January 13, 2011

Mr. Jose Hernandez

Interim Records Supervisor

Edinburg Police Department

1702 South Closner Boulevard

Edinburg, Texas 78539

OR2011-00693

Dear Mr. Hernandez:

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# 406058 (Edinburg Police Reference ID# 14561).

The Edinburg Police Department (the "department") received a request for report number 10-39095. You claim the submitted 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.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." ⁽¹⁾ Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses information protected by other statutes, such as section 261.201 of the Family Code. Section 261.201 provides in relevant part:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under [the Act] and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

. . .

(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an investigating agency, other than the [Texas Department of Family and Protective Services] or the Texas Youth Commission, on request, shall provide to the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child who is the subject of reported abuse or neglect, or to the child if the child is at least 18 years of age, information concerning the reported abuse or neglect that would otherwise be confidential under this section. The investigating agency shall withhold information under this subsection if the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of the child requesting the information is alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect.

(l) Before a child or a parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child may inspect or copy a record or file concerning the child under Subsection (k), the custodian of the record or file must redact:

. . .

(2) any information that is excepted from required disclosure under [the Act], or other law; and

(3) the identity of the person who made the report.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a), (k), (l)(2)-(3). Upon review, we find the submitted report was used or developed in an investigation of alleged child abuse under chapter 261 of the Family Code. See id. § 261.001(1) (defining "abuse" for purposes of chapter 261 of the Family Code); see also id. § 101.003(a) (defining "child" for purposes of this section as person under 18 years of age who is not and has not been married or who has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes). Thus, we find the submitted information is generally confidential under section 261.201. We note the requestor is a parent of the child victims listed in the report. Further, this individual is not alleged to have committed the suspected abuse. Therefore, the department may not use section 261.201(a) to withhold the information at issue from this requestor. Id. § 261.201(k). Section 261.201(l)(2) states any information that is excepted from required disclosure under the Act or other law may still be withheld from disclosure. Id. § 261.201(l)(2). Thus, because you assert section 552.108(a)(1) for a portion of the submitted report, we will address your argument under this section.

Section 552.108(a)(1) 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 . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). 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 indicate release of the information you have marked would interfere with the pending detection or investigation of a crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Thus, we agree section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable to the information you have marked.

However, section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108©. Such basic, front-page information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, and includes, among others, a detailed description of the offense. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-8; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 at 3-4 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). We note you have marked the entire narrative portion of the submitted report as information you seek to withhold under section 552.108. Consequently, the remaining portions of the report do not contain information sufficient to satisfy the requirement that a detailed description of the offense be released. Accordingly, we determine the department must release a sufficient portion of the narrative section of the submitted report to constitute 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 have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. In this instance, the information that must be released as basic information, including information from the narrative portion, and the remaining information contains the reporting party's identifying information for purposes of section 261.201 of the Family Code. Therefore, the department must withhold the reporting party's identifying information, which we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(3) of the Family Code.

In summary, with the exception of a detailed description of the offense, the department may withhold the information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The department must withhold the reporting party's identifying information, which we have marked, under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(3) of the Family Code. The remaining information must be released.

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/vb

Ref: ID# 406058

Enc. Submitted documents

c: 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. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

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