The police department is the one part of city government that should not act like a stiff old bureaucracy. When the police department is seen as an organization that hides information then trust is destroyed and people start to wonder if the good guys are really running the show. I know I start to worry when I see drug dealers buddying up with officers on the street and when I hear the rumors about how certain cops "grew up" with some of the local dealers.
Jason Policastro does a great job explaining the story behind why the Sun is suing the Baltimore Police Department in order to get information that should be very public. Please take a minute and read his blog entry.
I am a strong believer in transparency of government. I think every possible bit of public information should be accessible on the web. This way we know that OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS are not hiding anything. Scandals would virtually disappear, trust levels would skyrocket, and I bet millions of dollars would suddenly appear (instead of being stolen behind the scenes) and city property tax payers would finally get some relief!