Pittsburg County sheriff's office adopts in-person records pickup policy

The Pittsburg County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 27 adopted a change to the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office policies that restricts release of responsive Open Records request documents to in-person pickup by the requestor.

Sheriff Frankie McClendon told the board that the District Attorney has approved the addition to the policies and procedures. The adopted Chapter 20 Section 7 requires written Open Records requests, review and redaction as required by law, and that released records be picked up in person at a designated county location during business hours. The policy also requires valid identification at pickup, permits the sheriff or records officer to require a signed receipt for delivered records, and states that fees for copying or preparation must be paid before release. The policy allows the sheriff or the records officer to authorize alternate release methods (for example, to comply with a court order or to provide records to another law enforcement agency) but requires documentation of any exception.

Commissioner Selman moved to verbally approve the policies and procedures after McClendon noted DA approval; Rogers seconded and the board recorded a unanimous vote.

The policy text in the meeting packet cites the Oklahoma Open Records Act (51 O.S. § 24A.1 et seq.) as authority and sets procedures for submission, review, redaction, notification and retention of records related to Open Records requests. The sheriff's office will hold records for pickup for up to 30 days and may close unclaimed requests after that period.

What happens next: the sheriff's office records officer will implement the pickup process and publish the policy as approved by the board.