February 14, 2011

Mr. B. Chase Griffith

Brown & Hofmeister, L.L.P.

740 East Campbell Road, Suite 800

Richardson, Texas 75081

OR2011-02169

Dear Mr. Griffith:

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# 409149 (ORR# 10-3110).

The McKinney Police Department (the "department"), which you represent, received a request for a specified incident case number involving a named individual and calls of service for the past year to a specified address. 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 552.108(a)(1) 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 state the submitted information relates to an open case. Based on your representation and our review, we conclude that section 552.108(a)(1) is generally applicable to the submitted information. 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 curium, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976).

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(c). Section 552.108(c) refers to the basic "front-page" information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-187; see also Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information).

We note that the requestor is an investigator with the Child Protective Services Division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services ("DFPS"). Section 411.114 of the Government Code allows, among other things, for DFPS to obtain criminal history record information ("CHRI") concerning an individual who is the subject of a report of abuse or neglect of a child. See Gov't Code § 411.114(a)(4), (a)(2)(I). CHRI consists of "information collected about a person by a criminal justice agency that consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, and other formal criminal charges and their dispositions." See id. § 411.082(2).

In this instance, the requestor does not state whether the individual who is the subject of the submitted information and the individual named in the request is a suspect in a report of abuse or neglect of a child. Therefore, we are unable to conclude that section 411.114 of the Government Code gives the requestor a right of access to any of the submitted information and must rule conditionally. See id. § 411.114; see also id. § 411.082(2). Accordingly, if the individual to whom the submitted information pertains is a suspect in a report of abuse or neglect of a child, then the department must release information that shows the types of allegation made and whether there was an arrest, information, indictment, detention, conviction, or other formal charges and their dispositions. See Open Records Decision No. 451 (1986) (specific statutory right of access provisions overcome general exceptions to disclosure under the Act). The department must also release the basic information. However, the remaining information may be withheld under section 552.108 of the Government Code. If the individual that is the subject of the submitted information is not a suspect in a report of abuse or neglect of a child, then, except for basic information, the department may withhold the submitted information under section 552.108 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,

Kenneth Leland Conyer

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KLC/eeg

Ref: ID# 409149

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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