This page covers one narrow thing: how the Brookhaven Police Department handled
records, communication, and access. It is a records and response time record, and that is all it is
ever going to be.
Page context
| Institution | Brookhaven Police Department, a department of the City of Brookhaven |
|---|---|
| Timeframe | 2025 to 2026 |
| What this page covers | Records handling, response times, and communication |
| Scope | Public records handling and official communication only. Individuals appear only as public officials acting in official roles. |
| Related | The City of Brookhaven record and the Evidence Index |
The comparison that does the work
The Brookhaven Police Department answers the public’s records requests in about 1.3 days on
average. That is the department’s own published figure, not mine.
My requests averaged 60 days.
Same department. Same statute. Same clock. About forty six times longer.
I am not going to tell you why, because I do not know why, and this site does not invent reasons.
I am going to put both numbers on a public page, because the gap is a fact and the department has
never explained it despite being asked.
What happened with the records
I filed under the Georgia Open Records Act after the City refused to discuss a simple complaint by
email, in person, or on the phone.
- The City priced a single request at $49,385, and its demands across my requests reached
$58,603.85. - In one afternoon, a majority of my requests were closed in under twenty minutes each. Some had
already been paid for. - I paid hundreds of dollars and received almost nothing.
- My requests for an explanation went unanswered.
A request priced at tens of thousands of dollars is a statement that the work will take an
enormous amount of staff time. The same requests closed in under twenty minutes each. Both of those
things cannot describe the same work, and nobody has reconciled them.
What Georgia cities may charge .
When a request is priced out of reach
Why records handling matters here
A police department’s records function is not administrative housekeeping. It is the only way an
ordinary person can see what a department did and said.
When that function answers the general public in a day and a third, and answers one particular
resident in two months, the practical result is that the resident cannot check anything on the same
terms as everyone else. Whatever the reason, the effect is a two speed system, and only one of the
speeds is published.
For a disabled person the effect compounds. Every additional round of correspondence is more
voice-to-text, more hand pain, and more days lost. A delay is not neutral when the cost of waiting
falls unevenly.
What should have happened
- Records requests answered on the same published timetable as everyone else’s.
- An itemised estimate for any charge, so a price can be understood and questioned.
- A written reason, dated and attributed, whenever a request is closed.
- A published, accessible route for a person with a disability to raise a problem with any of the
above. - An answer, of any kind, when a resident asks why.
Open questions
These remain unanswered. Each one can be answered with a sentence and a date.
- What accounts for the difference between the department’s published average response time and
the time taken on my requests? - On what basis was each request closed, on what date, and by whom?
- How was the fee estimate calculated, by task and by role?
- The City publishes an ADA Coordinator and a Title II grievance procedure, and has since at
least October 17, 2020. Was either offered as a route for a disability related problem with
records access, and if so, on what date?
Current status
Unresolved. No explanation has been provided for the response time difference, for the closures,
or for the fee calculation. This page is document based and entries are added as they are reviewed
and sourced.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a police records request take in Georgia?
The Brookhaven Police Department reports answering the public in about 1.3 days on average. That is the department’s own published figure.
What was the response time on these requests?
An average of 60 days. Same department, same statute, same clock, roughly forty six times longer, and no explanation has been provided despite being asked.
How do I request police records in Georgia?
Through the Georgia Open Records Act. You do not have to explain why you want the records or be a party to anything. An agency may charge for search and production.
What is the scope of this page?
Public records handling, response times and official communication. Individuals appear only as public officials acting in official roles.
Corrections: this page is built from documents I received and from the
department’s own published materials. If any fact here is incomplete or inaccurate, identify the
page, the sentence, and the supporting document, and I will review and correct the record.
I have invited the Brookhaven Police Department to identify any inaccuracy on
this page. As of the date above, it has identified none.