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  • Why JustFOIA?
    • Product Mega Menu

      Product Features

      See what makes our software unique.

      How It Works

      Process requests from intake to delivery.

      Implementation

      Onboarding to fit your timeline.

      Popular Use Cases

      It's not just FOIA.

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      We love our clients!
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JustFOIA
  • Why JustFOIA?
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      See what makes our software unique.

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      Process requests from intake to delivery.

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      Onboarding to fit your timeline.

      Popular Use Cases

      It's not just FOIA.

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JustFOIA
  • Why JustFOIA?
    • Product Mega Menu

      Product Features

      See what makes our software unique.

      How It Works

      Process requests from intake to delivery.

      Implementation

      Onboarding to fit your timeline.

      Popular Use Cases

      It's not just FOIA.

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      We love our clients!
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  • Why JustFOIA?
    • Product Mega Menu

      Product Features

      See what makes our software unique.

      How It Works

      Process requests from intake to delivery.

      Implementation

      Onboarding to fit your timeline.

      Popular Use Cases

      It's not just FOIA.

      Who We Serve

      We love our clients!
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JustFOIA
  • Why JustFOIA?
    • Product Mega Menu

      Product Features

      See what makes our software unique.

      How It Works

      Process requests from intake to delivery.

      Implementation

      Onboarding to fit your timeline.

      Popular Use Cases

      It's not just FOIA.

      Who We Serve

      We love our clients!
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Bakersfield Police Department Improved User Experience

Bakersfield CA downtown aerial view

Bakersfield, California by the Numbers

416,175

Residents

2

Forms Created

206

JustFOIA Users Across 47 Departments

75%

Reduction in Overdue Requests in Past 4 Months

Like any good police department, the Bakersfield, California PD values its relationship with the community it serves. And one of the foundations of that relationship is transparency through public records.

As a growing city of over 400,000 residents, the Bakersfield PD receives a large number of public records requests, from accident reports to body cam footage. In the past, all of these many requests flowed through a single team member, whether they came in through fax, email, phone, or in person.

“It was extremely difficult to fulfill our mission and provide service to our customers,” recalls Maria Fernandez, Performance Analyst for the BPD.

In the course of filling requests, the Police Department became aware that the City of Bakersfield Clerk’s office had seen productivity gains using JustFOIA. The two departments began sharing the platform, and the Police Department was so pleased that they got their own subscription shortly thereafter.

Read about the benefits that the BPD has seen since implementing JustFOIA.

Transparency and the Requester Experience

Prior to JustFOIA, two records-related problems plagued the Department’s relationships with the public: Delays in responses and poor communication about request statuses.

In California, agencies must respond to public records requests within 10 days. But with only a single person processing requests, the BPD had built up a backlog of approximately 1,200 past due requests.

Requesters would often call the Department for updates, but because record keeping was so difficult, taking time to answer their questions only worsened the bottleneck. The situation was frustrating both for citizens and for the staff.

Within just 4 months of implementing JustFOIA, the team reduced that backlog to fewer than 300 overdue requests.

But JustFOIA did more than cut response times, it improved communication throughout the process. Requesters now receive automated email updates and can see the status of their request at any time. But if someone does call to check, it’s a simple process for a JustFOIA administrator to find out information within the system.

As a result of these two improvements, the department has gotten positive feedback from their biggest “repeat requesters!”

Internal Benefits

The department’s internal response to JustFOIA has been every bit as positive.

“We have more control over the service we provide and take more pride in it because of JustFOIA,” says Maria.

Staff members feel more in control of the request process due to the increased organization. Thanks to the new software, the PD is able to track requests for public records as well as view information relating to when the request was received, when responses are due, and whether certain documentation has been sent. Any if anyone has questions about a request, it’s easy to see who’s working on it.

And perhaps most importantly, the service allows them to share the load, training a unit to handle records requests through JustFOIA, instead of one person juggling them alone.

What’s Next?

The Bakersfield Police Department is now working to expand the use of JustFOIA to handle subpoena requests. Their goal is to use it to communicate more effectively with other departments to manage requests in this high-volume area. They are excited about exploring even more application areas in the future.

No Prob-llama

JustFOIA helps public organizations enhance transparency and strengthen community relationships.

Want to learn more about the most powerful, easiest-to-use records request software on the market?

Contact us for a demo today!

Request More Information

Fill out this form to request a demo or more information about JustFOIA. We will respond within one business day. Please note: We do not process records requests for individuals – please contact the agency of record.

Trying to Request a Public Record?
Thanks for visiting us, however, we cannot assist you with public records. We provide the software to manage records requests to government organizations. To learn how to search for the agency of record, visit this page.

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