mercredi 4 février 2015

Texas Police Records Now Retrievable Online

By Claire Dowell


It is easy for the public to gain access to public records such as incidence report, arrest and crash report. The Freedom of Public information Act guarantees the public access to reports without having to explain the reason for the request. However, there are some reports that are restricted from the public by the nature of the case. One example is the Texas police reports. The initial reports are available for the public; however, the subsequent reports, evidence and trial are not available for public view until such time when the case reaches a conviction, someone is arrested or a grant is made. These reports are available from the Record division of the police or local enforcement agency.

To request for public information report such as incidence or police report, the person requesting the information should follow the guidelines set forth by each county or city. In Houston, Texas for example, all requests should be made through email or fax. The Open Records Office of Houston will not send the request through fax or email and will only send the information requested to the person's mailing address.

For walk in, they can visit the Records Division during working hours and wait for the reports to be generated. To make the transaction faster, the person requesting the records must submit information such as the incident report, parties involved, date as well as the cause of the accident. One must also specify that the purpose for the records will be for "public information only" as not stating so, especially in "open request", will route the request to the Attorney General's Office for approval, which can take up to 2 months of processing time.

For those who want to request for police reports in El Paso Texas, they may do so by visiting or mailing the Records Division. The record division is open seven days a week, from six in the morning until midnight and they can handle requests of walk-in persons. Requests for reports should be in writing and sent through email or standard mail. Cost for each page of the report is about $.10 for the first 50 pages. Additional fees also apply for more than fifty pages. The office accepts checks or money orders and walk-ins can pay in cash.

For Texas City, police reports are made available from the Texas City Criminal records and Identification Division. Fees for basic public information offense report are about $4 as well as accident and background or arrest report. Provide the case or incident report number as well as the parties involved. Page one or public release reports are available and can be ordered directly in person from the Records Division. The report contains basic information on the case. Requests for full report depend on the status of the case and might not be available for the public.

All cities in the US are bound by the Public Information Act and as such would provide all the necessary reports that the public wants. There are some exemptions as well. Examples are reports that involve juveniles, sealed and expunged reports as well as cases that have yet to reach convictions. For those who are looking for basic police reports online, some sites do offer the information free.




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