using fire engines as personal transport for trips to pick-up bars and an adult book store (to get a porn star's signature), and joy-riding with girlfriends in official vehicles.

What the Well-Paid Police Officer Does

The Contra Costa Times took the city to court to get records listing all employees making more than $100,000 per year. Turned out 34 percent of the city's police force and firefighters were on the list because of overtime pay.

Problems in the Crime Lab

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer checked the records of the state's crime lab and learned that contaminated testing and other mistakes continue. At least 23 tests over a three-year period were erroneous.

Health and Welfare

Nursing Home Care On the Sick List

The Washington Post said Virginia records showed worsening care at assisted living facilities, and a system of oversight that often failed to identify or correct problems. The paper looked at more than 20 years of data compiled by state's Department of Social Services but not previously released.