As a public agency, all board records including any audio/video recordings are public. All board records are subject to disclosure except in cases in which the individual right of privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure, and in cases in which statute makes the record confidential.
An individual will have a right of privacy if the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the material and society is willing to recognize that expectation as reasonable.
The courts have ruled that the rights society recognizes as reasonable include but are not limited to:
information that, if released, would create a risk of physical harm to a person;
information that, if released, would create a safety or security risk to a correctional facility;
personal medical information; and
personal personnel information.
When someone requests board records, the board's executive director or designee will conduct an analysis of the requested material and determine whether, in the executive director's opinion, any information contains an individual privacy interest that clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
The executive director or the board may assert a claim of individual privacy on behalf of an individual if the board executive director believes requested information contains a reasonable privacy interest that exceeds the merits of public disclosure. The board executive director will attempt to notify the individual to advise the individual of the request for information and ascertain if the individual agrees with or objects to the release of information. If notification is not possible, the board executive director will independently weigh the privacy interest against the public's right to know and determine if the board should release the information.
The board may not withhold from public scrutiny any more information than is required to protect an individual privacy interest.
Whenever a crime victim asserts an individual privacy interest, the board may not disseminate to the public the name, address, telephone number, or place of employment of the victim of a member of the victim's family unless otherwise required by law.
The executive director or the board may not disseminate to the public any information directly or indirectly identifying the victim of the following sex crimes: 45-5-502 (Sexual Assault), 45-5-503 (Sexual Intercourse Without Consent), 45-5-504 (Indecent Exposure), or 45-5-507 (Incest), MCA.
The executive director or the board will disseminate research findings to all appropriate parties. The executive director or designee must approve all dissemination of research data. All research dissemination must consider the potential effect of the security and operation of correctional facilities, the public, and the operational integrity of the board. Privacy interests of offenders and other parties for cases under study will be ensured when research projects are considered.
When releasing board records the executive director or the board will consult with board legal counsel when necessary.
An offender may request to view his/her individual parole file by making a request in writing. Board staff will provide the offender an opportunity to inspect the file except for information deemed confidential. An offender may not request to view his/her file more frequently than annually unless extenuating circumstances exist. If the offender making the request has previously viewed his/her file, only the information added since the previous review will be provided unless the offender presents circumstances that justify a complete review.
The board may charge 10 cents per page for each page the board produces. (History: 46-23-218, MCA; IMP , 2-6-102, 44-5-311, 46-18-243, 46-23-218, MCA; NEW, 2010 MAR p. 2816, Eff. 12/10/10; AMD, 2012 MAR p. 1619, Eff. 8/10/12.)
