Get The Latest And Updated Information On Police Records North Carolina
For researchers, one of the most important sources of information is those that come from the government. With that said, access to these types of documents is made open to the public. North Carolina police records are considered as public property as stated in its Statute Law. Public records, as defined in the Statute, are any documents such as books, records, photos, emails and any other media format that the agencies of the government comes in contact with, during the course of their correspondence with the public. These files or records are free by nature and if there are fees included or charges, these are made to cover the expense of copying the said files.
Although the public has the right to access the records, there are some exemptions to the Statute. Examples of these exemptions include – (a) criminal investigations records (Statute 132 sec. 1.3); (b) Intelligence information record (Statute 132 sec. 1.4); (c) Information included in a 911 response (Statute 132 sec. 1.5); (d) Autopsy photos (Statute 132 sec. 1.8) and (e) Emergency Response (Statute 132 sec 1.6). The exceptions are just some of the exclusions in the Statute; other situations wherein the police department might refuse the release of the records are also indicated in the Statute.
The Record Division of the City’s Police Department categorizes the reports based on the type of the records. The records are classified under (a) traffic or crash reports, (b) crime or felony and (c) non-emergency. The Record Division is open during working hours and one can readily go to the division and ask for the reports they want or need. The files are also accessible through online requests. Some cities, as mentioned, provide the services free although others do charge a certain amount.
Residents of Asheville for example, can visit the Central Police Department in the lobby of the Police HQ and look at the police records during working hours. They can also send a self-addressed stamped envelope and forward it to the Central Records Unit. Charlotte-Mecklenburg residents however are required to pay $3.50 for a PDF format of the police report. The report is free if one visits the police headquarters on East Trade Street.
To make processing faster, one can request the records through online, email, phone or mail. For email or mail, people who request for the information should include all the pertinent details to make the transaction easier. An example would be having a record or file number; indicating this on the request letter makes for smoother transaction. The Law does not indicate any specific length of time for the department to answer the inquiries; therefore it might take some time for the department to do this. However, by being specific in what one needs, one can make the transaction faster.
There might be cases when the request for police reports would be denied. You might want to call in or walk in to the Records Division and ask for the reason for this decision. In most scenarios, this would mean that the case is included in the exemption rule though there might be some parts of the case that are available to the public. Requesting online is the easiest way to retrieve information especially when it comes to non-emergency type of documents.
Filed under: Business