LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – An Arkansas lawmaker says information about police forces on college campuses and at the state Capitol should be kept under wraps.
Sen. Gary Stubblefield fears society has “disintegrated” and that police need protections that weren’t necessary three or four decades ago. Under two of his bills, even the number of officers hired by the Capitol Police and 33 state-run colleges and universities would be off-limits to the public.
First Amendment advocates contend the law tramples on government transparency, and even one of Stubblefield’s colleagues questioned whether it authorizes secret police agencies.
The University of Arkansas backs the bill, although it says it has no intention of operating a private force. The school says it only wants a way to reject Freedom of Information requests that could somehow threaten public safety.
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