Submit a Right-to-Know Request to the Pennsylvania Department of General Services

Act 22 of 2017 (specifically, Chapter 67A of the Act) applies to individuals seeking "any audio recording or video recording made by a law enforcement agency."

To file a request under Act 22 for an audio or video recording in the possession of the Pennsylvania Capitol Police, the request must be made within 60 days of the date the recording was made. 

The written request form must be submitted to the PA Department of General Services Agency Open Records Officer (AORO). The request is not officially received until it is personally delivered to the PA DGS AORO, or when it is marked "delivered" by certified mail.

The request must include: 

• The date, time and location of the event recorded;
• A statement describing the requester's relationship to the event recorded; and
• If the recorded incident took place inside a non-public area, the request must also identify every person present at the time of the recording, unless unknown and not reasonably ascertainable.

Fee Associated with Granted Requests

Act 22 permits law enforcement agencies to charge a reasonable fee to provide a copy of an audio recording or video recording. The Pennsylvania Capitol Police has established a fee of $50 for a granted audio recording or video recording request.

In some cases, there may be an additional fee for video or audio recordings that require reaction or need to be stored on a higher-capacity external drive device. In this event, the price will be relayed to the you, which you have to agree to, before the request is granted.