How to Locate Police Records on a Person

You will likely have to look through court files to locate police records.

The method of obtaining police records will vary depending on the state, county and court. Depending on the rules and procedures, you may or may not be able to obtain police records from the police department on a specific individual. Oftentimes you will be directed to the local court. If a criminal case has been filed, there is a chance that the police report will be in the case file.

Instructions

1. Contact the police department that would house the records on the person. Speak to a clerk and discuss whether or not you can have access to the case file and how to obtain a copy of the police records or report, if it's possible. The clerk will likely want to know whether or not you are the person or not. That may make the difference in whether or not they will release that information.

2. Contact the court that handles criminal cases in the county of the arrest. If you need to find out which court handles those cases, ask the clerk at the police department. You can also locate this information on the website www.brb.com. Ask to speak to a clerk in the criminal division. If you don't have a case number, you will have to ask the clerk if she will run the search over the phone. You will need the name and likely date of birth or date of arrest.

3. Go to the courthouse in person if the court clerk will not provide you the information. Either conduct a search on a public terminal, if there is one, or ask a clerk to do one for you. Keep in mind that a court may charge you for that name search.

4. Look through the case file for the police records. If the police records are available, they are likely to be towards the front of the file, attached as an exhibit to the filing document. Exhibits are additional documents and evidence that supports the document that it's attached to. However, there is a chance that it's located somewhere else in the case file, so search through every single document.

Tips & Warnings

• Be polite to the clerks that you speak with because they will be more likely to help you locate the information that you need.

• Many courts will not include police records in case files due to the sensitive information included in them.

References

• BRB Publications Inc: Free Public Records Directory
• PR Log: Police Reports