Every citizen has a right to know what they're paying for

Frontiersman editorial board

How much information should you have access to? The debate over the public's "need to know" vs. "right to know" will likely never reach a consensus. It seems we should be able to get enough information to assess what our public agencies are up to, and where their efforts are being expended.

In Alaska, access to information about what your law enforcement agencies do on a daily basis is not always easy to obtain. In 1998, some abuses of the Alaska Public Safety Information System (APSIN) led to limited access to that database.

APSIN is a law enforcement database that includes criminal histories, driving records and address information. In 1998, the system was used to conduct unauthorized background checks on some politicians, including former Wasilla mayor, Sarah Palin.

Because the general public no longer has access to information on APSIN, each law enforcement agency has complete control over what information is released to the media and the general public.

The Frontiersman's Police Beat column is based upon that information. In the case of the Alaska State Troopers and the Wasilla and Palmer Police Departments, that information comes in the form of press releases.

Alaska law essentially says if a law enforcement agency produces a daily activity log or report, that information must be made available to the public. However, statutes do not require an agency to produce such a report.

That means information about police department activity is completely controlled by each individual agency. Each agency can decide what is newsworthy, and release only that to the media and general public.

We believe the public should have access to as much information as possible about agencies funded with public dollars. Under the current system, weak legislation protects many agencies from releasing all of that information.

How many calls did your police department respond to last week? How many of those calls were in your neighborhood? How many burglaries happen from month to month in your community? We can only report the ones that are released to us in the form of press releases. We believe, because your tax dollars pay for the work done by law enforcement agencies, you should have access to as much information as possible about the work they do.

Public access to information is not a priviledge -- it's a right every citizen should demand.