April 7, 2009

Mr. Robert E. Reyna

Assistant City Attorney

City of San Antonio

P.O. Box 839966

San Antonio, Texas 78283-3966

OR2009-04556

Dear Mr. Reyna:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 339349 (SAPD ORR 2009-2516).

The San Antonio Police Department (the "department") received a request for incident report number 8098455-01. You claim the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note some of the submitted information it not responsive to the request. The requestor seeks report number 8098455-01. Thus, the other submitted reports are not responsive to the instant request for information. This ruling does not address the public availability of any information that is not responsive to the request and the department is not required to release that information in response to the request.

Next, we note the submitted responsive report is subject to section 552.101 of the Government Code, which excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." ⁽¹⁾ Gov't Code §552.101. This section encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 58.007 of the Family Code. Section 58.007 makes confidential the law enforcement records of a juvenile who, on or after September 1, 1997, engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision. See Fam. Code § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision"). The relevant language of section 58.007(c) reads as follows:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), law enforcement records and files concerning a child and information stored, by electronic means or otherwise, concerning the child from which a record or file could be generated may not be disclosed to the public and shall be:

(1) if maintained on paper or microfilm, kept separate from adult files and records;

(2) if maintained electronically in the same computer system as records or files relating to adults, be accessible under controls that are separate and distinct from controls to access electronic data concerning adults; and

(3) maintained on a local basis only and not sent to a central state or federal depository, except as provided by Subchapter B.

Id. § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007, "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See id. § 51.02(2). Report number 80984550-01 identifies a juvenile arrestee alleged to have engaged in delinquent conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. Thus, this report falls within the purview of section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. Since it appears that none of the exceptions to disclosure in section 58.007 apply, report number 80984550-01 is confidential pursuant to section 58.007(c) and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General at (512) 475-2497.

Sincerely,

Jordan Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JH/jb

Ref: ID# 339349

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

2. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your argument under section 552.108 of the Government Code.

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