FOIA Researcher - Public Records Requests for Police Bodycam Footage

We're building a small team to source police bodycam and dashcam footage for our YouTube channels through US public records (FOIA) requests. You'll find i ---------- worth a video, request the footage and reports from the agency that holds them, and track every request until the files arrive. We may hire more than one person, and we're looking for people to work with us on an ongoing basis.

Picking the right i ---------- matters as much as the request. We want stops with a clear story and a big reaction, not routine paperwork, and we want each request in before the agency deletes the footage.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Find i ---------- worth requesting in news reports, agency press releases, arrest records and social media, and log the date, place, agency and case number.

• Write and submit requests through each agency's portal or by email , from our business email and in our company's name. Ask for the bodycam and dashcam footage, the i ---------- or arrest report, and 911 calls where they help the story.

• Track every request in our Google Sheet: date sent, request number, cost estimate, due date and status.

• Follow up on overdue requests, answer the agency's questions, and send us every cost estimate to approve before anything is paid.

• When a request is refused because the case is still open, note when to ask again, and ask again.

• Download the files before the links expire, save them to our shared Google Drive with the case details, and note in one line what's on them and whether it's worth a video.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Experience with US public records requests, ideally for bodycam footage used on YouTube.

• Clear, professional written English for email s to records offices.

• Organisation: hundreds of open requests, each at a different stage, and none forgotten.

• An eye for a story: you can tell from a news report or arrest summary whether the footage is likely to be worth watching.

• Reliability and a short daily update.

• Bonus: knowing how the public records laws differ from state to state, or experience with records portals such as GovQA, NextRequest or JustFOIA.

Workload: To start, about 20 new requests a week, plus follow-ups on every open request.

Turnaround: Requests sent within 2 days of us approving an i ---------- , and agency email s answered within 1 business day.

HOW TO APPLY

Start your application with the word "cherry" and include:

1. Your email address

2. Your public records experience: which states and agencies, roughly how many requests, and for whom (or "none yet")

3. Links to any YouTube channels or videos that used footage you obtained, and what you did for each (or "none yet")

4. Your current workload: how many requests you manage a week, for how many clients, and how many more you could take on for us

5. How you'd get the footage for this imaginary arrest: Houston police arrest a driver for DUI after a traffic stop on 4 July, and you don't have a case number or the driver's name. Where would you send the request, and what would you ask for, in 2–4 sentences?

6. Where you look for i ---------- worth requesting

7. The tools you use to track requests

8. Your expected rate (per month or per hour)

9. The hours you work (Philippine time)

10. Your ---------- username

Applications that skip the code word or any of items 1–9 won't be reviewed.