Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Preston Trigg: Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Office

Today in class we were to read up on tax records and we got a better understanding of tax records from Preston Trigg, Director of Administration and Special Projects at the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s office.

Trigg explained to us some of the history behind the tax collecting in Florida. He went on to explain that it was established by the Florida Constitution and that it is referred to as a constitutional officer, along with the sheriff clerk of court, property appraiser and elections supervisor.

The tax collector’s office collects and distributes property taxes, special assessments and they collect approximately $2 billion a year.

Trigg also explained that the tax collector’s office issues driver’s licenses, license tag renewals, titles for boats and cars, hunting and fishing licenses and handicapped parking permits. According to Trigg, tax records have been urged to privatize and limit public access on driver’s licenses.

Trigg then described to us some of the records that are available to a reporter if they were doing a story on a certain subject. Some of the records that are available are as follows: property tax, business tax, and motor vehicle records.

Property Taxes deal with the value of houses, plus taxes and delinquencies, which are a link to the property appraiser. Most of the records that a reporter would use for their story would be property taxes because of the simple fact that it is the more accessible to the general public. The property tax records are accessible online.

Preston Trigg’s visit gave me a better insight on what is done and what is kept at the Hillsborough County tax collector’s office and how records are once again are easily accessible but hard to get.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Hillsborough County Jail Visit

Imagine yourself driving back home from a great party with several people and alcohol. Now, imagine yourself getting stopped by the police for drinking and driving. Do you know what happens once you’re taken to jail? Most people don’t, but our class got to see firsthand how a person goes through a DUI jail stay.

Lieutenant W. Addison and Captain R. Stein conducted the tour of the facility to let us have a basic understanding of the typical DUI bust.

Capt. Stein explained to us that when a person receives a DUI, they usually go through the typical field sobriety test, and if they fail, they get arrested. That is what most people know. When they are taken to the jail, they are first sat down for a 20 minute observation period to see how the person is after being arrested.

After the 20 minute observation period, you are then taken into the testing room to find out what has you intoxicated. That room has a camera and microphone and everything in that room is recorded and that tape can be used for a story if requested because it is a public record.

Once you are done being tested, you are then taken to central booking. Your property is deposited and recorded. Then you are photographed and fingerprinted and those also are public records once in the police archives.

Deputy Santana, the booking deputy, explained to us that the arrestee fills out an inventory form giving the details of their possessions. For example, they would fill out how much money they came in with and the exact possessions they have on their person. Santana also explained that they usually book 200 inmates a day.

They are also given fact sheets that explain to the officers who they are, what they are in jail for, which pod they are in and any other information necessary.

Once they’re booked, they are taken to their assigned pod. Each pod holds up to 72 inmates. The pods are also assigned based on behavior. If you’re on good behavior, you tend to have a little more freedom and be able to roam around the pod. But if you’re on bad behavior, you’re put in isolation and you are put on 23 hour lockdown and only an hour to shower, eat and have yard time.

From this visit, it made me realize that I never want to be arrested for anything as I don’t ever want to go through the process that we learned about. It was a rewarding experience to understand what goes on after being arrested.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department Visit

A week ago, our class embarked on a field trip to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department offices where we learned firsthand about how reporters get their information for their stories from the police.

Deputy Larry McKinnon, also a public information officer (PIO), explained that there are several ways for reporters to get their information for their stories. The most common way of obtaining any public information is through the press releases the Hillsborough County Police Department uploaded on their website. These press releases give the reporter a review of the cases that occurred in the area.

McKinnon explained that technology is changing around us and that even the police needs to get with the times when it comes to producing these reports. The police officers used to hand write their reports, but with the changing technology, they’ve completed their reports electronically.

These reports are sent via air card to the police officer’s laptops and then sent to their supervisors. If approved, it is then sent to the hard drive where it is processed and becomes public information.

McKinnon explained that there is a step-by-step process on how these police records are processed. He went on to explain that when a person is arrested, the arresting officer fills out the arrest report. Once the arrest record is approved, a CRA is completed and then given to the arrestee to take to booking.

With all this information, does a reporter have access to any information the police department holds? A reporter has access to any information except witnesses and victims if it is a closed investigation.

The most interesting part of the trip was our visit to the 911 Call Center. McKinnon explained that the 911 call center has 1.5 million call volume per year and that they are the top 5 largest communication center in the south.

Like most records within the police department, all calls coming into the call center are public record because everything is recorded. But as long as the calls aren’t included in an ongoing investigation, reporters are allowed to request these calls as public records for their story.

All in all, this was a rewarding experience as we were able to understand what a reporter’s jurisdiction is when it comes to obtaining records for a story.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Chris Davis Visit

In our last class, we had the privilege of having Chris Davis, an investigations editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, visit our class and explain how his line of work uses public records and in what ways he uses these records.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is classified as a small-medium sized paper and it is said to be the best of its size in Florida.

In investigative reporting and editing, Davis explained that public records are used on a daily basis. He explains that public records gives an investigative reporter a direct source of information and that he doesn't have to rely on people and their statements to get the facts.

Their biggest project of sorts was using these public records they've obtained from their databases and put them in a special report to let the people know what is really going on in their own community.

One of their stories involved their reporters to go to a property appraisal office in each county for their database. From there, they were able to use all the public records to connect those who were involved and with the help of new technology, they were able to let people see how connected these people were using different graphs and models.

Another one of their stories involved a murder that occurred between the 50s and 60s and with public records they were able to recreate the murder scene digitally and let people see the crime scene from the comfort of their own computer. You could pick any of the crime scene photos and as soon as you click on the picture, you're able to see exactly what the crime scene looked like digitally. You could drag the mouse over any of the things or person in the room and it will explain the detail of what happened that day and the significance of that object or person.

These examples show that the web can do a great job with engaging readers into a story with the help of public records and that is exactly what Chris Davis intended for his readers.

The Herald-Tribune used that to their advantage by making a web report with different graphics and flash that made the report very interesting to read.