February 2, 2012

Ms. Teresa J. Brown

Senior Open Records Assistant

Plano Police Department

P.O. Box 860358

Plano, Texas 75086-0358

OR2012-01689

Dear Ms. Brown:

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# 444286 (Plano tracking number BARC111011).

The Plano Police Department (the "department") received a request for information related to a specified incident. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. ⁽¹⁾

Section 552.101 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 261.201 of the Family Code, which states:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, 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[.]

Fam. Code § 261.201(a), (k), (l)(2). You state the requested information was used or developed in an investigation of alleged indecency with a child and the requestor is the parent of the child victims named in the report. See id. § 261.001(1)(E) (defining "abuse" for the purposes of chapter 261 of the Family Code as including offense of indecency with a child under Penal Code section 21.11); see also Penal Code § 21.11(a) (defining "child" for purposes of Penal Code section 21.11 as person under 17 years of age). We note the requestor is not accused of the suspected abuse. Therefore, as you acknowledge, the department may not withhold this report from her on the basis of section 261.201(a) of the Family Code. Nonetheless, before the department provides information concerning this report to the requestor, it must redact any information that is otherwise excepted under the Act or other law. See Fam. Code § 261.201(l)(2). As you raise section 552.108 of the Government Code, we will consider that exception.

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 state the requested information relates to a pending criminal investigation and release of the information could interfere with the investigation and prosecution 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). Accordingly, we find section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code is applicable.

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). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle. 531 S.W.2d at 186-87. This information includes, but is not limited to, a detailed description of the offense. See Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information deemed public by Houston Chronicle). Thus, with the exception of basic information, the department may withhold the requested information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾

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,

Neal Falgoust

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

NF/agn

Ref: ID# 444286

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 those submitted to this office.

2. We note the requestor has a right of access to the information being released under section 261.201(k) of the Family Code. If the department receives another request for this same information from a different requestor, it must again seek a ruling from this office.

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