SBPD FOIA Response Update #1

After 248 days of silence, the South Bend Police Department finally responded to one of our many outstanding public records requests. But instead of releasing the record, the SBPD sent us something else entirely: a bill for printing a single document. The bill is embedded below this post.

Yes, rather than email a digital file that already exists, the SBPD chose to physically print the record and then attempt to charge CJP for the privilege of receiving it. This decision created unnecessary financial and procedural barriers, all while claiming to uphold transparency.

When we asked why the record could not be sent electronically, by email or through a secure file-sharing platform, the SBPD offered the following explanations:

Let’s be clear about what this means. These justifications apply to a single record, which represents one of ten subparts of a request. Meanwhile, six additional FOIA requests we submitted to the SBPD have remained unanswered for the same 248‑day period.

The document the SBPD is charging us to access is not trivial. It is a contract between the South Bend Police Department and SoundThinking for the deployment of ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot-detection technology that has generated nationwide concern over accuracy, civil rights, and public accountability.

After more than eight months, the SBPD has still not fully complied with even one of our seven requests. What we have received instead is delay, resistance, and an effort to impose costs where none are necessary. Transparency should not depend on an organization’s ability, or willingness, to pay fees for records that legally belong to the public.

This is why access to public records matters. When government agencies stall, obstruct, or monetize transparency, they undermine public trust and block meaningful oversight, especially for technologies like ShotSpotter that have profound impacts on communities.

We continue to push for the release of these records, and we will continue to document every obstacle placed in the way.

Check back for updates as this process unfolds. You can access all of our requests to the SBPD here.

If you want to learn more about our nationwide efforts to secure public access to data and records related to ShotSpotter, follow this link and stand with us in demanding accountability and transparency.