March 9, 2011

Ms. Jerris Penrod Mapes

Assistant City Attorney

Killeen Police Department

3304 Community Boulevard

Killeen, Texas 76542-5298

OR2011-03280

Dear Ms. Mapes:

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# 411660 (request #W004710).

The Killeen Police Department (the "department") received a request for all information pertaining to two named individuals and two specified addresses for specified periods of time. You state the department has released some of the requested information, but 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 representative sample of information. ⁽¹⁾

Initially, we note offense reports numbers 10-017280 and 10-017340 were the subject of a previous request for information, in response to which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2011-02825 (2011). In Open Records Letter No. 2011-02825, we determined that, with the exception of basic information, the department may withhold these reports from release pursuant to section 552.108 of the Government Code. As we have no indication that the law, facts, and circumstances on which the prior ruling was based have changed, the department may continue to rely on Open Records Letter No. 2011-02825 as a previous determination and withhold or release this information in accordance with that ruling. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure).

You assert offense report number 10-017499 is excepted from disclosure pursuant to section 552.108 of the Government Code. Section 552.108(a)(1) excepts from disclosure information 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 id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), 552.301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state this offense report relates to a pending criminal investigation. Based on this representation, we conclude the release of this information 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) (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). Therefore, we agree section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable to this information.

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. Thus, with the exception of the basic front-page offense and arrest information, the department may withhold offense report number 10-017499 under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

To conclude, the department may continue to rely on Open Records Letter No. 2011-02825 as a previous determination and withhold or release offense report numbers 10-017280 and 10-017340 in accordance with that ruling. With the exception of basic information, the department may withhold offense report number 10-017499 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,

James L. Coggeshall

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JLC/tf

Ref: ID# 411660

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We assume the "representative sample" 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 that submitted to this office.

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer