The District of Columbia rejected the Freedom of Information Act request by the VNSTA for crime statistics for the Police Service Area that includes the Van Ness neighborhood (PSA 203). The text of the rejection notice appears below.

“Please note that the District of Columbia (DC) FOIA, DC Code §§ 2-531-539, provides that while a person has the right to request access to existing records, it does not require agencies to do research, analyze data, answer written questions, or create records to respond to a FOIA request. Therefore, we are closing our file on this FOIA request.

Please know that, under D.C. Official Code § 2-537 and 1 DCMR § 412, you have the right to appeal this letter to the Mayor or to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. If you elect to appeal to the Mayor, your appeal must be in writing and contain “Freedom of Information Act Appeal” or “FOIA Appeal” in the subject line of the letter as well on the outside of the envelope. The appeal must include (1) a copy of the original request; (2) a copy of any written denial; (3) a statement of the circumstances, reasons, and/or arguments advanced in support of disclosure; and (4) a daytime telephone number, an e-mail and/or U.S. mailing address at which you can be reached.

The appeal must be mailed to: The Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel, FOIA Appeal, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 407, Washington, D.C. 20004. Electronic versions of the same information can instead be e-mailed to The Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel at foia.appeals@dc.gov. Further, a copy of all appeal materials must be forwarded to the Freedom of Information Officer of the involved agency, or to the agency head of that agency, if there is no designated Freedom of Information Officer there. Failure to follow these administrative steps will result in delay in the processing and commencement of a response to your appeal to the Mayor.”

Sincerely,

Bob Eckert
FOIA Specialist
Freedom of Information Act Office
Metropolitan Police Department
District of Columbia

“Excellence is transferable."