Deteriorating Police Relations Caused by the Freedom of Information Act

As a result of the Freedom of Information Act, police are finding it harder to get the information they need from various companied and organisation.

A local security office of a telephone company referred an illegal telephone call case to an FBI resident agency. However, the company refused to furnish any data concerning the principals involved in the violation without a subpoena for telephone company records.

The resident office of the DEA in a southern state reported that Western Union in their area now refuses to divulge any information except by subpoena which cites the specific information in question.

A west coast telephone company informed the U.S. Secret Service that whenever the company releases information about a nonpublished number, they will immediately notify the subscriber that an inquiry was made and who made the inquiry. Consequently, agents must now decide whether to obtain the information and thus alert the subscriber, or not use this important investigative tool.

A forged U.S. Treasury check was used to pay a telephone bill. The telephone company supervisor refused to furnish U.S. Secret Service Agents with any information about the individual who negotiated the check or the telephone account involved. Although the U.S. Secret Service Agent pointed out that the telephone company was a victim in this case, the company refused to furnish any data without a court order. The Secret Service Agent said that this information would not have been withheld prior to enactment of the Freedom of Information Act.

In the field of arson investigations, major insurance companies and the Fire Marshal Reporting Service have stated they will provide no information to federal law enforcement agencies except under subpoena. They advise their legal departments believe this position is necessary for protection against civil suit, in the event of an Freedom of Information Act disclosure.

In a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations investigation involving numerous subjects in an arson-for-profit scheme in which insurance companies are defrauded after the insured property is burned, at least 15 insurance companies, numerous insurance claims adjusting firms, and insurance agents have refused or have been most reluctant to furnish files regarding losses and coverage because of the universal fear that the information furnished could be obtained by the insured in an Freedom of Information Act disclosure which the insured might use against the insurance company or firm in a civil suit. The FBI has been required to obtain federal grand jury subpoenas to secure the desired information, which in every instance caused delay in the investigation. Many of these firms cited widespread news publicity resulting from Freedom of Information Act disclosures as cause for their total lack of confidence that the FBI would maintain information in confidence.