Texas Police Records Free List Online

By Ben Kingsley


Police records in Texas or any police records in the United States are generally available for public access. Police reports are official documents that contain information such as the defendant, the plaintiff, the officer report and the case between the parties. Three types of police reports are available that can be requested from the police department - crime, administrative and traffic report. A crime report is usually a record of criminal offense by nature. Records of this nature are available to the public once the case reaches conviction or a decision is made. However, the record is restricted from public access if the case is on-going or involves a juvenile or a minor and only the public part of the information is available to the public.

Administrative records, on the other hand, are reports that deal with violations and crimes committed by the police department or those in the government that might be guilty of misconduct or where the officer has committed violation(s) of the department's policies. Traffic reports on the other hand deal with incident reports, traffic altercations and citations. Traffic reports contain the infraction or case, the driver's name and license number as well as the license plate of the vehicle.

To access the police report, one only has to know the case or file number to make a written request. A defendant or a party has direct access to their police records and a copy is usually sent to the parties involved. For third parties, they can also access public information copy of the report. Reports that are criminal in nature are restricted while ongoing and can only be accessed after a conviction is made. To request for the report, one can walk in person to the office, send an email, a fax or a mail request.

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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