TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 5805 N LAMAR BLVD  BOX 4087  AUSTIN, TEXAS 78773-0001 512/424-2000 www.dps.texas.gov STEVEN C. McCRAW DIRECTOR DAVID G. BAKER ROBERT J. BODISCH, SR. DEPUTY DIRECTORS COMMISSION A. CYNTHIA LEON, CHAIR MANNY FLORES FAITH JOHNSON STEVEN P. MACH RANDY WATSON RECEIPT FOR HAND DELIVERY Date: August 3, 2016 To: Office of the Attorney General Open Records Section From: Nick Lealos Office of General Counsel Texas Department of Public Safety RE: Public Information Request for Any accounting of “Blue Alerts” sent to Texas law enforcement agencies since August 18, 2008, and any correspondence with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015. (PIR # 16-4351) Acknowledgement of Delivery: Date and Time of Delivery: EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COURTESY  SERVICE  PROTECTION TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 5805 N LAMAR BLVD  BOX 4087  AUSTIN, TEXAS 78773-0001 512/424-2000 www.dps.texas.gov STEVEN C. McCRAW DIRECTOR DAVID G. BAKER ROBERT J. BODISCH, SR. DEPUTY DIRECTORS COMMISSION A. CYNTHIA LEON, CHAIR MANNY FLORES FAITH JOHNSON STEVEN P. MACH RANDY WATSON August 3, 2016 Via Hand Delivery Office of the Attorney General Open Records Division 209 West 14th Street, 6th Floor Austin, Texas 78701 RE: Public Information Request for Any accounting of “Blue Alerts” sent to Texas law enforcement agencies since August 18, 2008, and any correspondence with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015. (PIR # 164351) DATE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RECEIVED: DATE REQUEST FOR RULING SUBMITTED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL: 7/21/2016 8/3/2016 Dear Open Records Division: The Department of Public Safety received the above-referenced request for information from Gregory Korte on July 21, 2016. We believe some or all of the requested information is excepted from required public disclosure pursuant to section 552.108 of the Government Code. Accordingly, we are requesting a ruling regarding the release of these records. The Department notes that although the documents are law enforcement sensitive and should not be released, if your office rules they should be released then the Department will redact any information made confidential by Government Code sections 552.117 and 552.130. The Department believes this information is excepted from required public disclosure pursuant to section 552.108(b)(1) of the Government Code, which states: “(b) An internal record or notation of a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that is maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement or prosecution is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 if: 1) release of the internal record or notation would interfere with law enforcement or prosecution. Section 552.108(b)(1) is intended to protect "information which, if released, would permit private citizens to anticipate weaknesses in [a law enforcement agency], avoid detection, jeopardize officer safety, and generally undermine [law enforcement] efforts to effectuate the laws of this State." City EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COURTESY  SERVICE  PROTECTION of Ft. Worth v. Cornyn, 86 S.W.3d 320 (Tex. App.—Austin 2002, no pet.). Your office has stated that under the statutory predecessor to section 552.108(b), a governmental body may withhold information that would reveal law enforcement techniques or procedures. See, e.g, Open Records Decision Nos. 531 (1989) (release of detailed use of force guidelines would unduly interfere with law enforcement), 456 (1987) (release of forms containing information regarding location of offduty police officers in advance would unduly interfere with law enforcement), 413 (1984) (release of sketch showing security measures to be used at next execution would unduly interfere with law enforcement), 409 (1984) (if information regarding certain burglaries exhibit a pattern that reveals investigative techniques, information is excepted under predecessor to section 552.108), 341 (1982) (release of certain information from Department of Public Safety would unduly interfere with law enforcement because release would hamper departmental efforts to detect forgeries of drivers' licenses), 252 (1980) (predecessor to section 552.108 is designed to protect investigative techniques and procedures used in law enforcement), 143 (1976) (disclosure of specific operations or specialized equipment directly related to investigation or detection of crime maybe excepted). Revealing the responsive documents concerning the blue alert system would provide wrong-doers, terrorists and criminals with invaluable information concerning the efforts of different jurisdictions to coordinate and respond to criminal acts involving injury to police officers. The documents include checklists, activation plans, detailed responses to specific incidents of injury to police officers, and information concerning response times and tactics in communicating blue alerts to law enforcement and the public. Release of this information would illustrate the process involved in activating the blue alert system, reveal how long it takes to do so, and potentially reveal details of the institutional efforts to use the blue alert system, which in turn could be used to interfere with law enforcement or prosecution. The documents reveal a high level of detail on how the system operates an important coordinated response tool in situations where timing is critical. Consequently, the Department believes this portion of the responsive information should be excepted from required public disclosure. Please find enclosed the request from Gregory Korte, the notice of our request for a ruling sent to the requestor, and a representative sample of the records we wish to except from required disclosure. Please feel free to contact me at (512) 424-2890 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Nick Lealos Assistant General Counsel Enclosure(s) cc: Gregory Korte USA Today gkorte@usatoday.com \\hqogcs001\ORA\2016 requests\16-4351\16-4351 (16-08-03) letter to AG