This story affects both the effectiveness of anti-terrorism efforts and government financial impropriety. The Open Records Project has always argued that financial transparency of organizations tends to encourage effectiveness and discourage corruption. We published every check written by the Dallas … Continued
This sort of story keeps coming back. How much privacy does an infected individual have versus the right of uninfected individuals not to die? One side argued that infected individuals have a right not to be embarrassed are socially censured. … Continued
When we first posted the Sex Offender Registry, thousands of people emailed us to say the addresses of offenders were incorrect. This problem still may not be corrected. A possible solution is having individual citizens observe the posted addresses to … Continued
According to this story, some police departments are posting crime scene videos online in the hope that citizens may identify the perpetrators. It would seem that private individuals could make similar postings. This is also similar to the attempt to … Continued
The House of Representatives is about to pass a bill that authorizes public balloting for union elections. On its face, the bill appears to favor openness. Opponents cite secret ballots as one of the elements of a free democratic society … Continued
The objective of transparency and Open Records is to change individual behavior through trust building in one direction and peer pressure in the other. According to this story, transparency of driving behavior increases safety. The counter argument from the privacy … Continued
Successful societies tend to be open societies. Openness encourages the trust necessary to encourage individuals to make the long term social and financial investments associated with economic and social growth. Cuban leaders either do not understand the concept of openness … Continued
Eighty-three convicted criminals — including high-risk sex offenders and violent felons — have been released from two King County jails because they exceeded the total that the state Department of Corrections was allowed to place there. Full Story
When Hollywood madam Jody “Babydol” Gibson was busted eight years ago, word that police had seized her list of celebrity clients stirred intense curiosity in Hollywood — and not a little worry. Now the names of those clients are in … Continued
We’re always looking for volunteers. If you have a database that you think should be public, let us know. We’ll probably show you how to do it yourself or maybe put you together with another volunteer to do it. We … Continued