Free Police Records Resources Can Be Found Online

By Claire Dowell


Police records in Texas are public records and made available through several channels. Police records are reports made by the local enforcement agency, which contain information on the case including the type of case, the parties involved as well as the report of the officer who filed the case. Police records are divided into 3 types - criminal, traffic and administrative cases. The first and most common are criminal records. These records include those cases that have felony or are criminal by nature. Access to these records are restricted especially those that are still under investigation or have juveniles as suspect(s). Those records that have reached conviction though are open to the public.

Administrative records, on the other hand, are reports that deal with violations and crimes committed by the police department or those in the government that might be guilty of misconduct or where the officer has committed violation(s) of the department's policies. Traffic reports on the other hand deal with incident reports, traffic altercations and citations. Traffic reports contain the infraction or case, the driver's name and license number as well as the license plate of the vehicle.

Requesting for information or report copies is easy. One needs to only know the case number to request for a copy. Other information might also come in handy to make the searching faster. Defendants or the accused have the right to access the file and the police give a copy to them. Those who are interested but do not have any interest in the case can obtain copies of the record by requesting for the public information copy. Full details of the case can only be obtained once the case reaches conviction. One can request the records via e-mail, online or by in person.

Those who want to obtain a copy of the records in Austin can do so by first checking the APD incident reports database. Reports that are less than seven pages are free; however, charges will apply for more than 10 pages. Each page costs about $.10. All requests should be directed to the Austin Report Sales unit. The Sales unit is not open daily and as such, one should call first if one intends to visit the office.

For those who want to obtain records in Houston, Texas, they can do so by email, fax or mail in their written request to the Police Open Records Division. Records that are still under investigation are available by requesting an "open records request" from the Attorney General. Processing takes about one to two months depending on the request volume. On the other hand, for those who want public information copies, they can send their request to the Records Division and pay $6 by cash, cashier checks or money order directly to the Office.

For those who are only after police report(s) for public information, one can check out several online sites that offer free public searches. One can easily get the information that one needs without having to wait and pay much at the same time.




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