January 28, 2010

Ms. Dahlia Salinas

Edinburg Police Department

1702 South Closner Boulevard

Edinburg, Texas 78539

OR2010-01333

Dear Ms. Salinas:

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# 368568.

The Edinburg Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified offense report. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from 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, including section 58.007 of the Family Code, which provides in relevant part:

(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, "child" means a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See id. § 51.02(2). Section 58.007(c) is not applicable to information that relates to a juvenile as a complainant, victim, witness, or other involved party; it is only applicable to juveniles listed as suspects or offenders. See id. §§ 58.007, 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision" for purposes of section 58.007). We have reviewed the submitted information and find that no portion of it identifies a juvenile suspect or offender. Accordingly, we find that section 58.007(c) of the Family Code is not applicable to the submitted information, and the department may not withhold it under section 552.101 of the Government Code on that basis.

Next, you raise section 552.108 of the Government Code, which excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body must reasonably explain how and why section 552.108 is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state that the submitted information is related to a pending prosecution. Based on this representation and our review, we conclude that section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable in this instance. 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).

We note that section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Such basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, and includes a detailed description of the offense. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-87; Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). We note that you have marked the entire narrative portion of the submitted report as information you seek to withhold under section 552.108. However, the remaining portions of the report do not contain information sufficient to satisfy the requirement that a "detailed description of the offense" be released as basic information. See ORD 127. In addition, we note the remaining portions of the report do not include the arrestees' identifying information. However, basic information includes, among other things, the name, social security number, alias, race, sex, age, and address of the arrestees. See id. at 179-80, 185-87; see also ORD No. 127. Accordingly, with the exception of basic information, which must include a detailed description of the offense and the arrestees' identifying information, the department may withhold the information you have marked pursuant to section 552.108(a)(1) 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,

Jennifer Burnett

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JB/eb

Ref: ID# 368568

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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