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We filed a FOIA request. If you've listened to Crime Junkie for more than like two episodes, then you've probably
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heard me say this or something like we filed a FOIA request. The FOIA was approved or more likely our FOIA request
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was denied. But what exactly is a FOIA? And what does it mean when we file one? Let me break it down for you. FOIA
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stands for Freedom of Information Act and it's a law that gives me and you the right to ask the government for
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information. This is the law that allows citizens like us to be in the know through a requesting access to things
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like police reports, emails, 911 calls, witness interviews, investigative files,
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internal memos, all of the stuff that is part of an agency's records. If a government agency created it or used it,
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there's a good chance that it can fall under a FOIA request. Now, ultimately, we use FOIA to obtain information that
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is not public record in order to ensure that we're investigating every angle of a case. And the whole idea behind FOIA
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is transparency. The government works for the public or at least it's supposed to. So, we should be able to see how
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decisions are being made, how investigations are handled, and whether things are actually being done by the
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book. But I'm sure you guys know by now after listening, getting a FOIA request approved isn't always easy.