I honestly had no concept of the sheer amount of knowledge that could be garnered through a tax office. Typically taxes are met with gruff annoyance and totally ignored so Preston Trigg’s presentation on what you can find with just a name was enlightening.
The fact that you can research anyone running for government office in order to view if they’ve paid their taxes is golden. Of course if you want to apply it to real life you can always check to see if the person you’re dating has been delinquent on taxes.
Anyone can also uncover anything odd like someone owning too many homes, paying taxes that don’t quite match the value of their home, and how much the home is truly worth if they’re trying to sell it.
The tax exemptions available to homeowners are amazing. If you live in your home you can get a fifty thousand deduction and more if you are a senior citizen or disabled.
You can check the sales history of a house you might be interested, which could help because if it’s changed hands quite a bit in a short span of time, there might be an issue you’re not aware of.
The penalties against a property appraiser involved in fraud are jail or losing their license.
I was intrigued by the White Sox Tropicana scandal in which the city of St. Petersburg managed to hide the deal with the baseball team by giving them the documents and claiming ignorance when someone requested them.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Let's all go to jail...
On Tuesday September 21, 2010…..I went to jail.
Granted it was a class excursion but that really didn’t make it any less sobering. I was privileged enough to be a part of the first group to walk into the secure area right as orange jumpsuits walked on past. Each and every single one of us became the perfect picture of silence in that moment. While most were probably unnerved, and rightfully so, I felt a sudden epiphany of understanding.
While many people say that they “hate cops” or that law enforcement is generally stupid, I really don’t think they know quite what they have to deal with on a daily basis. These men and women go into pods, UNARMED, daily.
It honestly freaks me out to know that once upon a time, my father walked the halls of Avon Park Correctional Institution-a prison, not a jail. Everyone he came into contact with was proven GUILTY, not innocent as Lieutenant Allen explained. Of course this was all before I was born; my father eventually moved to Lakeland and attended USF for a degree in criminal justice. After twenty years in law enforcement however, he decided to take a fraud investigation job with State Farm.
Why?
Because when he would drop my little five year old pony tailed self off at school, he’d immediately try and spot the child molesters among the crowds. He suspected anyone and everyone at all times, he had to. We couldn’t have our phone number in the phone book lest someone know where we live. He would do background checks on my friends parents, a bit of an overkill. But it was the day he yelled at me as if I was a murder suspect and not a nine year old with a severe distaste in math—that he realized something had to change. In dealing with criminals and people who only inflicted pain on others he had built a hard exterior and could only see the darkness in the world.
So he quit his job.
The point I’m trying to make is I get why cops, sheriffs, probation officers and all forms of law enforcement sometimes come off as gruff and hard. Who wouldn’t when you deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis? Rapists, murders, child molesters—it’d be hard to be happy if they encompassed my daily surroundings.
So as journalists we have to respect the fact that these people face the horrors of life daily, and if we offer them a little kindness they just might go above and beyond to help us get the information we need. If you approach them with a mightier than thou attitude, you’ll only be confirming their assumptions about you as a journalist and the world, and be more than happy to jump down your throat.
So as lame as it sounds, you catch more bees with honey.
Granted it was a class excursion but that really didn’t make it any less sobering. I was privileged enough to be a part of the first group to walk into the secure area right as orange jumpsuits walked on past. Each and every single one of us became the perfect picture of silence in that moment. While most were probably unnerved, and rightfully so, I felt a sudden epiphany of understanding.
While many people say that they “hate cops” or that law enforcement is generally stupid, I really don’t think they know quite what they have to deal with on a daily basis. These men and women go into pods, UNARMED, daily.
It honestly freaks me out to know that once upon a time, my father walked the halls of Avon Park Correctional Institution-a prison, not a jail. Everyone he came into contact with was proven GUILTY, not innocent as Lieutenant Allen explained. Of course this was all before I was born; my father eventually moved to Lakeland and attended USF for a degree in criminal justice. After twenty years in law enforcement however, he decided to take a fraud investigation job with State Farm.
Why?
Because when he would drop my little five year old pony tailed self off at school, he’d immediately try and spot the child molesters among the crowds. He suspected anyone and everyone at all times, he had to. We couldn’t have our phone number in the phone book lest someone know where we live. He would do background checks on my friends parents, a bit of an overkill. But it was the day he yelled at me as if I was a murder suspect and not a nine year old with a severe distaste in math—that he realized something had to change. In dealing with criminals and people who only inflicted pain on others he had built a hard exterior and could only see the darkness in the world.
So he quit his job.
The point I’m trying to make is I get why cops, sheriffs, probation officers and all forms of law enforcement sometimes come off as gruff and hard. Who wouldn’t when you deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis? Rapists, murders, child molesters—it’d be hard to be happy if they encompassed my daily surroundings.
So as journalists we have to respect the fact that these people face the horrors of life daily, and if we offer them a little kindness they just might go above and beyond to help us get the information we need. If you approach them with a mightier than thou attitude, you’ll only be confirming their assumptions about you as a journalist and the world, and be more than happy to jump down your throat.
So as lame as it sounds, you catch more bees with honey.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wealth of Information at our Disposal
Our visit to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was incredibly enlightening (you have to be escorted to the restrooms security is so tight!). Director of Community Affairs J.D. Callaway (like the golf clubs) and Cristal Nunez of media relations sat down with us to explain the relationship between the sheriff’s office and the media. They provided us with their standard operating procedures when it comes to media relations, as well as examples of the documents we can request and receive.
Standard Operating Procedure
It was a little foreboding to begin with a ten page guide to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office operating procedures. It really reads as an idiot’s guide to what you can and can’t request from them, when you can get it, and exactly what media can release for certain events like suicide or fire scenes.
Criminal Report Affidavit
Known as CRA’s, criminal report affidavits are not available online for anyone to see but are required for anyone going into jail. They contain a police officer’s report on what exactly went down and why. CRA’s list witnesses, victims, the criminal and all the facts tied to the case. These reports are available at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office in their records department.
Online Booking Sheet
Incredibly useful, most booking information can be found online by any member of the public (…a great tool before any blind date!). You can see the photograph of the accused along with their information, charges, and arrest information. This can be truly valuable due to its instantaneous availability thanks to the web. You can’t access a juveniles booking information though, unless he has been charged as an adult in which case the information would become public record.
General Offense Information
Once again found at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office records, general offense records contain detailed reports done after a CRA and can be generated inside a cop car. These records contain the offense, offender’s appearance, and a breakdown of what the officer did and observed during the arrest. In the example given to us, the officer had pulled over a man for a DUI. In detail he described his interactions with the man via field sobriety tests, the man’s refusal of a breath test, the car’s information, and arrest information.
Affidavit for Search Warrant
An affidavit for a search warrant can be found at the courthouse, not the sheriff’s office. It contains the issuing judges information and signature, what officers are allowed to search for and why. It’s a pretty simple but long document and completely necessary—if they don’t have it, nothing they take can be admitted as evidence in court!
Arrest Warrant
Something no one ever wants to receive, you can obtain an arrest warrant from the courthouse not the sheriff’s office. The warrant includes the defendant, their crime, their employment and appearance.
Standard Operating Procedure
It was a little foreboding to begin with a ten page guide to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office operating procedures. It really reads as an idiot’s guide to what you can and can’t request from them, when you can get it, and exactly what media can release for certain events like suicide or fire scenes.
Criminal Report Affidavit
Known as CRA’s, criminal report affidavits are not available online for anyone to see but are required for anyone going into jail. They contain a police officer’s report on what exactly went down and why. CRA’s list witnesses, victims, the criminal and all the facts tied to the case. These reports are available at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office in their records department.
Online Booking Sheet
Incredibly useful, most booking information can be found online by any member of the public (…a great tool before any blind date!). You can see the photograph of the accused along with their information, charges, and arrest information. This can be truly valuable due to its instantaneous availability thanks to the web. You can’t access a juveniles booking information though, unless he has been charged as an adult in which case the information would become public record.
General Offense Information
Once again found at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office records, general offense records contain detailed reports done after a CRA and can be generated inside a cop car. These records contain the offense, offender’s appearance, and a breakdown of what the officer did and observed during the arrest. In the example given to us, the officer had pulled over a man for a DUI. In detail he described his interactions with the man via field sobriety tests, the man’s refusal of a breath test, the car’s information, and arrest information.
Affidavit for Search Warrant
An affidavit for a search warrant can be found at the courthouse, not the sheriff’s office. It contains the issuing judges information and signature, what officers are allowed to search for and why. It’s a pretty simple but long document and completely necessary—if they don’t have it, nothing they take can be admitted as evidence in court!
Arrest Warrant
Something no one ever wants to receive, you can obtain an arrest warrant from the courthouse not the sheriff’s office. The warrant includes the defendant, their crime, their employment and appearance.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Anyone Can Hide ....
…unless you are an incredibly through researcher with a knowledge of public records. Investigative reporter Matt Doig of the Sarasota-Herald Tribune helped express the need for a reporter to actively pursue a lead, taking months to compile facts and information.
What shocked me the most during his presentation is the sheer ease in which any official can hide something. His reveal that a principal can maintain a straightforward employee file on someone, and then have a differently named “unofficial” file is disturbing at best. Someone without reporting knowledge would never know to ask for every single piece of information related to or containing the employee’s name. Thanks to Doig a full class of future reporters now understands that in order to combat tricky evasiveness, you really have to think tricky yourself.
The stories on housing fraud and teacher student affairs were both jarring with the amount of numerical data and statistics involved. I truly believe that numbers often make a larger impact than words with the generations of today. The amount of research was impressive; the housing story alone spanned 67 counties! Even with the help of databases I’m not quite sure I’d have the patience to look at all that research…my eyes would probably burst.
The use of databases is clearly a useful tool to keep in my handy dandy reporter toolbox. The seemingly endless rows of letters and names used in the poor teaching report made my heart begin to race; but it seems manageable with the use of a good database.
Doig did provide a key piece of advice, “help me understand.” A simple yet brilliant tactic to get someone to talk to you, taking on the role of a concerned citizen that requires their help….no one can resist a damsel/dudesel in distress. It also appeals to that deep dark part of every human being called an ego.
The walker family murder was also incredibly intriguing, both for the mystique and what the Sarasota Herald tribune did to get readers interested. They actually had someone create a 3D replica of the crime scene. Then they actually handed it over to the police to help in the investigation! They provide crime scene photographs, original newspaper clippings from over 50 years ago, and audio of a sheriff, Ross Boyer, who was obsessed with capturing the family’s killer.
Public records are an investigative reporter’s best friend to get to the juicy bit of any story. So long as a reporter knows what to ask for, or even a well informed citizen, no one can hide the truth forever.
What shocked me the most during his presentation is the sheer ease in which any official can hide something. His reveal that a principal can maintain a straightforward employee file on someone, and then have a differently named “unofficial” file is disturbing at best. Someone without reporting knowledge would never know to ask for every single piece of information related to or containing the employee’s name. Thanks to Doig a full class of future reporters now understands that in order to combat tricky evasiveness, you really have to think tricky yourself.
The stories on housing fraud and teacher student affairs were both jarring with the amount of numerical data and statistics involved. I truly believe that numbers often make a larger impact than words with the generations of today. The amount of research was impressive; the housing story alone spanned 67 counties! Even with the help of databases I’m not quite sure I’d have the patience to look at all that research…my eyes would probably burst.
The use of databases is clearly a useful tool to keep in my handy dandy reporter toolbox. The seemingly endless rows of letters and names used in the poor teaching report made my heart begin to race; but it seems manageable with the use of a good database.
Doig did provide a key piece of advice, “help me understand.” A simple yet brilliant tactic to get someone to talk to you, taking on the role of a concerned citizen that requires their help….no one can resist a damsel/dudesel in distress. It also appeals to that deep dark part of every human being called an ego.
 |
| Walker Family |
The walker family murder was also incredibly intriguing, both for the mystique and what the Sarasota Herald tribune did to get readers interested. They actually had someone create a 3D replica of the crime scene. Then they actually handed it over to the police to help in the investigation! They provide crime scene photographs, original newspaper clippings from over 50 years ago, and audio of a sheriff, Ross Boyer, who was obsessed with capturing the family’s killer.
Public records are an investigative reporter’s best friend to get to the juicy bit of any story. So long as a reporter knows what to ask for, or even a well informed citizen, no one can hide the truth forever.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Shining a Light on Government
(Tim Nickens Deputy Editor of Editorials, St, Petersburg Times)
Guest speaker Tim Nickens, Deputy Editor of Editorials at the St. Petersburg Times, stressed the importance of Florida’s Sunshine laws and their validity in every type of reporting. As a reporter in Florida I have access to a multitude of documents that in other states, with less stringent laws, I would have no right to obtain.
The sheer amount of information that is available to the public is staggering—one can inquire on a person’s voting history (although how they’ve voted is withheld), how much a house is appraised for, criminal history, finances, even 911 calls. This information can be incredibly invaluable during election time; a reporter can help the public learn about the candidates while also sorting out fact from fiction on their claims. Public records can also help shed a light on any discrepancies or suspicious dealings, such as the case with attorney general candidate Pam Bondi and former House Speaker Ray Sansom.
(Pam Bondi Republican candidate for Attorney General)
Pam Bondi, a self proclaimed tough talking conservative Republican, was once a Democrat! Through Hillsborough County election records anyone can see that Bondi was registered as a Democrat from 1984 until 2000.
(Ray Sansom former House Speaker, Florida)
Ray Sansom’s story is a cautionary tale to any future member of government; reporters will follow a trail. When a $6 million dollar college classroom never quite comes into fruition, someone surly must realize that people are going to become suspicious. The private airplane hangar being built with $6 million down the road for someone who donated to both the college and Sansom’s campaign, well apparently the people involved thought no one would notice. But reporters did take notice and thanks to the Sunshine laws there are public records as proof that can be used against Sansom at trial.
Mr. Nickens lecture called for each and every one of the future reporters to think outside the box and never be afraid to ask for help—you never know what you might learn. I don’t honestly believe that before this presentation I would have thought to look up a candidates voting history, I probably would not know that I could! I also wouldn’t have known that each year Florida’s Sunshine laws face hundreds of exemption proposals that threaten the wealth of knowledge available to citizens. The Sunshine laws help shine a light on government and keep the people of Florida safe from most corruption and shady dealings.
For more information on Tim Nicken’s check out http://www.tampabay.com/company/about-us/times-executives/bios/tnickens
For more information on Pam Bondi check out http://www.pambondi.com/
For more information on Ray Sansom check out http://www.tampabay.com/
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