The Warren County Sheriff’s Department was found to be in compliance with Missouri’s Sunshine Law during an unexpected audit performed last year. In the results released last week by the Missouri Sunshine Coalition, a freedom of information group that conducted the audit, the sheriff’s department responded within three days of the first letter requesting all incident and arrest reports for Sept. 18. The nonprofit organization requested reports from 114 county sheriff departments on Sept. 24. Upon receiving the inquiry, Sheriff Kevin Harrison e-mailed a summary report, according to the report, and said more detail was available if needed though he did not specify how much the research/copy fee would be. After learning of the results, Harrison said he hopes the report shows his department is accessible to the public. “We probably take it further than some,” he said. “The more I can show to the public, the more transparent we are, the better we are. “I look at this as accountability to the public.” Harrison explained that he attempts to provide as much information as available under the open records law, such as providing information on the department’s Web site or Facebook page. Some information that is requested by citizens is provided free, though the department charges a “nominal research fee” for larger requests, he said. “If someone makes a reasonable request, I try to give it to them,” Harrison said. Overall, the audit results were mixed and inconsistent among the departments. Some agreed to provide documents at no charge while others requested payments upfront before turning over copies of incident and arrest reports. Under Missouri law, records about the arrest or detention of someone and about the date, time, location, and immediate facts of a crime are public records. Missouri’s open records law — called the Sunshine Law — allows government agencies responding to records requests to charge up to 10 cents per page for copying costs. Government agencies also can charge for the cost of researching the requested records. The law does allow agencies to charge a reasonable fee before providing them. Those involved in the study said the varying responses demonstrate the importances of educating people about open records laws. “There’s a severe lack of understanding of basic Sunshine Law provisions among the sheriff departments in this state in regard to the proper way to respond to a Sunshine Law request,” said Jean Maneke, a Kansas City attorney who is an open records expert and a member of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition. However, Maneke said the response from several departments was a “wonderful display of open government.” An example of the varied response was in the reported charges for documents. Officials in neighboring Lincoln County provided 24 pages of records for free, and in southeastern Missouri, Mississippi County sent 16 pages at no cost. The Adair County’s department in northern Missouri provided five pages of documents and an e-mail indicating that the agency was happy to waive the fees. According to the Missouri Sunshine Coalition’s report, the Maries Sheriff’s Office — southeast of the state capital — said it charged $10 for each report and obtaining the requested documents for 38 incidents would cost $380. In neighboring Franklin County, the sheriff’s department said it charged $5 per report and that obtaining the requested documents would cost $355. To conduct the study, the coalition sent letters to the departments on Sept. 24. Follow-up letters were then sent on Nov. 2 to those agencies that did not respond to the initial request. In January, the coalition called 11 counties that still had not responded to the request for documents. The Missouri Sunshine Coalition conducted a similar review in 2009 by requesting the municipal budgets of several southwestern Missouri communities. Some researchers were asked why they sought the information, and other cities required written requests. The coalition was created in 2009 and is comprised of citizens and journalists interested in preserving open government and access to public information.