ACLU prods Metro to delete records
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.
Three months after local governments amended work card ordinances to exclude dozens of job categories, civil rights leaders want a plan to expunge the records and are requesting that it be put in writing.
American Civil Liberties Union representatives have made their position clear: All employee files that are no longer required must be destroyed.
But Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, claims Metro Police's position on how to comply with ordinances adopted by Las Vegas and Clark County is more foggy and less consistent.
Peck said Metro administrators have been unclear about whether they plan to simply delete names from a statewide law enforcement database or completely expunge all files, including fingerprints and photographs.
"Nothing about the way in which Metro has thus far administered an enforced work card system inspires public confidence that they will now do the right thing," Peck said.
"I think the public is entitled to a clear, concise, unambiguously stated plan for how they intend to eradicate all of this information."
The Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council recently voted to exclude several gaming-related positions from requiring work cards -- documents produced after criminal background checks on employees are completed.
The decision affected thousands of workers and created a workload for Metro that administrators have claimed will take years to complete. Of the 2 million work card files no longer needed, about 600,000 are mixed in on microfilm with ongoing -- and in some cases decades-old -- investigations.
The ACLU has suggested that Metro not only has kept personal documents it no longer needs, but that police have misused the records.
"The consensus is they need to eradicate that information and come up with a plan to do it," Peck said. "Essentially, they're saying here's the mess we made by abusing our authority and using work cards in ways they were never intended to be used."
Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee members on Monday gave police permission to purge out-of-date files, but Deputy Chief Richard McKee said the department was still working on a plan to eradicate all unneeded information.
A computer program must be written to delete the documents.
Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera assured that all work card documents belonging to employees who no longer need them will eventually be destroyed.
In the meantime, Herrera said he wrote Sheriff Jerry Keller, asking him to protect the private documents from misuse.
"I am going to ask Metro to adopt a policy that would ensure private law-abiding citizens the protection of privacy and ensure the integrity of files while they're waiting to be destroyed," Herrera said.
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Binion’s to close all 365 rooms, lay off 100 workers
- Ex-NBA star to pay $12,835 monthly in gambling debt case
- Report: 70 percent of homeowners underwater
- Scuffle in pub parking lot leads to attorney’s arrest
- Rebels enter hoops rankings at No. 24
- The ins and outs of CityCenter traffic
- Palin craze puzzling, given ’08 disaster
- Harrah’s moves ahead with Planet Hollywood deal
- Man arrested for DUI after crashing into high school’s wall
- MGM Mirage begins lifting veil on CityCenter today
Blogs
The Kats Report
Dissimilar landmarks -- Binion's and CityCenter -- reflect today's Las Vegas (2 Comments)
High School Sports Scene
Prep Football: State Championship
Elsewhere
UFC debut in Boston likely July or August (1 Comment)
The Kats Report
Planet Hollywood's Thomas McCartney headed for Tropicana (14 Comments)
Elsewhere
LV woman robs Kentucky strip club, police say (5 Comments)
Las Vegas Sands' Hong Kong IPO flops (3 Comments)
The Kats Report
Monday List: Top 13 Moments and Observations From Thanksgiving Weekend (4 Comments)
Calendar »
- 2 Wed
- 3 Thu
- 4 Fri
- 5 Sat
- 6 Sun
-
Nic Faniciulli at Godskitchen
Body English | 10:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Mischieve Wednesdays at T&T
Tacos and Tequila
-
Ben Sherman gift bag giveaways at Wasted Space
Wasted Space | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati





