March 5, 2012

Ms. Cathy Duhart

Sinton Police Department

217 East Market

Sinton, Texas 78387

OR2012-03275

Dear Ms. Duhart:

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# 451162.

The Sinton Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified incident report. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the claimed exception and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from public 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. You raise section 552.101 in conjunction with section 51.14 of the Family Code. Section 51.14 governs law enforcement records pertaining to juvenile delinquent conduct occurring before January 1, 1996. See Act of May 27, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 262, § 100, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 2517, 2591. Therefore, section 51.14 is inapplicable in this instance because the incident at issue occurred in 2012. However, you also raise section 552.101 in conjunction with section 58.007 of the Family Code, which protects juvenile law enforcement records related to delinquent conduct and conduct indicating a need for supervision that occurred on or after September 1, 1997. Section 58.007 provides, in relevant part:

(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); see also id. § 51.03(a)-(b) (defining "delinquent conduct" and "conduct indicating a need for supervision"). For purposes of section 58.007(c), a "child" is a person who was ten years of age or older and under seventeen years of age at the time the conduct occurred. Id. § 51.02(2). However, Section 58.007(c) does not apply to information that relates to a juvenile as a complainant, victim, witness, or other involved party and not as a suspect or offender. Upon review, we find the submitted information does not involve a juvenile identified as a suspect, offender, or arrestee. Thus, the department may not withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 58.007. As you raise no additional exceptions to disclosure, the submitted information must be released to the requestor.

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,

Misty Haberer Barham

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

MHB/som

Ref: ID # 451162

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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