The award was presented by The University of Texas at Tyler journalism students to Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle during a press conference at the Tyler Police Department.
The students were part of a class that spent the last several months conducting a survey of 120 government entities to gauge compliance with the Act. The Tyler Police Department was determined to be 100 percent in compliance with the law for the second time. The department received the same score the last time the survey was conducted in 2002.
Swindle attributed the award to the outstanding records staff at the police department and the direction of the Tyler City Council, which encourages public participation in government.
"We are pleased to accept this award. We strive to make sure all public documents are readily accessible to everyone. That's the law, but we also think it's the right thing to do. That's why we've gone to such great lengths to ensure public documents are available to our citizens," he said.
Police reports are available for viewing in the police department lobby and through the City of Tyler's Web site.
The city of Tyler was also listed as in compliance with the students' survey of public information.
