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ArronNsv
GpxEnnr
oF
TPxes
GREGABBOTT
March
23,2009
oR2009-03745
Dear
Ms.
Chang:
You
ask
whether
certain
information
is
subject
to
required
public
disclosureunder
the
Public
lnformationAct
(the
"Act"),
cirapter552
ofthe
GovernmentCode.
Yourrequest
wasassigned
ID#
338881.
The
Houston
Police
Department
(the
"depaftment")received
a
request
for"the most detaiied
incident-level
data
available,"
for
every
crimecommittedduring
a
specified
time
period,
specifically
including
eight
categories
of
information.
You
claim
that
the
information
isexcepted
from
disclosure
undersection
552.101
of
the
Government
Code.
We
haveconsidered
theexceptionyou
claim
and
reviewed
the
representative
sample
of
information
you
have
subrnitted.l
We
havealso
consideredcommentssubmittedby
the
requestor.
See
Gov't
Code
$
552.304
(providing that
a
person
may
submit
comments
statingwiry
information
should
or
shouidnot
be released)'
Initially,we
must
address
the
requestor's
assertion
that the
department
haspreviously
allowed
him
to
review
some
of
the
requested
information.
Therequestor
argues
becausethe
department
has
previously
released
informationrelevant
to
the
present
request.
the
'We
assumethatthe
"representativesampie"of recordssubnritted
to
this
office
is
truly
representative
of
therequestedrecords
as a
whole.
,See
OpenRecords
DecisionNos,499(1988),497
(1988).
Tiris
open
records
letter
does
notreach,
and
therefore
does
not autirorize
the
withholdingof,
any other requestedrecordsto theextentthatthoserecords
containsubstantiallydifferent
types
ofinformation
than
thatsubmittedto
this
office.
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Bo\
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Ms.YuShanChan
AssistantCity
$t{omey
Cityof
Ho
P.O.,
Texas77001-0368
 
Ms. YuShan
Chang
-
Page
2department
may not
now
treatthe
requested
information
as
confidential.
Section
552.007
of
the
GovernmentCodegenerally
prohibits
selective
disclosure
of
informationthat
a
governmental
body
has
voluntarily
madeavailable
to
any
memberof
the
public.
See id.
$
552.007.
Section
552.007
provides
if
a
governmental
bodyvoluntarily
releases
information
to
any
member
of
the
public,
thegovernmentalbody may
not
witlrhold
such
informationfrom
furtherdisclosure
unless its
pubiic
reiease
is
expressly
prohibited
by
law.
See
id.;
Open
Records
Decision
No.
518 at
3
(1989);
see
also
Open
Records
Decision
Nos.490(1988),400
(1983)(governmentalbodymay
waiveright
to
claim
permissive
exceptionsto disclosureunder
the
Act,
but it maynot disciose
information
made
confidential
by
law). In this
instance,
the
department
raises
section552.101of
the
Government
Code,
which
governs
information
consideredto
be
confidentiaiby
law.
See
Gov't
Code
$
552.101
Thus,
regardiess
of
whether
the
deparlment
previousiy
released
any
ofthe
information
at
issue
in
this
request,
we
must
address
whether
the
submitted
information
is
made
confidential
by law
and
must
now be
withheld
pursuant
to
section
552.101
of
theGovernment
Code.Section
552.10I
of
the
Government
Code excepts
from
disclosure
"information
considered
to
be
confidentialby law,either constitutional,
statutory,
or
by
judicialdecision."
Gov't
Code$
552.10I.
This
section
encompassesthe
doctrineof
common-lawprivacy.Common-
law
privacy protects
information
that
(
1)
contains
highly
intimateor
embarrassing
facts,the
pubiication
of
which would
be
highly
objectionableto
a
reasonable
person,
and
(2)
is not
of
legitimate concern
to
the
public.
See
Indus. Found.
v.
Tex.
Inclu,s.
Accident
Bd.,
540
S.W.2d668, 685
(Tex.1976).
A
compilationof
an
individual'scriminal
historyis
highly
embarrassing
information,thepublication
of
which would
be
highiy
objectionable
to
a
reasonable
person.
Cf.
United
States
Dep't
of Justice
v.
Reporters
Comm.
for
Freedom
of
the
Press,489U.S.
749,764
(1989) (whenconsidering
prong
regarding
individuai's
privacy
interest,
courtrecognized
distinction
between
public
records
found
in
courthouse
files
and
local
police
stations and
compiled
summary
of
information
and
noted
that
individual
has
significant
privacy
interest
in
compilation
of
one's
criminalhistory).
Moreover,
we
findthat
a
compiiationof
a
private
citizen'scriminai
history
is
generallynotof
iegitimate
concern
to
the
public.You
argue
that
because the
requestoris asking
for
the
name,
sex, age,date
of
birth,
and
other
information
for
every
crime committed
from2006
to
2008,that
release
of
the
informationwould
amount
to
releasing
a
de
facto
criminalhistory
of
all
suspects,arrestees,
anddefendants
during
this
timeperiod
and
wouldviolate
several
individuals'common-law
right
to
privacy.
However,
wenote thatthepresentrequest
is
for
information
regarding
all
crimesfrom
2006 to
2008
and does
not require
the department to
compile
any
individual'scriminal
history.
Thus,
the
requestedrecords
are
not
a
compilationof
an
individual'scriminalhistory
and
the
department
may
not
withholdany
of
the
submitted
information
under
section
552.101of
the
Government
Code
in conjunction
with common-iawprivacy.
As
you
have
raised no
further
exceptions
todisclosure,
the requested
information
must
be
released.
of 00

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