RCSD Crime Report to be suppressed

Now the HOA will not publish the Crime Report from the Richland County Sheriff's Department. 

Back on about June 7th the HOA published an incomplete Crime Report on the HOA website. Although the Report was nine pages, the office published only four pages, omitting Pages 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. No one in the office or on the board seemed to be concerned about the missing five pages of the three-month report (March, April, May 2022).

It took me until July 28th to get the full report from RCSD by use of FOIA. In the interim I got blasted several times by Treasurer Vernell Butler, who told me I wasn't entitled to the Report because it included "PII" (Personally Identifiable Information). He erroneously claimed the missing pages were redacted. No, they were missing because somebody, either at RCSD or at the HOA office, didn't realize that the report had been printed two-sided.

The HOA had published the monthly RCSD Crime Report for years, but the December 2020 Report sat on the HOA website for 18 months without being updated. 

On July 28th I received the 11-page, three-month Crime Report from RCSD and forwarded it to the office, expecting that they would publish it on the HOA website. I figured that somebody might even say, "Thank you." But my hopes were dashed.

Instead, I received this reply from one of the nice women in the office: "We have been advised by Deputy Norton that we are not to publish the crime report.  The report is for Safety Committee and office use only, as these documents contain sensitive information.  The crime report will not be published moving forward."

I'm sure the woman in the office is just the "messenger", and I don't blame her for delivering the message. Someone told her to send it to me.

Deputy Norton was at the July HOA board meeting. He's a nice guy, as is Deputy Cuzzupe. Norton is a traffic-team deputy. 

He has no authority to "advise" the HOA. He can suggest, but not advise. The Board of Directors runs the HOA. If they want (legal) advice, they should get it from the HOA's Attorney, Ryan McCabe. And they should pay for it. 

If the Crime Report contains sensitive information (PII), then RCSD would not give it to the office, to the board, to the Safety Committee, to me, or to anyone who files a FOIA request.

Why doesn't the Board want homeowners to know how bad crime is in The Summit? One answer could be that the Board would have to actually do something to reduce crime.

Be at the August 2nd board meeting and ask. And don't buy its B.S. reason that it contains "sensitive information". It doesn't.

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