“Security” Label Shields Public Oversight on Grants

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More than $100 million in federal grants given local state and local government in Colorado is being spent with no public oversight, The Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Col. reports, because a 2002 state law allows law enforcement agencies to keep the information confidential. Even the bill’s sponsor said he thinks the law goes too far, allowing routine information to be shielded. An official of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police said police chiefs favor erring on the side of safety, even if the records are financial and not specifically security related. (11/24/04)