| Overview |
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Social workers may need to obtain reports from law enforcement agencies:
- As important documents in making assessments.
- As evidence for juvenile court hearings.
- To assist families in completing foster home or adoptive home study applications.
- To assist relatives and non-relative extended family members in seeking Director's Exemptions for home approvals.
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| Rights to Records |
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Government Code 6254(f) outlines the authorization and limits of rights to access police reports.
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| Police Reports from the San Jose Police Department or Sheriff's Office |
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Special procedures for obtaining police reports have been arranged between the Department of Family and Children's Services and the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) and Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff. Reports from the SJPD or Sheriff's Office are routed through the Family Violence Center and sent to DFCS clerical for distribution. Social workers can obtain reports from these two law enforcement jurisdictions by:
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Police Reports from Other Law Enforcement
Jurisdictions
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For social workers to obtain police reports from jurisdictions other than SJPD or the Sheriff's Department, the social worker:
- Completes the Request for Police Report.
- This is not the same as the Request for SJPD Police Report, which is used to request reports only from SJPD.
- Faxes the Request for Police Report to the applicable police department.
- See fax numbers for each police jurisdiction listed below.
- Receives the report at the fax number, e-mail or postal mail address given on the request form.
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- Campbell Police Department
Fax: (408) 379-7561
70 N. First St.
Campbell, CA 95008
Phone: (408) 866-2121
Hours: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Gilroy Police Department
Fax: (408) 846-0339
7370 Rosanna St.
Gilroy, CA 95020
Phone: (408) 846-0300
- Milpitas Police Department
Fax: (408) 586-2488
1275 N. Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408) 586-2400
Phone: (408) 586-2400
- Santa Clara Police Department
Fax: 248-0276
601 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Phone: (408) 615-4700
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| Police Report Requests from Foster or Relative Home Applicants |
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An individual requesting his/her own police report related to an arrest or conviction for which the individual is the suspect, arrestee or person having been convicted of the crime must request the report through one of the following offices:
- District Attorney's Office
70 West Hedding St.
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 299-7400
- District Attorney’s Office
San Martin Branch
12433 Monterey Road
San Martin, CA 95046
(408) 686-3600
- District Attorney’s Office
Palo Alto Branch
270 Grant Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 324-6400
- District Attorney’s Office
Sunnyvale Branch
333 West El Camino Real, Suite 230
Sunnyvale, CA 94087-1969
(408) 737-7422
- District Attorney’ s Office Discovery Unit
(408) 792-2510
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| Police Reports from Law Enforcement Agencies Outside Santa Clara County |
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To obtain a police report from a law enforcement agency outside of Santa Clara County, the social worker or individual requesting the report directly contacts the specific agency to inquire into the procedures for obtaining the police report from that agency. The Internet may be helpful in locating and contacting law enforcement agencies. For example: Law Enforcement Agencies in California and Law Enforcement Agencies in the United States are two links through which law enforcement agency phone numbers and addresses can be found.
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| Police Reports No Longer on File at the Law Enforcement Agency |
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For police report requests for a foster care application or Director's Exemption, when a law enforcement agency does not have the police report on file because the reports are destroyed after a certain period of time or the agency cannot retrieve a copy of the report for some other reason, the individual requesting the report must request a letter from the law enforcement agency stating that the report cannot be retrieved and the reason why. The letter is submitted with the foster care application or exemption request.
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| Crime Lab Reports |
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Lab reports are usually requested when social workers want results of a blood sample analysis taken on an individual arrested for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. All law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County submit blood samples for analysis to one county laboratory. To obtain a lab report from any law enforcement jurisdiction, the social worker:
- Completes a Crime Lab Report Request form.
- Faxes the form to the District Attorney's Office (298-7501).
- Receives the report via fax.
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| Crime Analysis Requests from SJPD |
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To obtain information regarding any history of criminal activity at a specific address in the city of San Jose, the social worker:
- Completes the Crime Analysis Request form.
- Faxes the Crime Analysis Request to the SJPD
- Receives the results of the analysis at the clerical unit in-basket.
For a crime analysis report from a law enforcement jurisdiction other than San Jose, the social worker must call the police department whose jurisdiction covers the address in question.
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