are domestic incident reports available to the public?

[scottchiusano]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

on a number of occasions, I have gotten into an arguement with a family member that resulted in the police showing up

they check the box: Why has no arrest been made? - No offense committed

however they still write up these reports

my question is that do these ever come out on a background check
and if not, what purpose do they serve?

 

[CdwJava]

Since there is no such thing as a generic background check, there is no way to know what may or may not show up. If it is not a police report and no crime is filed with the court, then it should not come out on a criminal history check or a public records' check at the courthouse. However, it MAY be considered a public record in NY if someone inquires to any contacts with the police. If asked, the police may have to advise how many contacts they have with you and what the nature of those contacts was.

I suspect that the reason the incident is documented in some way is that NY likely requires the police to document domestic violence incidents. So, the forms or procedures serve to capture required data for statistical analysis.

 

[scottchiusano]

thank you for your speedy response

however, I thought that the police is prohibited from sharing its information with unauthorized persons and agencies?

whats an example of a situation where the officer will divulge such information to a 3rd party

such as an employer/university?

 

[CdwJava]

thank you for your speedy response

however, I thought that the police is prohibited from sharing its information with unauthorized persons and agencies?

The question is whether these calls and the specific data on them is protected or not. In most states the subject of a call and the people contacted by the police is not generally a confidential record. Though, few employers are likely to contact a local agency to ask for contacts unless the employer is involved in some serious business and are conducting a background for a security clearance or law enforcement.

whats an example of a situation where the officer will divulge such information to a 3rd party

Using my state as an example, if you asked about contacts with a person named John Smith, we might have to divulge the date, time, location and nature of any contact with John Smith. It may be the same in your state as well. I cannot imagine that the subject of a radio call is in any way confidential unless it is part of an investigative file, and if no crime report or investigation is generated, it would be hard to consider the response as being an investigative report.

such as an employer/university?

If they get a waiver from you, or if they want to contact the local police agency holding the record of the contact, they can probably get that information. However, the odds of them going that far are slim to none. It is likely that a university employer will check your criminal history for any disqualifying offenses, but that is a state record and would not include police calls only, generally, booking and convictions.

 

[HighwayMan]

A DIR must be filled out for all calls that involve domestic violence, whether founded or not. I was taught in the police academy that if I respond to a domestic and the address turns out to be an empty lot I should still fill out a DIR.

The police have better things to do than distribute DIRs to the press or general public for no reason. The DIRs get filed with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. I believe they can be used in court if the incident results in criminal charges, but they will not ever show up in any kind of background check if there was no offense committed.

 

[scottchiusano]

as helpful as ever

thanks highwayman