Police Incident Reports

One of the most frequent questions to our legal hotline is, "What records should I be able to get from the state or local police?" It is so common, in fact, that we regularly run it as a Q&A in the PNA's weekly newsletter, Headlines & Deadlines, http://www.headlinesanddeadlines.org/. It also shows up in multiple forms in our "From the Hotline" archive, http://www.headlinesanddeadlines.org/Hotline/FAQ_archive.html.

The short answer is that under the Criminal History Record Information Act, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 9101, et seq., police blotters, press releases and criminal dockets are public records. Additionally, Pennsylvania courts have determined that police incident reports are public records. See Tapco, Inc . v. Township of Neville, 695 A.2d 460 ( Pa. Cmwlth. 1997). In other words, basic information, such as names of those involved in an incident, a brief description of the incident, and any charges filed, are public. In contrast, more detailed police investigative records are generally not public.

We are very interested in an appeal currently pending before the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, relating to access to police information. Briefly, the Potter Leader-Enterprise in Coudersport, Pa, requested a police incident report relating to an altercation. Both the accused and the alleged victim were adults (66 and 41, respectively), and according to the press release, a charge of harassment was filed against the accused. Obviously, criminal charges are a matter of public record. The press release issued by the state police did not identify the alleged victim, so the newspaper asked for the complete incident report relating to the incident. The request was denied, and the newspaper appealed.

We expect a ruling from the Office of Open Records any day now and will update the Blog when it is posted. We recognize that some have strong views about disclosing the identity of victims, and many newspapers do not publish names of minor victims or victims of certain types of crimes. We agree with these policies.

But should all victim identities be shielded from public view? We don’t think so.

Our entire criminal justice system is founded on principles of openness and fairness. Access to public records serves the public in many ways, including allowing people to understand what is happening in their communities. Once charges are filed, the identities of those involved are a matter of public record. An open criminal justice system promotes public confidence that proceedings and investigations are being conducted fairly. As explained by the courts, it also discourages perjury, misconduct, or decisions based on secret bias.

We are looking forward to seeing the decision.