How State and Local Agencies Can Turn Public Records Requests Into a Transparency Advantage

In a 2024 Partnership for Public Service survey, researchers found that only around 15% of citizens trust in the transparency of the government. Though the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) provides a crucial service in ensuring an informed democratic public, the challenges that public record officials face have continuously eroded the people’s confidence in a truly open government. While this is a key issue for federal officials, especially in the face of employment cuts, smaller departments with fewer resources face even greater hardships.

State and local organizations have been presented with a growing number of systemic challenges over the years. As the rate of public requests rises in both number and complexity, these agencies must grapple with a new onslaught of issues, from resource constraints and privacy law complexities to outdated data management technology and unorganized procurement procedures.

With so many obstacles, these departments must adopt innovative strategies that strengthen transparency and rebuild public trust.

Obstacles to Transparency in an Era of Surging Public Records Requests

State and local agencies are facing a sharp increase in both the volume and complexity of public records requests. According to the 2025 Public Records Complexity Benchmark Report, request volume has increased by 161%. Of those requests, there has been a 173% increase in video files and a 438% surge in file sizes. As record requests grow more complex, agencies face issues dealing with specialized handling and slow processing times that can lead to higher backlog numbers and, consequently, the slow and steady abatement of public trust.

This expansion in scope also increases agencies’ exposure to lawsuits, fines, and fees. Whereas most requests involved written communications, we now see an uptick in requests for surveillance and body-cam footage, social media communications, and personal communications like texts and emails. In this environment, public records officials must take greater care when redacting personal information, including license plates, home addresses, identities of minors, and other personal data that might be captured in video or audio files.

Turning Obstacles Into Advantages: Ensuring Consistency, Speed, and Defensibility

On top of obvious solutions like increasing employment, there are three key areas that can help restore public trust in transparency.

Issue #1: Manual processes make it more difficult to review and release complex records in a timely manner.

Solution: Accelerate public records processing times by using a centralized end-to-end processing platform, including the power of eDiscovery, to find records, generate transcripts, and redact sensitive information. The ability to handle hundreds of native file types translates to increased efficiency and reduced response times.

Issue #2: Heightened scrutiny can erode public confidence in the records release process.

Solution: Casepoint's platform automatically logs user actions and maintains detailed activity histories. This audit data helps public records teams demonstrate good-faith efforts, supports defensibility during audits or disputes, and provides transparency into how records were reviewed and produced.

Issue #3: Inconsistent responses increase risk and undermine trust.

Solution: Teams can easily apply the same redactions for similar requests, ensuring consistent handling. Reusable workflows and response structures reduce the likelihood of errors and help prevent redundant or conflicting releases across requests.

Using eDiscovery Technology To Regain the Transparency Advantage

As public trust continues to erode, agencies that respond to public records requests quickly, consistently, and defensibly are better positioned to demonstrate transparency and accountability.

• Timeliness Through Bulk Data Processing and Searching: Casepoint's solution includes our market-leading eDiscovery tool, which offers record-setting processing capabilities (20+ terabytes of data per day) and tools to make documents easily searchable. With support for over 600 file type, and connectors that allow you to pull documents automatically from their location, you can quickly work with and locate specific information within documents. Features like deduplication and optical character recognition for scanned images also make large collections more searchable and manageable.

• Consistency Through Work Product Reusability: Work product reusability allows teams to easily find and reuse already-released material with the same redactions for similar requests. By reusing validated work, agencies can improve consistency across responses, reduce the risk of errors, and minimize the time spent recreating processes for each new request.

• Defensibility Through Analytics and Reporting: Built-in analytics and reporting tools help teams track progress, monitor review accuracy, and compliance. It’s critical for demonstrating defensibility and maintaining chain-of-custody throughout the records release process.

As expectations around government transparency continue to evolve, agencies must adapt how they manage and respond to public records requests. By taking full advantage of the power of Casepoint's open government solution for the public records process, agencies can strengthen transparency practices while supporting accuracy, efficiency, and public trust.