Yes. Florida police reports are considered public records. Under Florida law, any record made or received in connection with the transaction of official business is a public record subject to disclosure unless there is a specific statutory exemption making that record, or the information contained therein, confidential or exempt.
This includes police reports, police logs, and incident reports. However, there are certain exemptions. For instance, active criminal investigative information and criminal intelligence information held by a criminal justice agency are exempt. Also, records pertaining to current or former law enforcement officers, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and photographs, are exempt from public disclosure.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) provides a Public Access System (PAS) designed to provide the public with the opportunity to assist law enforcement agencies in locating stolen property, missing persons, and persons wanted in connection with ongoing investigations.
While these records are publicly accessible, they are not intended to be used for reporting property as stolen or persons as missing. For such cases, individuals should contact their local law enforcement agency.
are there any restrictions on accessing Florida police reports
Yes, there are certain restrictions on accessing Florida police reports. While Florida law generally considers police reports as public records, specific statutory exemptions make certain records or information within them confidential or exempt from public disclosure.
For instance, active criminal investigative information and criminal intelligence information held by a criminal justice agency are exempt from public disclosure. This means that ongoing investigation details are typically unavailable to the public. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) reserves the right to deny any disclosure of active criminal investigations.
Access to records of juvenile offenders is also limited. Yet, a juvenile’s name, photograph, address, and crime or arrest report may be disclosed.
Records pertaining to current or former law enforcement officers, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and photographs, are exempt from public disclosure.
Certain personal information is also exempt from public disclosure. This includes social security numbers, medical information, bank account information, and the identity of victims in certain crimes.
Similarly, if the nature of a public records request requires extraordinary time and effort by FDLE personnel in order to respond, the requestor may be assessed charges for the personnel time and extraordinary expenses incurred.
