Right to Know Requests

Requests for any police records shall be completed by the following procedure:

The Department complies with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act (Act 3 of 2008), 65 P.S. Sections 67.101, et seq.  The Chief of Police has designated the Lieutenant as the Opens Records Officer to assure compliance with this policy and disseminate records to the public appropriately.

• Requests for public records are available in person, with the appropriate fee,  from the Upper Southampton Township Police Department Records Division, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, excluding holidays or extenuating circumstances. Records may also be requested by mail, with the appropriate fee included, and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
• All records requests shall be made on the Departments Reports/Visual Media Request Form
• Under the "Right to Know Law," investigative reports are exempted from the definition of a "public record," therefore any such request will be denied.
• Criminal History information is not accessible under the "Right to Know Law."
• Unless a charge of juvenile delinquency is transferred for criminal prosecution under section 6355 of the Juvenile Act, or the court otherwise orders, the records and files of a juvenile shall not be open to public inspection or their contents disclosed to the public.
• The Chief of Police or the Open Records Officer will make a good faith effort to determine if the record(s) requested is a public record and respond within five (5) business days of the request.

If a request for records is granted, the following fee schedule will apply:

1. Incident Reports - $0.25 per page
2. Non-Reportable Accident Reports - $10.00
3. Reportable Accident Reports - $15.00
4. Photographs (4 Photos per page on 8½" x 11" plain paper) - $15.00
5. Photographs/Video on CD or DVD - $50.00
6. Postage Fee - Actual cost of mailing requested records
7. Records Certification - $5.00 per record

• There shall be no limitation on the number of public records which may be requested or made available for inspection or duplication. Fees will be assessed on a per copy basis.
• There shall be no requirement to disclose the purpose or motive in requesting access to records which are considered public.
• If a records request is denied, any fee collected shall be returned to the requestor. The requestor shall be informed of the reason for the denial and of the appeal process.

Contact information for the Department's open-records officer:

Upper Southampton Township Police Department
Attn: Open Records Officer
939 Street Road
Southampton, PA  18966
Phone# - 215-364-5000

Contact information for open records appeals:

Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Attn: Open Records Appeal Officer
100 N. Main Street, 2nd Floor
Doylestown, PA  18901
Phone# - 215-348-6344

PA State Open Records Appeals Office
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA  17101