FOIA Request to Vilas County Sheriff’s Department Regarding Arrest Records on October 22, 2024.
In our ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, we at NC Wisconsin News have formally requested access to all arrest records from the beginning of the year up until the present day. The request was made under the Wisconsin Open Records Law, §19.31 et seq., and we have specifically asked for these records in an electronic format.
The data points we are seeking in these arrest records include the arrestee’s name, sex, race, age, date of birth (DOB), citizenship status, booking ID, date of arrest, booking photo, names of arresting officers, type of crime committed, location of crime and date of crime.
As a media organization dedicated to gathering and reporting news to the public, access to public records is essential for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities. These responsibilities include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information, we believe we are eligible for a fee waiver as a media professional.
We await a response from the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department regarding this request.
