MADISON – The Wisconsin Department of Justice decreased public records response times while increasing the total number of responses through the first half of 2018, the Office of Open Government announced Thursday.
The DOJ responded to 334 public records requests in the first six months of 2018 and 72 percent of those responses came within 10 working days or less, according to the department’s news release. That represents a 13 percent increase in the number of requests processed within the department’s ten-working-day guideline.
“When I took office in January 2015, I pledged to promote open government by making DOJ more responsive and accountable,” Attorney General Brad Schimel said. “Since then, we’ve made great strides in the commitment to let more sun shine through government.”
Schimel’s office released a summary of its public records activities, which also included responding to 246 inquiries on its helpline, issuing 40 letters related to open government, and releasing reports, video and audio in connection with seven police officer-involved deaths.
Average response time for all public records requests was 11 calendar days, with more than half of all requests receiving a response in three days or less. The average response time was down 21 days from the same time in 2017.
