Like any other beat, covering criminal justice requires establishing relationships with the people you’re writing about. You cannot report on records and data alone. That is particularly true in California. Many types of law enforcement records here are exempt from the state’s public records law. Interestingly, while much of the basic information contained in police reports is public, the documents that hold the information are not considered open. Here is a quick list of what you can and cannot get through a public records request:
Arrest reports
For virtually all arrests, information on the reports’ first few pages, its “face sheet,” is public under California law, including details about the person arrested and the circumstances of his or her arrest.
Criminal investigative files
Investigation files are not considered public records under state law, even after cases have been closed.
Police data
California law says that, generally, records should be released in an electronic format if the agency already maintains them as computer files. So in many cases, data on arrests, emergency response and clearance of criminal investigations should be available electronically.
Comments
via Twitter