Earlier this month, students in Mercer University’s Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism sent open records requests to agencies in Macon-Bibb, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties in an effort to check their compliance with Georgia’s law and gauge their accessibility to members of the public. You can see a list of all the grades here.

Agency: Houston County Sheriff Office

Records that were requested: Arrest record for Geoffrey Palmer

When did you first hear back from the agency?: The request was filed on Oct. 1, 2024, and I heard back the same day.

Did the agency request a fee?: No. Houston County Sheriff office did not respond to email but instead contacted me via phone and said they believed the arrest record in question was in Warner Robins. The Sheriff’s office also provided a number to call back with any concerns or questions.

Assign a grade for contact/process: D. The Houston County Sheriff office got a grade ‘D’ due to the records section of the site
being hard to locate as well as not having clear instruction on how to request a record. The site did not have staff contact information available. The only form of contact information on the site was a phone number. I had to call the number listed to obtain an email address that could be used to request the arrest record. No response was given to the email but a phone call was given the same day the
arrest record request was submitted.

Assign a grade for response: A The Houston County Sheriff Office received a grade of an ‘A’. This grade was given
because although the Sheriff’s Office did not have the arrest record,  the office did contact me back the same day the request was sent. The sheriff’s office said the arrest record was not in their possession and directed me to the  Warner Robins Police Department.

Grading scale for the ease of contacting agency staff and finding or filing for public records.

A: Agency uses an online portal or has a clearly defined process or contact on its website for requesting public records. An “A” agency may also readily provide the most commonly  requested records on its website, including agendas and meeting minutes.

B: Agency has some public information online such as meeting agendas or meeting times, but additional information on how to request public information is not available. There is contact information available for staff.

C: Agency website has contact information for staff but nothing specific about how to request public information.

D: Agency has limited contact information on its website but it is not clearly labeled and/or easily accessible.

F: Agency contact information or how to get public records is not available on the website. 

 Grade scale for agency’s overall responsiveness and compliance with open records law

A: Provided records within the three-day window or less.

B Acknowledgedf the request within the three-day requirement, but records were provided after three days.

C:  Acknowledged the request but then put forth a long timetable for response or requested a high fee or retrieval price for what should be a digital record and/or PDF that could be emailed.

D: Acknowledged the request but no further information or follow-up.

F:  No response.

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