When government agencies reply to the request, the site detects the tracking ID.
This allows responses to OPRA requests to be automatically published online and with the correct request.
Advantages of our approach
Since the OPRA requests are created on our site and ultimately sent via email, no proprietary softare is needed by government agencies. And paper waste is eliminated.
For clerks, responding is as simple as hitting “reply”
Can easily be integrated with existing email systems
Filing requests
All you need is a valid email address to get started filing requests.
File up to 7 requests per day (contact us if you need more)
Wait for a response and follow up with the agency as necessary
Classify your OPRA request when you get a response
Note on anonymous requests
The OPRA law allows citizens to request records anonymously if they choose.
We believe OPRAmachine is the best way to file anonymous requests because user email addresses
are never published or revealed to government agencies.
Only each OPRA request’s unique email is ever visible to the public or government.
Filing requests
OPRAmachine will notify you when your request gets a response. You’ll get an email with a link to view
the response online.
Classifying requests
An important part of the request process on OPRAmachine is classifying the status of requests.
Users receive a survey when they get a response to describe the state of their OPRA request.
Why classify requests?
We ask users to classify requests so we can track outcome and trigger site functionality based on the request’s status.
Since users initially request the records, it’s easiest for them to classify their own requests
Request states on OPRAmachine
There are several states that requests can be classified into, including:
Successful
Partially Successful
Gone Postal
More request states
Delivery Error
Info Not Held
Refused
Long Overdue
Tracking OPRA requests
OPRAmachine lets you track requests & responses on multiple levels:
Your own OPRA requests
Other people’s requests
All requests sent to a particular agency
All requests containing a keyword
Tracking updates are sent daily via email.
Tracking OPRA requests
A good source of leads for stories!
See what topics others are researching and view documents!
Monitor topics and geographic areas from a unified interface
Tracking alerts help keep public bodies compliant with OPRA’s time limits and reporters on deadline.
Use case: tracking OPRA requests and searches
One use case we have identified is that some users will register for an account only to receive tracking updates and not to file their own requests, showing how the public records are being used by 3rd parties.
Using OPRAmachine for research
OPRAmachine has several features that make it attractive a research platform.
Advanced search features
Batch OPRA requests
Data and API access
Advanced search functionality
OPRAmachine’s advanced search tool can help you narrow down requests and documents and requests even further.
More people are learning about public records and OPRA
Seeing OPRA requests and documents helps individuals make sense of what can be a complex process
Users can build off of the work of other requesters
The public knows more about the inner workings of government
Teaching users how to OPRA
The site has exposed more people to OPRA and public records, helping them to be better informed
By viewing requests and responses, requesters can draft better OPRA requests and know what to expect
Case study: Jeff Epstein taught citizens how to use it while researching issues in an NJ school district
A word from OPRAmachine Administrator Jeff Epstein
Before & after OPRAmachine
Benefits to journalists
Limitations of the underlying Alaveteli platform
User support requests re: sensitive information
Who is using OPRAmachine?
The following groups of users are some examples of who is on our platform:
Journalists
Nonprofits
Concerned citizens
Attorneys and paralegals
Private investigators
Consultants and private investigators
Public policy researchers
Government employees
The challenges
Running a project like this is not without its difficulties.
Challenges that we have faced could be categorized as either technical or legal / moderation.
The technical challenges
Ensuring servers don’t go down during business hours
Rerouting responses that went to the wrong request or didn’t come through
Educating clerks about the unique addresses our system uses and resolving user issues
Some records custodians have failed to redact social security numbers and other private information
As a site primarily based on user-generated content, we deal with concerns about potential misuse of the platform and spam
The Social Security Number problem
There have been multiple incidents where municipal government and police departments have inadvertently disclosed social security numbers and other confidential personal identifiers
In each instance of one of these types of disclosures, we immediately took down the material to prevent harm to individuals
Our solution: automatic redaction
Our software can automatically redact certain patterns of text.
This is currently deployed for email addresses on the site. Email addresses are automatically replaced with X’s to prevent automated spam bots from harvesting addresses from the site.
Later in 2018, we will deploy this technology for social security numbers. We hope that this will alleviate most instances of unintentional disclosures & further protect user privacy.
The big picture
The more than the sum of individual OPRA requests
Users submit public records requests using the site
Each public records request contributes to our archive
More people can be informed without needing to file a request
As an archive of public knowledge
Requests and documents are indexed by Google, a driver of new traffic to the site
Users can easily share requests via social media, showing the platform’s potential to distribute public records
Journalists can link to primary source documents and use them in their stories
The future: OPRAmachine Pro
A fully featured OPRA toolkit for professional journalists & investigators, OPRAmachine Pro
will be launching soon to sustain our development
Our core service will always remain free
OPRAmachine Pro
Pro features:
Keep requests private
Unlimited batch requests
Advanced features & custom request management tools for power users
OPRAmachine Pro
Affordable for individuals and organizations
Just $10 per user per month
We are currently accepting pre-registrations from anyone interested in signing up for an OPRAmachine Pro account, with the launch of Pro services to be announced at a later date.
