Is the name of a 911 caller that ends up in a police offense report confidential under Florida's public records law?

Subject

E911 calls, identifying information in offense report

Plain-English summary

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's office asked Attorney General Pam Bondi whether the identity of a 911 caller stays confidential when that person's name appears in a police offense report, even if the report does not show that a 911 call was made or that this person made it. The answer drew a line based on where the information came from.

Section 365.171(12) makes confidential any record or information a public agency obtains "for the purpose of providing services in an emergency" that reveals the name, address, telephone number, or other identifying information of a person who calls 911 or reports an emergency, while that information is in the agency's custody. So the name a deputy learns only from the 911 call itself stays confidential. But an offense report created later, from a criminal investigation, is a different kind of record. The AG concluded that identifying information gathered through that investigation and placed in an offense report is not protected by the 911 exemption, because it was not obtained from the 911 call or for the purpose of providing emergency services. Because public-records exemptions are read narrowly, the exemption shields only information that ties a specific person to having made the 911 call or requested emergency help.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2011. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Section 365.171 is the "Florida Emergency Communications Number E911 State Plan Act," meant to give citizens rapid access to public-safety agencies and to speed emergency response. Its confidentiality provision, section 365.171(12), exempts from section 119.07(1) and Article I, section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution "any record, recording, or information" an agency obtains to provide emergency services that reveals identifying information about a person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency through the E911 system. The Legislature's stated reasons, set out in Chapter 96-229, were privacy and safety: people seeking emergency help should not have their identities exposed to harassment, profiteering, or interference, and fear of exposure should not chill the reporting of emergencies.

The opinion read the exemption to hinge on two conditions: the information must have been obtained by an agency for the purpose of providing emergency services, and it must reveal the identity of the person who requested emergency services or reported the emergency. A Florida Senate interim study the opinion cited described the exemption's purpose as shielding the identity of anyone who reports an emergency by calling 911, and noted that the same information might exist in other official documents, sometimes protected by other exemptions (such as active criminal investigative information) but not by the 911 exemption itself. Applying the rule that public-records law is construed liberally toward openness and exemptions narrowly (citing Krischer v. D'Amato, Seminole County v. Wood, Tribune Company v. Public Records, and Southern Bell v. Beard), the AG concluded that names collected in a criminal investigation and put in an offense report fall outside section 365.171(12). The opinion added that agencies may still wish to be mindful of the exemption's purpose when deciding what identifying information to include in such documents.

Common questions

Does calling 911 make your name secret in any later police record?
No. The exemption protects identifying information the agency got from the 911 call itself. If your name shows up in an offense report because investigators developed it separately, the 911 exemption does not cover it.

What exactly does section 365.171(12) protect?
The name, address, phone number, and other personal or identifying information of a person who requests emergency service or reports an emergency through the E911 system, while that information is in the custody of the agency providing emergency services.

Could other exemptions still keep an offense report's contents confidential?
Yes. The opinion noted that information in an offense report might be shielded by other exemptions, such as those for active criminal investigative information or for certain crime victims, even though the 911 exemption does not apply.

Why are public-records exemptions read so narrowly?
Florida courts construe the Public Records Law liberally in favor of open government, so any exemption is read strictly and limited to its stated purpose. Here that meant the 911 exemption reached only information tying a person to the 911 call.

Citations and references

• s. 365.171, Fla. Stat. (Florida Emergency Communications Number E911 State Plan Act)
• s. 365.171(12), Fla. Stat. (confidentiality of identifying information from 911 calls)
• s. 119.07(1), Fla. Stat., and Art. I, s. 24(a), Fla. Const. (public-records inspection)
• Ch. 96-229, Laws of Florida (legislative findings supporting the exemption)
• Krischer v. D'Amato, 674 So. 2d 909 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
• Seminole County v. Wood, 512 So. 2d 1000 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)
• Tribune Company v. Public Records, 493 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)
• Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company v. Beard, 597 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/e911-calls-identifying-information-in-offense-report
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1635

Original opinion text

Ms. Lisa H. Rubin

Agency Attorney

Palm Beach County Sheriff

3228 Gun Club Road

West Palm Beach, Florida 33406-3001

RE: E911 CALLS – EMERGENCY SERVICES – PUBLIC RECORDS – confidentiality of identifying information in offense reports. s. 365.171(12), Fla. Stat.

Dear Ms. Rubin:

On behalf of the Honorable Ric L. Bradshaw, Palm Beach County Sheriff, you ask substantially the following question:

Is information regarding an individual who makes a 911 call contained in an offense report confidential and exempt pursuant to section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes, regardless of whether the offense report reflects that a 911 call was made or identifies the individual as having made the 911 call?

In sum:

Information obtained from a 911 call by an agency for the purpose of providing service in an emergency which reveals the name, address, telephone number, or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency is confidential while in the custody of the agency. However, identifying information obtained or created independently of the 911 call, for example from a criminal investigation or offense report created as a result of such investigation, is not exempt under section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes.

While you recognize that the exemption clearly applies to the recording of 911 calls and computer aided dispatch records relating to such calls, you question whether an offense report which subsequently includes such information identifying an individual, but not indicating that he or she placed the 911 call or requested emergency assistance would be subject to the exemption. You also question whether the identifying information should be redacted from the offense report when the caller is also the victim, a suspect, or a witness to the incident, and no other exemptions would justify the redaction of such information.

Section 365.171, Florida Statutes, is the "Florida Emergency Communications Number E911 State Plan Act."[1] It is the Legislature's intent

"to implement and continually update a cohesive statewide emergency communications number 'E911' plan for enhanced 911 services which will provide citizens with rapid direct access to public safety agencies by accessing '911' with the objective of reducing the response time to situations requiring law enforcement, fire, medical, rescue, and other emergency services."[2]

Section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes, provides:

"CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.—Any record, recording, or information, or portions thereof, obtained by a public agency or a public safety agency for the purpose of providing services in an emergency and which reveals the name, address, telephone number, or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency by accessing an emergency communications E911 system is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except that such record or information may be disclosed to a public safety agency. The exemption applies only to the name, address, telephone number or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency while such information is in the custody of the public agency or public safety agency providing emergency services. . . ." (e.s.)

Thus, application of the exemption hinges upon two conditions: the information was obtained by a public agency or a public safety agency for the purpose of providing services in an emergency; and the information reveals the identity of the person requesting emergency services or reporting the emergency. The Legislature has stated:

"The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that information received by the agency receiving a '911' call and an agency providing emergency services as a result of that '911' call be held confidential and exempt when it reveals the name, address, telephone number, or personal information about, or information which may identify the person requesting emergency service or reporting an emergency because if it were otherwise, personal, sensitive information, including medical information, would be revealed to the public. The need for emergency services bespeaks a very personal and often traumatizing event. To have this information made publicly available is an invasion of privacy. Additionally, to have such information publicly available could jeopardize the health and safety of those needing emergency services in that people, other than emergency service providers, could actually gain access to the scene of the emergency and thereby impede the effective and efficient provision of emergency services. Furthermore, there are those persons, who, for personal, private gain and/or for business purposes, would seek to capitalize on individuals in their time of need. Those reporting or needing emergency services should not be subjected to this type of possible harassment. Furthermore, to allow such information to become public could chill the reporting of emergency situations to the detriment of public health and safety."[3]

While the Legislature's concern is to protect individuals using 911 to seek emergency assistance from unwanted and potentially detrimental contact, the exemption is couched in terms of information derived from the 911 call which would identify the individual as the one making the call or requesting emergency services. A study by the Florida Senate reviewing the exemption for purposes of reenactment summarized that the purpose of the exemption is "to shield the identity of any person requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency by accessing the emergency telephone number '911.'"[4] The report noted, however, that the exempted information could be obtained from other official documents, albeit in some instances such information would be protected from disclosure by other statutory exemptions.[5]

The plain language of the statute makes the exemption applicable to any record or information obtained by a public agency for the purpose of providing services in an emergency and which may identify the person as one requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency situation. You have stated that the offense report is a document that may be created as a result of an inquiry or investigation following a 911 call. Such a report, however, does not appear to be a record or information obtained by the law enforcement agency from the 911 call, nor does it necessarily identify the individual as the one making the 911 call or requesting emergency services. While a law enforcement agency may be initially responding to an emergency situation as a result of the 911 call, a subsequent investigation of criminal activity resulting in the creation of an offense report would appear to be distinct from providing emergency services.

It is well settled that the Public Records Law is to be liberally construed in favor of open government and that an exemption from disclosure is to be strictly construed to effectuate its stated purpose.[6] Thus, to shield the identity of one who makes a 911 call, only information obtained by an agency identifying an individual as the caller in a 911 call or one requesting emergency services is confidential. Information placed in an offense report which does not identify an individual as the caller or one requesting emergency services, however, does not meet the requirements set forth for the exemption from disclosure under section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes.

The clear language of the statute makes the exemption applicable to identifying information derived from a 911 call. Thus, the name of a 911 caller or one requesting emergency services that a law enforcement agency has obtained only from the 911 call remains confidential. Information, including names, collected from an investigation which is included in an offense report created as a result of a criminal investigation independent of the 911 call, however, is not protected by the exemption in section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes.

Accordingly, it is my opinion that identifying information derived from a criminal investigation and placed in an offense report by a law enforcement agency does not fall within the exemption in section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes. While information obtained from a 911 call by an agency for the purpose of providing service in an emergency which reveals the name, address, telephone number, or personal information about, or information which may identify any person requesting emergency services or reporting an emergency is confidential, such information obtained or created independently of the 911 call as a result of a criminal investigation is not exempt under section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes. Agencies creating documents which may contain identifying information, however, may wish to be sensitive to the purpose of the exemption in section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes, when placing such information in the documents.

Sincerely,

Pam Bondi

Attorney General

PB/tals

[1] Section 365.171(1), Fla. Stat.

[2] Section 365.171(2), Fla. Stat.

[3] Section 2, Ch. 96-229, Laws of Fla.

[4] See The Florida Senate, Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military Affairs, Interim Project Report 2001-036, November 2000.

[5] Id. at p. 4. Such information may be confidential or exempt from disclosure if it is active criminal investigative information, active criminal intelligence information, or identifies certain victims of crime.

[6] See Krischer v. D'Amato, 674 So. 2d 909, 911 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Seminole County v. Wood, 512 So. 2d 1000, 1002 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), review denied, 520 So. 2d 586 (1988); Tribune Company v. Public Records, 493 So. 2d 480, 483 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986), review denied sub nom., Gillum v. Tribune Company, 503 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 1987). And see Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company v. Beard, 597 So. 2d 873, 876 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) (Public Service Commission's determination that proprietary confidential business information exemption is to be narrowly construed and not applicable to company's internal self-analysis was "consistent with the liberal construction afforded the Public Records Act in favor of open government").