CARIIS
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Columbus lawyer Mark Weaver, a media-law expert
Police incident and offense reports must be released immediately and without redactions.
Yet, Dispatch reporters, and presumably the public, continue to encounter police agencies that don’t know the law -- or don’t care what it says.
After battling nine days to obtain an incident report from one area police department, The Dispatch received it today. Information, such as the names of juveniles and other details, was blacked-out. Information was both delayed and denied.
Police reasons for not immediately releasing the report included that the investigation was ongoing, the report had not been approved (although the officer's detailed narrative is marked as approved the same day the incident occurred) and a desire to be “sensitive” to the victim’s family.
Police said they faced no legal deadline to turn over the report.
............settled by the courts that police departments should not redact information from an initial incident report using the confidential law enforcement investigation exception,”
“Social Security numbers can be redacted but little else. ...
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that incident and offense reports, and underlying statements and interviews, are not confidential investigatory records ......the same applies to 911 call recordings.
And, such police reports must be released immediately upon request,
Further, no information -- including the names of victims, uncharged suspects and juveniles (except victims of child abuse) -- can be redacted
http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/your-right-to-know/2013/11/incident-reports.html
Ohio law and courts are crystal clear: Incident reports must be released immediately upon request – not five days later.
Here is the surpreme court ruling:
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2001/2001-ohio-282.pdf
Police incident and offense reports must be released immediately and without redactions.
Yet, Dispatch reporters, and presumably the public, continue to encounter police agencies that don’t know the law -- or don’t care what it says.
After battling nine days to obtain an incident report from one area police department, The Dispatch received it today. Information, such as the names of juveniles and other details, was blacked-out. Information was both delayed and denied.
Police reasons for not immediately releasing the report included that the investigation was ongoing, the report had not been approved (although the officer's detailed narrative is marked as approved the same day the incident occurred) and a desire to be “sensitive” to the victim’s family.
Police said they faced no legal deadline to turn over the report.
............settled by the courts that police departments should not redact information from an initial incident report using the confidential law enforcement investigation exception,”
“Social Security numbers can be redacted but little else. ...
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that incident and offense reports, and underlying statements and interviews, are not confidential investigatory records ......the same applies to 911 call recordings.
And, such police reports must be released immediately upon request,
Further, no information -- including the names of victims, uncharged suspects and juveniles (except victims of child abuse) -- can be redacted
http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/your-right-to-know/2013/11/incident-reports.html
Ohio law and courts are crystal clear: Incident reports must be released immediately upon request – not five days later.
Here is the surpreme court ruling:
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2001/2001-ohio-282.pdf
