Washington state laws determine that records documenting public actions such as court documents, arrest records, marriage certificates, traffic infractions and more are open and available to the general public, largely as a result of the Washington's 1973 Public Records Act. This information contain titles, dates, information on incidences, sentences, procedures and much more, and generally are all assumed public unless otherwise stated. Both government bodies and criminals are able to be held responsible because of their behaviour as a consequence of these laws, that provide the citizenry with the tools they need to analyze problems outside of their governing administration.