 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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January 31, 2011 Mr. C. Patrick Phillips Assistant City Attorney City of Fort Worth 1000 Throckmorton Street, 3rd Floor Fort Worth, Texas 76102 OR2011-01609 Dear Mr. Phillips: 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# 411560 (City of Fort Worth P.I.R. No. W005828). The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for two specified incident reports. You claim the requested 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 made confidential by other statutes, including section 58.007 of the Family Code, which makes confidential juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. The relevant language of section 58.007 reads: (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). Law enforcement records relating to juvenile delinquent conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007 of the Family Code. See id. § 51.03 (defining "delinquent conduct" for purposes of title 3 of the Family Code). 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. See id. § 51.02(2). Incident report number 10-129905 involves a juvenile engaged in delinquent conduct that occurred after September 1, 1997. You do not indicate, nor does it appear, that any of the exceptions in section 58.007 apply to this information. Thus, incident report number 10-129905 is confidential in its entirety pursuant to section 58.007(c) and must be withheld under section 552.101. 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). 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 Gov't Code §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state incident report number 10-132186 relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based upon this representation and our review of the information at issue, we conclude the release of incident report number 10-132186 would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution 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). However, we note 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). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-88. Thus, with the exception of basic information, the city may withhold incident report number 10-132186 under section 552.108(a)(1). (1) In summary, incident report number 10-129905 is confidential pursuant to section 58.007(c) of the Family Code and must be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 of the Government Code. With the exception of basic information, the city may withhold incident report number 10-132186 under 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, Tamara H. Holland Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division THH/tf Ref: ID# 411560 Enc. Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures) Ref: ID# 411560 Enc. Submitted documents ANGELA ORTEGA 4300 HUNTERS CREEK DR FORT WORTH TX 76123 Footnotes1. As our ruling under section 552.108 is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure, except to note that basic information may generally not be withheld from public disclosure under section 552.103. Open Records Decision No. 597 (1991).
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