Requests for Public Records

The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is required to follow state laws for public record requests.
The Public Information Office (PIO) is the main contact for public record requests.
Requests for police reports, criminal history information, and other public departmental reports are handled as described in the OPD “Records – Criminal History Records and OPD Report Dissemination" policy.
According to Nebraska Revised Statute (NRS) §84-712.01, public records include all documents and records belonging to the OPD, no matter the physical form, unless a statute states the information should not be made public.
Data that is a public record in its original form remains a public record when kept in a computer file.

General Procedures

All public record requests must be submitted through the City of Omaha Public Records portal, also known as the OPD Public Records Request.
Public record requests are managed promptly per NRS §84-712.
Any OPD employee that gets a written public record request must notify the PIO immediately.
Any OPD worker who gets an electronic request (email) for a Public Record found in a spam or junk email folder must record the date and time the request was delivered to the spam or junk email folder, along with the date and time the employee became aware of it, and promptly email this along with a copy of the email to [email protected].
Many types of OPD records can be withheld from the public unless disclosed in court, administrative proceedings, open meetings, or by a public entity as part of its duties, as described in Nebraska State Law, with NRS §84-712.05 listing most of the types of records that may be withheld from public disclosure.
The OPD PIO Lieutenant is responsible for communicating with and providing a final response and requested public records to the requesting party.
The PIO Lieutenant will work with City Law when a request is unusual or requires additional legal analysis.
The OPD “Records – Criminal History Records and OPD Report Dissemination” policy has procedures for requests related to police reports and information such as criminal histories, OPD Incident Reports, mugshots, and crash reports.

Handling Public Record Requests

If the requesting party cannot access the City of Omaha Public Records portal, they can submit their public record request in writing to the OPD PIO using an OPD Public Records Request form (OPD Form 38) as outlined in this policy.
The OPD Public Records Request form (OPD Form 38) is available electronically from the OPD or in paper form at OPD Headquarters and OPD precincts.
Requesting parties are not always required to identify themselves by name, address, etc; City Law should be consulted if a requesting party doesn't want to be identified or provide information on the OPD Public Records Request Form (OPD Form 38).
The PIO Lieutenant or designee will review the submitted Public Records Request forms and get any clarification or missing details needed from the requesting party.
If there are questions about if the requested record is public, or if compiling the requested public records will take longer than four (4) hours, the PIO Lieutenant will notify City Law, who will respond to the requesting party and provide any public records.
The PIO Lieutenant or designee will consult with applicable OPD employees to determine record availability and estimate completion time.
If compiling the requested Public Records will take less than four (4) hours of OPD employees' time, the records will be composed by the PIO Lieutenant or designee, with help from OPD employees, and sent to City Law in no more than two (2) business days from when the original request was received.
If the press of business does not allow for the gathering of responsive records within this time frame, the PIO Lieutenant or designee and City Law will be informed when the records can be provided.
If compiling the request will take OPD employees more than four (4) hours, a listing of the number of hours each employee is likely to spend fulfilling the request will be prepared and submitted to City Law in no more than two (2) business days from when the original request was received.
The OPD employee shall inform City Law of how long it will take to provide the records to City Law, once they receive approval.
Public Records available on a public website, like the OPD website, do not need to be separately provided to the requesting party unless the requesting party cannot access the internet due to lack of computer, internet availability, or inability to use a computer or the internet.
In most cases, the internet location (website link, addresses, etc.) needs to be provided to the requesting party (NRS §84-712(3)(a)).
The PIO Lieutenant or City Law must reply to the requesting party within four (4) business days.
The PIO Lieutenant or City Law will tell the requesting party what Public Records may be available, the estimated time frame for request completion, and the amount of any deposit required.
The requesting party can amend their request or move forward with the original request.
If the request goes forward, the PIO Lieutenant or City Law will collect any required deposit and tell the PIO Lieutenant what Public Records need to be compiled, and the deadline to return documentation to City Law.
The PIO Lieutenant or designee will coordinate with OPD employees to compile the requested Public Records within the deadlines.
Sensitive/Personal information will be redacted from documents with City Law approval.
If the request will not be fulfilled, the PIO Lieutenant or City Law will give the requesting party a written denial within four (4) days, including details per NRS §84-712.04.

Maintenance of Records

The PIO will keep records of the following:
Use of the City of Omaha Public Records portal to track of all Public Record Requests received.
All Public Records requests were maintained in IAPro prior to 2019.
A copy of all OPD responses to City Law and all data provided to City Law regarding Public Records requests.
The City's final response to all Public Record Requests, including denials, and all documents provided to requesting parties by OPD or City Law.
City Law will keep records of the following in the City of Omaha Public Records portal:
The City's final response to all Public Record Requests, including denials, and all documents provided to requesting parties.
A record of all fees collected related to Public Records requests.