§ 132-1.4. Criminal investigations; intelligence information records; Innocence Inquiry Commission records.
§ 132‑1.4. Criminalinvestigations; intelligence information records; Innocence Inquiry Commissionrecords.
(a) Records of criminalinvestigations conducted by public law enforcement agencies, records ofcriminal intelligence information compiled by public law enforcement agencies,and records of investigations conducted by the North Carolina Innocence InquiryCommission, are not public records as defined by G.S. 132‑1. Records ofcriminal investigations conducted by public law enforcement agencies or recordsof criminal intelligence information may be released by order of a court ofcompetent jurisdiction.
(b) As used in thissection:
(1) "Records ofcriminal investigations" means all records or any information thatpertains to a person or group of persons that is compiled by public lawenforcement agencies for the purpose of attempting to prevent or solveviolations of the law, including information derived from witnesses, laboratorytests, surveillance, investigators, confidential informants, photographs, andmeasurements.
(2) "Records ofcriminal intelligence information" means records or information thatpertain to a person or group of persons that is compiled by a public lawenforcement agency in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible violationsof the law.
(3) "Public lawenforcement agency" means a municipal police department, a county policedepartment, a sheriff's department, a company police agency commissioned by theAttorney General pursuant to G.S. 74E‑1, et seq., and any State or localagency, force, department, or unit responsible for investigating, preventing,or solving violations of the law.
(4) "Violations ofthe law" means crimes and offenses that are prosecutable in the criminalcourts in this State or the United States and infractions as defined in G.S. 14‑3.1.
(5) "Complainingwitness" means an alleged victim or other person who reports a violationor apparent violation of the law to a public law enforcement agency.
(c) Notwithstanding theprovisions of this section, and unless otherwise prohibited by law, thefollowing information shall be public records within the meaning of G.S. 132‑1.
(1) The time, date,location, and nature of a violation or apparent violation of the law reportedto a public law enforcement agency.
(2) The name, sex, age,address, employment, and alleged violation of law of a person arrested,charged, or indicted.
(3) The circumstancessurrounding an arrest, including the time and place of the arrest, whether thearrest involved resistance, possession or use of weapons, or pursuit, and adescription of any items seized in connection with the arrest.
(4) The contents of"911" and other emergency telephone calls received by or on behalf ofpublic law enforcement agencies, except for such contents that reveal the name,address, telephone number, or other information that may identify the caller,victim, or witness.
(5) The contents ofcommunications between or among employees of public law enforcement agenciesthat are broadcast over the public airways.
(6) The name, sex, age,and address of a complaining witness.
(d) A public lawenforcement agency shall temporarily withhold the name or address of acomplaining witness if release of the information is reasonably likely to posea threat to the mental health, physical health, or personal safety of thecomplaining witness or materially compromise a continuing or future criminalinvestigation or criminal intelligence operation. Information temporarilywithheld under this subsection shall be made available for release to thepublic in accordance with G.S. 132‑6 as soon as the circumstances thatjustify withholding it cease to exist. Any person denied access to informationwithheld under this subsection may apply to a court of competent jurisdictionfor an order compelling disclosure of the information. In such action, thecourt shall balance the interests of the public in disclosure against theinterests of the law enforcement agency and the alleged victim in withholdingthe information. Actions brought pursuant to this subsection shall be set downfor immediate hearing, and subsequent proceedings in such actions shall beaccorded priority by the trial and appellate courts.
(e) If a public lawenforcement agency believes that release of information that is a public recordunder subdivisions (c)(1) through (c)(5) of this section will jeopardize theright of the State to prosecute a defendant or the right of a defendant toreceive a fair trial or will undermine an ongoing or future investigation, itmay seek an order from a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent disclosureof the information. In such action the law enforcement agency shall have theburden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that disclosure of theinformation in question will jeopardize the right of the State to prosecute adefendant or the right of a defendant to receive a fair trial or will underminean ongoing or future investigation. Actions brought pursuant to this subsectionshall be set down for immediate hearing, and subsequent proceedings in suchactions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts.
(f) Nothing in thissection shall be construed as authorizing any public law enforcement agency toprohibit or prevent another public agency having custody of a public recordfrom permitting the inspection, examination, or copying of such public recordin compliance with G.S. 132‑6. The use of a public record in connectionwith a criminal investigation or the gathering of criminal intelligence shallnot affect its status as a public record.
(g) Disclosure ofrecords of criminal investigations and criminal intelligence information thathave been transmitted to a district attorney or other attorney authorized toprosecute a violation of law shall be governed by this section and Chapter 15Aof the General Statutes.
(h) Nothing in thissection shall be construed as requiring law enforcement agencies to disclosethe following:
(1) Information thatwould not be required to be disclosed under Chapter 15A of the GeneralStatutes; or
(2) Information that isreasonably likely to identify a confidential informant.
(i) Law enforcementagencies shall not be required to maintain any tape recordings of"911" or other communications for more than 30 days from the time ofthe call, unless a court of competent jurisdiction orders a portion sealed.
(j) When informationthat is not a public record under the provisions of this section is deletedfrom a document, tape recording, or other record, the law enforcement agencyshall make clear that a deletion has been made. Nothing in this subsectionshall authorize the destruction of the original record.
(k) The following courtrecords are public records and may be withheld only when sealed by court order:arrest and search warrants that have been returned by law enforcement agencies,indictments, criminal summons, and nontestimonial identification orders.
(l) Records ofinvestigations of alleged child abuse shall be governed by Article 29 ofChapter 7B of the General Statutes. (1993, c. 461, s. 1; 1998‑202, s. 13(jj); 2006‑184,s. 7.)