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Pinellas Audit Reveals Confidential Files That Missed Shredder

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By STEVEN GIRARDI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2008

CLEARWATER - Hundreds of confidential government documents have turned up in trash bags and garbage bins instead of being shredded as required by law, according to a Pinellas County audit.

The documents from the county court houses, emergency medical services, the sheriff's office, health and human services, the supervisor of elections office and other county agencies contained personal information not intended to be released to the public, Bob Melton, director of the county's Internal Audit Division, said today.

Melton's office has issued reports to each of those agencies, the county commission and the county administrator alerting them to take better care of documents and to shred them as required by state law.

The auditors found juvenile defendant and crime victim records, medical information, child abuse records and EMS patient care information, Melton said. They also found discarded Sunstar EMS shirts and official patches that could have been taken.

"We found a lot of documents that should have been confidential and not just put in the trash so anyone could pick them up," he said. "They should have been shredded."

Melton said his auditors found the records by searching through outdoor trash receptacles outside 13 county buildings nine months ago. Most of them were in unsecured areas accessible to the public, Melton said.

"We actually went to many different Dumpsters and, even though various county employees saw us, nobody questioned us except at the Clearwater courthouse. A security guard did ask us what we were doing," Melton said.

He said it is possible that anyone might have had access to the information, but there was no way to know if anyone did.

"We're not aware of any instances where that may have occurred," he said.

The discovery came during a routine audit of procedures by Melton's office. The documents were under the control of the clerk's office, the sheriff's office, the county commission, the state attorney's office, the public defender's office, and the courts.

He said department heads have been notified of the specific state laws regarding their documents and that auditors will follow up in about six months to see if corrections have been made.

"It's certainly not a criminal type of thing. It's a recommendation to change their practices and procedures," he said.

Assistant County Administrator Mark Woodard said that although most of the documents were from other offices, the county department officials have reviewed their procedures for handling documents to make sure it is being done correctly. They also are making certain that EMS patches and uniforms are destroyed more thoroughly, he said.

Reporter Steven Girardi may be reached at (727) 451-2333.

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