Overview

Rights & Responsibilities:

 The Rights of Requesters and the Responsibilities of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located at § 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.

A public record is any writing or recording -- regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format -- that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies.

Two Shots of Sheriff speaking with Press
FOIA Logo

The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.

Your FOIA Rights as a Citizen of Virginia or Media Representative

  • You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records, or both.
  • You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
  • If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. Alternatively, you may contact the Freedom of Information Advisory Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion.

Making a Request for records from Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office

  • You may request records from the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office by U.S. Mail, fax, e-mail, in person, or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to specifically state that you are requesting records under FOIA.
    • From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request. It also gives the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office a clear statement of what records you are requesting, so that there is no misunderstanding over a verbal request. However, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office cannot refuse to respond to your FOIA request if you elect to not put it in writing.
  • Your request must identify the records you are seeking with "reasonable specificity." This is a common-sense standard. It does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records that you are requesting; instead, it requires that you be specific enough so that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office can identify and locate the records that you are seeking.
  • Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, nor does it require the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to create a record that does not exist.
  • You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office in the regular course of business.
    • For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel database, you may elect to receive those records electronically, via e-mail or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records.
  • If the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office has questions about your request, please cooperate with staff's efforts to clarify the type of records that you are seeking, or to attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request. Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process, but the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office may need to discuss your request with you to ensure that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office understands what records you are seeking.

To request records from the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, you may direct your request to the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office Freedom of Information Act Officers, Captain Timothy Morgan and Lieutenant Larry Singletary. They can be reached by phone at (757) 382-6159, by fax at (757) 382-8972, by mail at Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office FOIA Officer, P.O. Box 15125 Chesapeake, Virginia 23328, and by e-mail at SheriffFOIA@cityofchesapeake.net.

 In addition, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is available to answer any questions you may have about FOIA. The Council may be contacted by e-mail at foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov, or by phone at (804) 225-3056 or [toll free] 1-866-448-4100.

The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office’s Responsibilities in Responding to Your Request

  • The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. "Day One" is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays.
  • The reason behind your request for public records is irrelevant, and you do not have to state why you want the records before we respond to your request. FOIA does, however, allow the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to require you to provide your name and legal address.
  • FOIA requires that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office make one of the following responses to your request within the five-day time period:
  1. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office provides you with the records that you have requested in their entirety.
  2. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office withholds all of the records that you have requested, because all of the records are subject to a specific statutory exemption. If all of the records are being withheld, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office must send you a response in writing. That writing must identify the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld, and state the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to withhold the records.
  3. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office provides some of the records that you have requested, but withholds other records. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office cannot withhold an entire record if only a portion of it is subject to an exemption. In that instance, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office may redact the portion of the record that may be withheld, and must provide you with the remainder of the record. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office must provide you with a written response stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows portions of the requested records to be withheld.
  1. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office informs you in writing that the requested records cannot be found or do not exist (the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office does not have the records you want). However, if the Sheriff’s Office knows that another public body has the requested records, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office must include contact information for the other public body in our response to you.
  2. If it is not practically possible for the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to respond to your request within the five-day period, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office 7 additional working days to respond to your request, giving the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office a total of 12 working days to respond to your request.
  • If you make a request for a very large number of records, and the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office feels that we cannot provide the records to you within 12 working days without disrupting the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office’s other organizational responsibilities, the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office may petition the court for additional time to respond to your request. However, FOIA requires that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office make a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the production of the records before the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office goes to court to ask for more time.
 
 

Costs

  • A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
  • You may have to pay for the records that you request from the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office. FOIA allows the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office to charge for the actual costs of responding to FOIA requests. This would include items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. It cannot include general overhead costs.
  • If the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office estimates that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, the Sheriff’s Office may require you to pay a deposit, not to exceed the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request. The five days that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office has to respond to your request does not include the time between when the Sheriff’s Office asks for a deposit and when you respond.
  • You may request that the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office estimate in advance the charges for supplying the records that you have requested. This will allow you to know about any costs upfront, or give you the opportunity to modify your request in an attempt to lower the estimated costs.
  • If you owe the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, the Sheriff’s Office may require payment of the past-due bill before it will respond to your new FOIA request.

Types of records

The following is a general description of the types of records held by the Sheriff’s Office and is not an exclusive list:

  • Personnel records concerning employees and officials of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office;
  • Records of contracts which the Sheriff’s Office has entered into;
  • Records of inmates held in the correctional center, past and present;

If you are unsure whether the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office has the record(s) you seek, please contact Capt. Trena Washington or Lt. Larry Singletary. They can be reached by phone at 757-382-6159, by fax at 757-382-8972, by mail at the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office FOIA, P.O. Box 15125, Chesapeake, Virginia 23328, and by e-mail at SheriffFOIA@cityofchesapeake.net.

Commonly used exemptions

The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure. The following exemptions are common examples, but not an exclusive list, of exemptions the City of Chesapeake invokes when withholding records:

  • Personnel records (§ 2.2-3705.1(1) of the Code of Virginia)
  • Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1(2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1(3))
  • Vendor proprietary information software (§ 2.2-3705.1(6))
  • Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2-3705.1(12))
  • The names, addresses and telephone numbers of complainants furnished in confidence with respect to investigations of individual zoning enforcement complaints or complaints relating to the building and fire codes (§ 2.2-3705.3(9))
  • Records concerning a criminal investigation (§ 2.2-3706)
  • Health records, except that such records may be personally reviewed by the individual who is the subject of such records (§ 2.2-3705.5(1))
  • Social services and child protective services records (§§ 2.2-3705.5(3), 63.2-104, 63.2-105)