 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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January 8, 2010 Ms. J. Middlebrooks Assistant City Attorney Criminal Law and Police Section 1400 South Lamar Dallas, Texas 75215 OR2010-00363 Dear Ms. Middlebrooks: 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# 366776 (DPD PIR # 09-8702). The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for one hundred and ninety three specified police reports. You claim portions of the submitted information are excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, and 552.130 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. (1) Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from public disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information protected by other statutes. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007 of the Family Code. The relevant language of section 58.007 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 Subchapters B, D, and E. Fam. Code § 58.007(c). For purposes of section 58.007(c), "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age at the time of the reported conduct. See id. § 51.02(2)(A). Report number 0244332-W constitutes a law enforcement record relating to a juvenile engaged in delinquent conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. See id. § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" for purposes of section 58.007). None of the exceptions in section 58.007 appear to apply; therefore, report number 0244332-W is confidential under section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. (2) Section 552.108(a) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if: (1) release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state the remaining reports relate to pending criminal investigations and prosecutions. Based upon your representations, we conclude the release of the information you have marked in the remaining reports would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). Thus, we agree section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code is generally applicable to the marked information. However, basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime is not excepted from disclosure under section 552.108. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Such basic, front-page information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, and includes, among other things, a detailed description of the offense. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). We note you have marked the entire narrative portion of report numbers 0227060-W, 0230287-W, and 0255107-W as information you seek to withhold under section 552.108. However, the remaining submitted portions of the reports do not contain information sufficient to satisfy the requirement that a "detailed description of the offense" be released as basic information. See ORD 127. Accordingly, we determine the department must release a sufficient portion of the narrative section of the reports at issue to encompass a detailed description of the offense to satisfy the required release of basic information pursuant to Houston Chronicle. The department may withhold the remaining information you marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. You seek to withhold portions of the marked narratives under section 552.130 of the Government Code. Section 552.130 excepts from disclosure "information [that] relates to . . . a motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state [or] a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state[.]" Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). Accordingly, the department must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information you marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. (3) In summary, the department must withhold report number 0244332-W under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 58.007(c) of the Family Code. With the exception of detailed descriptions of the offenses, the department may withhold the information you marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The department must withhold the Texas motor vehicle record information you marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. 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, toll free, at (888) 672-6787. Sincerely, Ana Carolina Vieira Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division ACV/eeg Ref: ID# 366776 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures)
1. We assume the representative samples of records submitted to this office is truly representative of the
requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records
letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the
extent those records contain substantially different types of information than submitted to this office.
2. As our ruling for this information is dispositive, we do not address your remaining argument against
disclosure of portions of this information.
3. We note this office recently issued Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009), a previous determination
to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information, including Texas driver's
license and plate numbers under section 552.130 of the Government Code, without the necessity of requesting
an attorney general decision.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |