Texas Police Records Stored Information Online

By Claire Dowell


The US police records are considered public property and are accessible by the public. Police records contain vital information such as the case filed against the party, the party's name, the officer who reported the incident as well as some other information. The records are divided into 3 categories - Criminal case, administrative and Traffic/incident report. Criminal cases or reports include those reports that are categorized to be criminal or felony in nature. Records are available to the public once the judge has rendered his decision or the case reaches conviction. Access to on-going criminal cases is restricted especially if the case involves juveniles or is a sexual offense. Some parts of the record, which are tagged as "public information", are public records. The report includes the summary of the case as well as the suspects if an arrest has been made.

Records that are classified as administrative involve officers of the government who have committed violations or misconduct and violated the police policy. Traffic reports, on the other hand, are those cases that involve traffic incidents, infraction and can include the vehicle name, driver's license as well as the case filed.

To obtain a copy of the police report, it is important that one knows the case number or file number of the case. A person named as defendant can get a copy from the police department where the case was filed. Third party individuals who are interested in obtaining a copy of the police record can only do so once the case has already reached a decision or the case was closed. Different ways to obtain police reports include going to the Police department record division, email request, and walk in or through accessing the police records online.

For those who are in Austin and want to obtain a copy of the public portion of the police record, they can check the APD incident report database. Searches can be done based on the police area, zip code, as well as districts. Reports cost about 10 cents a copy and can be requested from Austin report sales office. It is best to check the business hours of the unit, as it is not open daily.

If you, on the other hand, want to get a copy of the police record in Houston, Texas, you can email, fax or visit the records division of the Houston police department. For open cases requests, one can request a report from the Attorney General's Office. Depending on the volume that the office receives, processing time can take more than 2 months. On the other hand, records that are made public are available from the local police department. To make a request through mail, send in the request form, self-stamped envelope as well as US$6. Payments are made through money order, cashier checks and cash.

For a more convenient approach of extracting police records and other public records, one can check out online commercial public search sites that offer free public searches. This is the fastest and most convenient way to retrieve information without having to wait for longer periods.




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