Open Records Act
Tulsa Police Open Records Data
For questions or concerns call (918)
596-2828
How do I request a record under the Oklahoma Open
Records Act?
Complete this
form and mail to:
Records Custodian
Tulsa Police Records
P.O. Box 1027
Tulsa, OK 74103
The Records Section of the Information and Technical Services
Division operates under procedures that are in compliance with
Title 51 of the Oklahoma State Statutes, Subsection 24, also known
as the Oklahoma Open Records Act. This statute details which
records law enforcement agencies shall make available for public
inspection, if kept. Mayor's Executive Order 95-04, issued by Mayor
Susan Savage, states that all departments within the City of Tulsa
will comply with the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
The Open Records Act states that law enforcement
agencies shall make available:
- An arrestee description, including the name, date of birth,
address, race, sex, physical description, and occupation of the
arrestee;
- Facts concerning the arrest, including the cause of arrest and
the name of the arresting officer;
- Conviction information, including the name of any person
convicted of a criminal offense;
- Disposition of all warrants, including orders signed by a judge
of any court commanding a law enforcement officer to arrest a
particular person;
- A chronological list of incidents, including initial offense
report information showing the offense, date, time, general
location, officer and a brief summary of what occurred;
- A crime summary, including a departmental summary of crimes
reported and public calls for service by classification or nature
and number;
- Radio logs, including a chronological listing of the calls
dispatched; and
- Jail registers, including jail blotter data or jail booking
information recorded on persons at the time of incarceration
showing the name of each prisoner with the date and cause of his
commitment, the authority committing him, whether committed for a
criminal offense, a description of his person, and the date or
manner of his discharge or escape.
The Oklahoma Open Records also states, in paragraph B of
Subsection 24:
"Except for the records listed in subsection A (above) of this
section and those made open by other state or local laws, law
enforcement agencies may deny access to law enforcement records
except where a court finds that the public interest or the interest
of an individual outweighs the reason for denial."
Mayor's Executive Order 95-4 states: "Record production requests
must be precise enough to identify with reasonable certainty
exactly what document is requested. Generalized or blanket requests
will not be honored."
Arrestee information and facts concerning the arrest can be
found on the Arrest and Booking Data Sheet. In order to obtain this
information, the requestor must provide the name of the individual
arrested and an approximate date of arrest (within a few days of
the actual date of arrest).
The Records Section does not consistently maintain conviction
information. The most up-to-date and accurate source for conviction
information is the court of record. In Tulsa County conviction
information for state felonies and misdemeanors can be obtained
from the Tulsa County District Court Clerks' Office. Conviction
information on municipal misdemeanors can be obtained from the City
of Tulsa Municipal Court Clerk's Office.
The disposition of warrants can be obtained through the court
issuing the warrant. Copies of outstanding warrants can be obtained
through the Records Section, however, because they are on file in a
physically separate location, they can only be produced after a
24-hour delay.
A chronological list of incidents does not exist in written
form. Records personnel are able to search a computer database by
name or location to locate a specific report. Generalized requests
for information, such as the number of drunk driving arrests, the
number of accidents at an intersection, or the number of burglaries
in a geographic area can only be obtained by running a search of
the computer database. Requests of this nature should be directed
in writing to the Chief of Police. The requestor will have to pay a
research fee to obtain this information.
The department prepares a monthly report listing a summary of
crimes reported by crime type. This report also contains summary
information about the number of people arrested by crime type. This
information can be obtained from the Records Section.
Radio logs are maintained by Public Safety Communications, a
separate department within the City of Tulsa.
The Records Section maintains a copy of the jail blotter for
thirty (30) days. Older copies of the jail blotter can be obtained
from the City of Tulsa Municipal Court Clerks Office.
FEES
The fees charged for report copies are authorized by either the
Oklahoma Open Records Act, the Mayor's Executive Order, or City
Ordinance. City ordinance 19224 authorizes the Tulsa Police
Department to charge a fee of $3.00 for a copy of a police report
of ten pages or less. It also authorizes a fee of $1.00 a page for
each page over ten pages. This city ordinance states that an
individual identified as the victim of a criminal offense in the
police report, or a pedestrian, an occupant, or an owner whose
property was directly involved in a traffic collision report may
receive one free copy of the report. The Mayors Executive Order
lists fees for documents not listed specifically on the ordinance.
This fee is $.25 per page for a copy. Other charges are authorized
by the Mayor which are the costs to reproduce items such as
pictures, video tapes, or computer programs.
JUVENILE INFORMATION
Title 10A Article 1 Chapter 6 & Article 2 Chapter 6 of the
Oklahoma State Statutes is known as the Oklahoma Juvenile Code.
Paragraph A states: "Except as provided by this section or as
otherwise specifically provided by state or federal laws, the
following juvenile records are confidential and shall not be open
to the general public, inspected, or their contents disclosed." The
list of confidential records includes law enforcement records.
Therefore, the Records Section is unable to release any record on a
juvenile, including arrest records or reports in which the victim
was a juvenile. These records cannot be released to the juvenile or
his parents or guardian. Title 10 does specifically state that
records of traffic violations are not considered confidential.
SUBPOENAS
All subpoenas should be addressed to Information Services
Division. They can be delivered to the Records Section. Each
subpoena received will be reviewed by an officer designated by the
Chief of Police. The department does have the right to contest a
subpoena if it feels releasing the information requested would be a
violation of state or federal law. After a subpoena has been
reviewed and approved by the designated officer, it will be
forwarded to a clerk who will obtain the subpoenaed materials. The
clerk will then contact the individual requesting the subpoenaed
materials.
RECORD REVIEWS
Any individual has the right to view any records we maintain on
them; however, they can only view their own records. No one except
a law enforcement officer can view another persons criminal arrest
record. A supervisor will review the record with the individual.
The individual has the right to purchase a copy of any documents in
their record; however, we do not provide the subject with a
computer printout of their record.
If a person states that their record is incorrect, we conduct an
investigation that usually includes taking the person's
fingerprints and comparing them against the fingerprint on the
arrest report. If there is not a fingerprint on the arrest we will
look at mug shots or compare physical descriptions. If we find
errors, we make corrections and notify all law enforcement agencies
to which we have contributed information, such as the Tulsa County
District Court Clerk's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the
City Prosecutor, the O.S.B.I., and the Department of Public
Safety.
VISA LETTERS
The Records Section also provides criminal background letters
for international travel. These are known as "visa" letters. We
will take requests for visa letters by phone, mail, fax, or in
person. If someone appears in person, it can be the individual
themselves, a family member, or someone else they have sent such as
a secretary. If the subject does not have a criminal record, we can
mail the visa letter back to the individual or hand it to whoever
presents the request in person. If the subject does have a criminal
record, we can only hand the visa letter back to the individual the
letter is on. If that person is not present to accept the letter,
then we can only mail the visa letter to the embassy from which the
visa is being requested.
