Chris Davis and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Public records have been a major asset to Chris Davis and other investigative reporters at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. It has allowed them to inform the public about many scandals and fraud cases in the state of Florida. Without them, many of their investigations and findings would have ceased to exist.

According to Davis, the Herald-Tribune uses public records every day. One story that was uncovered almost exclusively by public records was that of flipping fraud. Many people throughout the state would purchase property and have it illegally appraised for more than it was worth. They would then have a friend or relative who would get a bank loan to cover most of the cost of the illegally appraised property. The initial buyer would then sell it to the friend or relative for the illegally appraised amount and keep the leftover loan money, leaving the bank with a foreclosed house and no money back from the loan. Davis and other reporters began to talk to property appraisers in every county in Florida to get a list of sales found in a public records database. They looked for sales of 30% or higher of a price increase that occurred less than 90 days after the original sale of the property. From this information, they were able to develop a list of flippers in Sarasota and post it on their website. The list shows which flippers were directly connected to each other, as well as a spider web map that shows how every single flipper was connected either directly or indirectly. The Herald-Tribune also created a profile for every flipper, including pictures on some. Public records also allowed the Herald-Tribune to create a map of Florida using Google Maps that shows where the fraud occurred and how expensive the flip was. The map can also show which areas were affected the most by the flips according to population.

Public records also helped the Sarasota Herald-Tribune expose teachers who had abused or mistreated students and are still teaching today. Reporters looked at reviews for teachers with such charges, what they were charged, what they plead and if their license was revoked or not. In many cases, the teachers simply switched schools and are still teaching today. Some teachers were accused of having sex with students, sending love letters to students and, in one case, even locking them in bathrooms when they misbehaved. The public records of reviews of the teachers allowed the Herald-Tribune to create a database online where users can search by school, name and type of charge. This database, based primarily on public records, has allowed many parents and students to be informed and warned of potentially harmful teachers they come into contact with every day.

The web pages created by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune have been an incredible way to raise awareness of the public concerning these fraudulent and abusive people. However, these sites would be of no worth if it wasn’t for public records.