How can I get a copy of a police report?

Procedures vary, depending upon whether or not the person requesting the report is the alleged violator, and whether or not there are charges from the report being prosecuted.  If charges are being prosecuted, procedures vary depending upon whether or not the party being prosecuted has an attorney.  Procedures also vary depending upon whether or not there was a court case in which the report was filed as evidence; and if so, whether or not a disposition (finding and judgment) has been entered on the case.


The procedures below describe how to get a copy of the police report, depending upon the circumstance.


Note:   The first procedure below for "IF NO CHARGES WERE FILED FROM THE POLICE REPORT" should be followed for a third party requesting the report, regardless of the circumstance.  However, for the alleged violator, the procedures for ALL of the circumstances below apply.


IF NO CHARGES WERE FILED FROM THE POLICE REPORT


Contact the police department who wrote the report and ask for their procedures in obtaining a copy of the report.


  • If the report was made by the Washington State Patrol (WSP):
    Contact the WSP.  Addresses and toll free phone numbers for the WSP are available from the Washington State Patrol Directory, or from your local telephone directory or directory assistance. The WSP headquarters mailing address is:

    Washington State Patrol
    General Administration Building
    P.O. Box 42600
    Olympia, WA 98504-2600


  • If the report was made by a county sheriff's office:
    Contact the sheriff's office for that county. For contact information, see the Municipal Research Services Center of Washington/Web sites - Washington Counties for links to the Web sites for counties in Washington. From each Web site, follow links to the Sheriff's Office.

    Or, contact the sheriff's office in your county from your local telephone directory or directory assistance. Your local county sheriff's office may be able to provide you with contact information for the correct county sheriff's office.

  • If the report was made by a local city or town (municipal) police department:

    Contact the police department from that municipality. For contact information, see the Municipal Research Services Center of Washington/Web sites - Washington Cities and Towns for links to the Web sites for municipalities in Washington. From each Web site, follow links to the Police Department.

    Or, contact your local police department from your local telephone directory or directory assistance.  Your local police department may be able to provide you with contact information for the correct municipal police department.  (The phone number for directory assistance is (XXX) 555-1212, where XXX is the area code for the desired county.  There is a charge to use this number.)



IF CHARGES ARE BEING PROSECUTED


You may be directed by the Washington State Patrol, county sheriff's office, or local police department to request discovery from the Prosecutor's Office.  The police department that refers you to the Prosecutor's Office should be able to provide you with the phone number to that prosecutor's office.


If not, you can find the prosecutor's office for the correct county from the Municipal Research Services Center of Washington/Web sites - Washington Counties page.  Either click the link to the desired county and locate the Prosecutor's Office on that Web site, or use the Search feature on the Web sites - Washington Counties page to find, for example, "king county prosecutor", or "cowlitz county prosecutor", etc.  For cities that have their own city Prosecutor's Office, use the Municipal Research Services Center of Washington/Web sites - Washington Cities and Towns Web site to locate the desired Prosecutor's Office.


Or, contact your county's Prosecutor's Office from your local phone directory or directory assistance and ask for the phone number of the Prosecutor's Office in the desired county.  (The phone number for directory assistance is (XXX) 555-1212, where XXX is the area code for the desired county.  There is a charge to use this number.)



IF THE PERSON BEING PROSECUTED HAS AN ATTORNEY


The attorney must request discovery in order to obtain a copy of the police report; the defendant CANNOT obtain the copy.



IF THE CASE HAS GONE TO COURT, AND A DISPOSITION (FINDING AND JUDGMENT) HAS BEEN ENTERED, AND THE POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AS EVIDENCE IN THE CASE


A copy of the police report can be requested from the court. See the Court Directory for contact information for courts in Washington State.


RN id: 1797