Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;Gordon Slone,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an Open Records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that Northpoint Training Center ("NTC") properly relied on KRS 197.025(1) in denying inmate Christian Walker's Open Records request, received on January 10, 2017, for prison video footage. Mr. Walker stated that he "was involved in a restraint on 12-8-16 at 9:00 a.m. in the library," and that he "would like to get a copy of the footage from about 5 min[ute]s before the restraint till we got to RHU." For the reasons stated below, we find no violation of the Open Records Act in NTC's refusal to provide the requested video footage.
On January 10, 2017, Offender Information Specialist Melissa Vaught provided Mr. Walker a letter stating that the record he had requested had been "identified as a security threat" and that his request for the record was therefore denied. Ms. Vaught cited KRS 197.025(1), 1 as incorporated into the Open Records Act via KRS 61.878(1)(l), 2 as the basis for the denial. Mr. Walker initiated an appeal by letter dated January 17, 2017, stating that he needed to "view all evidence in order to prepare" for a motion to circuit court. Oran S. McFarlan, III, attorney for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, responded on behalf of NTC. Mr. McFarlan's letter of January 25, 2017, explained that NTC had correctly stated the exemption justifying the denial of release of the security cameral footage. He cited a line of Open Records decisions that have upheld denial of prison security camera footage based on the security exemption of KRS 197.025(1) as incorporated into the Open Records Act through KRS 61.878(1)(l). Mr. McFarlan explained why the video footage, if released, would constitute a threat under KRS 197.125(1):
Security camera footage taken at the prisons contains information that may directly affect the security of the institution, including the areas of observation and blind spots for the cameras, the areas where the camera is capable of focusing, methods or practices used to obtain the video, etc. It is impossible for NTC to redact the video and eliminate these security concerns.
In November 2011, this office, in a separate factual context, analyzed the recurring issue of requests for prison security footage and concluded that, in accordance with past decisions, the correctional facility properly exercised its discretion in denying an inmate request for a surveillance video because disclosure "would pose a security threat to other inmates and [facility] staff." 11-ORD-184. KRS 197.025(1) reflects a legislative commitment to "prohibiting inmate access to otherwise nonexempt public records where disclosure of those records is deemed to constitute a threat to security." 96-ORD-209 (cited in 11-ORD-184). It is the commissioner, or his designee, whose determination in this regard is controlling. Therefore, we find no violation of the Open Records Act.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General must be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 197.025(1) provides: "KRS 61.884 and 61.878 to the contrary notwithstanding, no person, including any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, shall have access to any records if the disclosure is deemed by the commissioner of the department or his designee to constitute a threat to the security of the inmate, any other inmate, correctional staff, the institution, or any other person."
2 KRS 61.878(1)(l) allows public agencies to exempt from production: "Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly."