Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Purpose. This
department regulation establishes the secretary's policy and procedures for
access to and release of active and inactive offender records.
B. Applicability. Deputy Secretary, Chief of
Operations, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary, Regional Wardens, Wardens,
Director of Probation and Parole and Director of Prison Enterprises. Each unit
head shall ensure appropriate unit written policies and procedures are in place
to comply with the provisions of this regulation and for conveying its contents
to all affected people.
C. Policy.
The secretary's policy is access to and release of active and inactive offender
records shall be governed in accordance with federal and state laws and by the
procedures contained within this department regulation.
D. Definitions
Incarceration Verification (Letter of
Incarceration)-a standardized form used to fulfill requests for
letters of incarceration, pursuant to
R.S.
15:714. The incarceration verification shall
contain, at a minimum, the offender's or ex-offender's name, the dates of
incarceration or supervision, the admission date, the release date, and the
last location of incarceration. The incarceration verification is not to be
used as a comprehensive criminal history record. The incarceration verification
verifies the period of time an offender/ex-offender was incarcerated or on
supervision and is related to the most recent felony charges recorded in the
DPS and C system-of-record as of the date of the form's completion. The
document is intended to support an individual's successful transition from
incarceration or supervision as it relates to employment, healthcare, housing,
transportation, or family reunification.
Law Enforcement Agencies-those agencies
designed to enforce federal, state or municipal laws and who receive public
funds as their primary source for operation, for example: sheriffs' offices,
local police departments, and state police, departments of corrections, U.S.
attorneys, district attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI.)
Offender/Ex-Offender-anyone in the physical
custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS and C) or under
the supervision of the Division of Probation and Parole. For the purpose of
this regulation, ex-offenders are those offenders who are no longer in the
physical custody of the DPS&C or no longer under the supervision of the
Division of Probation and Parole.
E. Release of Information and Records
1. The presentence investigation report, the
pre-parole report, the clemency report, the information and data gathered by
the staffs of the Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole, the prison record,
and any other information obtained by the boards or the department, in the
discharge of official duties, shall be confidential, shall not be subject to
public inspection, and shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone,
except as in accordance with this regulation.
2. All information pertaining to an
offender's misconduct while incarcerated, statistical information, information
pertaining to disposition of criminal charges and incarcerations, and
information of a general nature (including an individual's age, offense, date
of conviction, length of sentence, any correspondence by a public official
which requests, or may be determined to be in support of, or in opposition to,
the parole or pardon of an offender, and discharge date) shall be released to
the general public at any time upon proper request.
NOTE: This provision shall not apply to any public official
correspondence which requests, or may be determined to be in support of, or in
opposition to, the parole or pardon of an offender which was received prior to
August 15, 1997.
3. Except
as noted below, any communication with the Committee on Parole or Board of
Pardons urging parole, pardon, clemency, commutation of sentence, or otherwise
regarding an offender shall be deemed a public record and subject to public
inspection.
EXCEPTION: Any letter written by, or on behalf of, any victim
of a crime committed by an offender under consideration for parole, pardon,
clemency, or commutation of sentence, or any letter written in opposition to
parole, pardon, clemency, or commutation of sentence shall be confidential and
shall not be deemed a public record and subject to public inspection.
This exception shall not apply to letters written by any
elected or appointed public official, meaning: these letters are not
confidential and may be released in accordance with Paragraph E.2 of this
Section.
4. Information on
a particular offender may be released without special authorization, subject to
other restrictions that may be imposed by federal law or by other provisions of
state law, to the following:
a. Committee on
Parole;
b. Board of
Pardons;
c. governor;
d. sentencing judge;
e. district attorneys;
f. law enforcement agencies;
g. DPS and C personnel, including legal
representatives and student workers;
h. appropriate governmental agencies or
public officials, when access to such information is imperative for the
discharge of the responsibilities of the requesting agency, official, or court
officer and the information is not reasonably available through any other
means; and
i. court officers with
court orders specifying the information requested.
5. Fingerprints, photographs, and information
pertaining to arrests and disposition of criminal charges, as well as
information regarding escapes, may be released to law enforcement agencies
without special authorization.
6.
The unit head or designee may approve the reading but not copying, of
confidential information by the following:
a.
social service agencies assisting in the treatment of the offender or
ex-offender; or
b. approved
researchers who have guaranteed in writing anonymity of all subjects.
NOTE: No information shall be given or shall be allowed to be
read without the offender's or ex-offender's written consent to the release of
the information.
7. The unit head or designee may approve the
selective reading (but not copying) of information by a private citizen or
organization aiding in the rehabilitation of, or directly involved in the
hiring of, the offender or exoffender under the following conditions:
a. It appears the withholding of the
information would be to the offender's or ex-offender's disadvantage;
b. The requested information is necessary to
further the rehabilitation or the likelihood of hiring the offender or
ex-offender;
c. The requested
information is not reasonably available through other means.
NOTE: No information shall be given or shall be allowed to be
read without the offender's or ex-offender's written consent to the release of
the information.
8. Each unit head or designee shall utilize a
consent to release information for the purpose of releasing information
pursuant to Paragraphs E.6 and 7 of this Section, and a copy shall be placed in
the offender's master prison record.
F. Release of Information Regarding
Registered Crime Victims
1. Both the
information contained in a Victim Notice and Registration and the fact that a
notification request exists are confidential. Any questions from outside the
department about whether or not particular individuals have requested
notification or whether or not there has been a notification request for
particular offenders shall be referred to the Crime Victims Services
Bureau.
2. See established policy
and procedures for additional information.
G. Subpoenaed Records
1. Whenever records of an offender or
ex-offender are subpoenaed, they shall be submitted to the appropriate court
for a ruling to determine whether or not the information should be turned over
to the party who caused the subpoena to be issued. The court shall make this
determinate in camera. If the court makes any one of the following
determinations, the information shall be withheld:
a. the information is not relevant to the
proceedings; or
b. the information
was derived from communications which were obviously made in the confidence
that they would not be disclosed; or
c. the confidentiality is essential to the
future useful relations between the source and the recorder of the
information.
2. Should
the court authorize disclosure of the records in accordance with the subpoena,
the party who caused the subpoena to be issued shall pay a fee for the cost of
production of the records in accordance with
R.S.
39:241, unless the court determines that the
party has been granted pauper status in accordance with law. (See established
policy and procedures for additional information.)
H. Records Not Subpoenaed Submitted to the
Courts for Review
1. The department reserves
the right to submit any record to the appropriate court for a ruling as to
whether or not the information should be provided to the party requesting the
information.
I. Access
and Release of Medical Records
1.R.S.
44:7 and established policy and procedures
shall govern access to and release of offender medical records.
J. Department's Access to
Information and Records of Other Agencies
1.
During the course of any investigation which the department is legally
authorized to conduct, or for the purpose of rehabilitation of offenders or
ex-offenders, the department shall have access to information and records under
the control of any state or local agencies which records are reasonably related
to the investigation or rehabilitation of the offender.
K. Offender Access to Records
1. Information contained in the offender's
record shall be confidential and shall not be released to the offender except
in accordance with this regulation.
2. An offender may have access to his master
prison record, a sentence computation worksheet, any court documents that are
related to the term of his instant incarceration, non-confidential unusual
occurrence reports, disciplinary reports, and information related to
educational achievements and participation.
3. Letter of Incarceration. An offender or
ex-offender who was or is confined to any Louisiana prions, jail, work release
facility, or correctional institution or who was or is under probation or
parole supervision is entitled to receive, upon request, a Letter of
Incarceration, which document shall provide documentation, verification, or
proof the offender's or ex-offender's confinement in the prison, jail, work
release facility, or correctional institution or supervision while on probation
or parole.
a. Within seven days of receipt of
a request, the offender or ex-offender shall be provided with a letter of
incarceration, utilizing the Incarceration Verification.
b. The warden at each facility shall
designate personnel responsible for completing the form for those individuals
who are incarcerated at, or who release from, their respective
facilities.
c. The probation and
parole director shall designate personnel responsible for completing the form
for those individuals who are on active supervision or who have completed
supervision by the Division of Probation and Parole.
d. The chief of operations shall designate
personnel responsible for completing the form for those individuals who are
incarcerated at, or who release from, local-level basic jail guidelines (BJG)
facilities.
e. If a releasing
offender requests an Incarceration Verification, it shall be included in the
transition document envelope for individuals releasing with them from secure
custody, in accordance with established policy and procedures.
4. An offender may view and make
notes of his State Police and/or FBI rap sheet, but shall not be given a
copy.
5. An offender shall not have
access to another offender's active or inactive records.
6. The following is a non-exhaustive list of
additional information which shall not be accessible to the offender:
a. presentence reports;
b. post-sentence reports;
c. pre-parole reports;
d. clemency investigations;
e. information revealing or tending to reveal
the identity of confidential informants;
f. admission summary;
g. correspondence from any non-departmental
source directed solely to institutional officials;
h. correspondence or inquiries originated by
institutional personnel;
i.
investigations conducted by non-departmental agencies, for example: District
Attorney, State Police, FBI, etc.;
j. investigations conducted by Corrections
Services;
k. non-disciplinary,
court-related institutional investigations; and
l. correspondence from victims or witnesses,
including Victim Notice and Registration.
NOTE: Each unit head shall ensure written procedures are
established for offenders to follow when requesting copies of documents from
their records and the fees charged for such copies as stated in Subsection K.
of this Section.
L. Information Requests
1. Verbal requests for information are
acceptable to the extent a verbal request complies with this regulation.
However, the unit head or designee shall reserve the right to require a written
request before releasing any information. In that case, the individual or
entity making the request shall certify in writing that they shall not release
the information to any other individual or entity.
M. Fees
1.
The fee schedule for copies of public records is set in accordance with
established policy and procedures.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 44:7,
15:540-542,
15:546-548,
15:549(C),
15:574.12,
15:840.1, C.Cr.P. Art. 877 and
894.1
