Failure to obey record laws restricts freedom of press

The press has a major responsibility in anything that goes into our publications. First and foremost, we must maintain objectivity in everything we do. This goal is hard to obtain in routine stories; however, it is almost impossible to achieve without the cooperation of all the parties of a story.

This week Sue Britt set out to write a simple article about UM-St. Louis' Student Government Association president Darwin Butler being arrested on campus for warrants in Bel-Ridge, a neighboring community to UM-St. Louis. According to Missouri Law 610.100, the arrest record is an open record.

Unfortunately both the UM-St. Louis campus police and the Bel-Ridge police department did not see it that way when asked for the record. When confronted with the law, the UM-St. Louis police department consulted their lawyers and then complied by turning the record over.

Bel-Ridge officials have not complied and have ceased to return The Current's follow-up phone calls.

Furthermore, law 610.023 states that each request for a public record shall be acted upon as soon as possible and no later than the third business day. Also, if a request is denied, then a written statement citing the specific provision of law under which access is denied must be furnished.

This editorial is not intended to be self-serving, nor do we want to come off as self-righteous. All we ask is that we are given what is due to us by law.

Bel-Ridge's denial hurts our service to you, our readers. Because they are not following Missouri law, it makes it harder for us to give both sides equal representation.

This disregard for the law hurts everyone in society. There was a reason why this country's founding fathers added freedom of the press into the constitution and why many generations of law-makers since have made provisions to ensure that freedom.

Without this freedom, society will have no sources for knowledge about issues affecting them and no information on the people elected to represent them. Democracy would cease to exist.

As a people we must fight this form of oppression. It is unfortunate that we, as your watchdog, have to fight for the freedoms already given to us by law. However, with your support the fight will be that much easier.