Why are federal government records redacted
Posted by AF under government records
Many citizens who are already suspicious of the government may ask the question, "why are federal government records redacted?" This is a valid question, and it has a valid answer. It's because some information is exempted from release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and it's therefore removed before the rest of the information is released. Employees are given screening guidelines to follow for the purpose of separating this information, and are responsible for withdrawing the exempted portions before releasing the rest. This is one part of the answer.Another part of the answer to "why are federal government records redacted", is that it involves national security. In this age of terrorism more than any other time, it's vital that some information be kept under wraps. This is why a review of the information under consideration for release is strenuous and a 'must-do'. In order to possibly save lives and keep our country in a better all-around position in its dealings with other countries, certain things should not be made available to the general public, or to any outsiders period. When it comes to national security, it's better to err on the side of safety than on someone's feeling of having a 'right to know'.There are nine exemptions outlined in the Freedom of Information Act that will also shine light on the answer as to 'why are federal government records redacted'? The intent is to release as much information as possible to the public without crossing one of these nine exemptions, in order to keep the country safe. As it goes, records that are over 75 years old need not be screened unless otherwise specified by a Federal statute. By the same token, many records UNDER 75 years old require no screening due to the fact that it's unlikely that they contain any exempted information, or have been made publicly available by a previous originating agency.To understand more when asking 'why are federal government records redacted', you need to understand the outlines of the FOIA and the procedures that are involved in the screening process. If a records series includes national security-classified information, in needs to be referred to the Initial Processing and Declassification Division who will review it, or for coordinating with the agency that created it. When information is withheld, NARA has to inform researchers about why it's withheld. A last consideration in answering 'why are federal government records redacted', is when and how does it get redacted? Whenever a textual record needs to be redacted, the NWCTF will scan the record into the Redaction System, known as (ADRRES), and remove the exempted information. It is only removed from the scanned copy. In order to keep track of the redacted information, whenever exempted information is withheld, and removed from the file, it gets replaced with a withdrawal card, which contains a general description of the sensitive information.
Published on February 2012 Read more...