Davis County Sheriff Bud Cox, president of the Utah Sheriff's Association, said law enforcement should be following the law but the law doesn't have to be followed with a smile.

"What we are doing should be an open book," Cox said. "Frankly this doesn't surprise me. I think law enforcement in general is protective of some of the information it obtains."

Cox explained that GRAMA provides exceptions for information that is linked to criminal investigations, since the release of some information could compromise a case.

As for attitude? "There's no reason for anybody to be rude," Cox said but added they're not required by the law to be pleasant either. The audit gave Davis an "F" for attitude.

Bottom line is the law must be followed and most public officials interviewed agreed that there is always room for improvement.

"To not follow the law, that's flat out wrong," Cox said. "GRAMA is the law, and every public entity should comply with GRAMA."

The full results of the audit can be viewed at the www.spj.org/UTHead.

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