January 9, 2012

Ms. Tiffany Bull

Assistant City Attorney

Arlington Police Department

P.O. Box 1065

Arlington, Texas 76004-1065

OR2012-00393

Dear Ms. Bull:

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# 441779 (PD Ref# 5665-101911).

The Arlington Police Department (the "department") received a request for incident report number 900076898. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 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." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses section 58.007 of the Family Code. Juvenile law enforcement records relating to conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 1997 are confidential under section 58.007 of the Family Code. You assert the submitted information is subject to this section. However, we note that section 58.007 is inapplicable in this instance because the conduct at issue occurred in 1990. Accordingly, we address your argument under former section 51.14 of the Family Code. Prior to its repeal by the Seventy-Fourth Legislature, section 51.14(d) provided for the confidentiality of juvenile law enforcement records. See Open Records Decision No. 181 (1977) (concluding that former section 51.14(d) of the Family Code excepts police reports which identify juvenile suspects or furnish basis for their identification). Law enforcement records pertaining to juvenile delinquent conduct occurring before January 1, 1996 are governed by former section 51.14(d), which was continued in effect for that purpose. Act of May 27, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 262, § 100, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 2517, 2591. Section 51.14 only applies to records of a "child," which is defined as a person who is ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age. See Fam. Code § 51.02(2). You state the submitted information consists of a law enforcement record concerning juveniles. Upon review, we are able to determine the ages of three of the five suspects listed in the report as being over seventeen years of age at the time of the incident. You have not informed us, nor are we able to determine, the ages of the remaining two suspects at issue. Therefore, we conclude you have failed to demonstrate that either of the remaining two suspects qualified as a "child" at the time of the offense. Accordingly, the submitted information may not be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 51.14(d) of the Family Code.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses section 560.003 of the Government Code, which provides that "[a] biometric identifier in the possession of a governmental body is exempt from disclosure under [the Act]." See Gov't Code §§ 560.001 (defining "biometric identifier" to include fingerprints), .002 (prescribing manner in which biometric identifiers must be maintained and circumstances in which they can be released), .003 (biometric identifiers in possession of governmental body exempt from disclosure under the Act). We have marked fingerprints in the submitted information that must be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 560.003 of the Government Code.

Section 552.101 also encompasses section 411.083 of the Government Code, which pertains to criminal history record information ("CHRI") generated by the National Crime Information Center or by the Texas Crime Information Center. Title 28, part 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations governs the release of CHRI that state agencies obtain from the federal government or other states. See Open Records Decision No. 565 (1990). The federal regulations allow each state to follow its individual law with respect to CHRI it generates. See id. Section 411.083 of the Government Code deems confidential CHRI that the Department of Public Safety ("DPS") maintains, except DPS may disseminate this information in accordance with chapter 411, subchapter F of the Government Code. See Gov't Code § 411.083. Sections 411.083(b)(1) and 411.089(a) authorize a criminal justice agency to obtain CHRI; however, a criminal justice agency may only release CHRI to another criminal justice agency for a criminal justice purpose. See id. § 411.089(b)(1). Other entities specified in chapter 411 of the Government Code are entitled to obtain CHRI from DPS or another criminal justice agency; however, those entities may not release CHRI except as provided by chapter 411. See generally id. §§ 411.090-.127. Furthermore, any CHRI obtained from DPS or any other criminal justice agency must be withheld under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with Government Code chapter 411, subchapter F. Upon review, we conclude the department must withhold the CHRI we have marked under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 411.083 and federal law.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license or driver's license issued by an agency of this state, or an agency of another state or country, is excepted from public release. Id. § 552.130(a)(1). We have marked the information the department must withhold under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 560.003 of the Government Code. The department must withhold the CHRI we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 411.083 of the Government Code and federal law. The department must withhold the motor vehicle record information we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. ⁽¹⁾

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,

Vanessa Burgess

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

VB/dls

Ref: ID# 441779

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note the information being released contains social security numbers. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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