According legal mandate SB 978, commencing on January 1, 2020, all local law enforcement agencies, are required to “conspicuously post on their Internet Web sites all current standards, policies, practices, operation procedures, and education and training materials that would otherwise be available to the public if a request was made pursuant the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5, commencing with Section 6250 of the Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.”

• Policies/Operating Procedures
  • Department
  • Corrections
  • Stations/Divisions
  • Courts
• Training/Education
  • Basic Academy
  • Advanced Officer Training
  • Corrections Training
• Recruitment Standards
  • San Bernardino County Human Resources
  • Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training

Military Equipment Policy
Military Equipment Report Summary 2022
Military Equipment Report Summary 2023
Military Equipment Report Summary 2024

Amendments to Penal Code section 832.7 require the release of law enforcement records relating to officer-involved shootings, uses of force resulting in death or great bodily injury and certain sustained findings of peace officer misconduct. These records must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure confidential information is redacted. Click here to view available information and documents.

California law requires that when an individual under custody passes away, the agency with jurisdiction over the local correctional facility with custodial responsibility for the person at the time of their death post specific information on its internet website. Additionally, Penal Code section 832.10 requires that any record relating to an investigation of an in-custody death be made available for public inspection. These records must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure confidential information is redacted. Click here to view available information and documents.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department only handles reports created by the department and its contract cities. If a report was generated by another police department or the California Highway Patrol, the request must go directly to them. This includes collision reports on freeways and roads in county areas because the CHP handles traffic enforcement in those areas.

Some of the more common records requests the Sheriff’s Department handles are as follows:

Traffic Collision Reports

Traffic collision reports fall under Vehicle Code section 20012.  These reports shall be released to:

• Drivers involved in the collision
• Registered owners of vehicles involved
• Parents of a minor driver involved
• Passengers involved listed in the report
• Insurance companies
• Those incurring property damage as a result of the accident
• Those who may incur civil liability as a result of the accident
• An attorney representing any of the above persons

Please note that portions of some accident reports may not be immediately available if there is a crime or fatality associated. 

Boating/Watercraft Accident Reports

Boating/watercraft accident reports fall under Harbors and Navigation Code section 656.  These reports shall be released to:

• Operators involved in the collision
• Registered owners of an involved vessel
• Parents of a minor operator involved in the accident
• Someone injured in the accident or their parent/guardian, if a minor
• Passengers involved listed in the report
• Insurance companies
• Those incurring property damage as a result of the accident
• Those who may incur civil liability as a result of the accident
• An attorney representing any of the above persons

Please note that portions of some accident reports may not be immediately available if there is a crime or fatality associated.  

Crime and Incident Reports

Crime and incident reports predominantly fall under the California Public Records Act (CPRA, Gov. Code, § 7920.000 et. seq. (formerly Gov. Code, § 6250 et seq.).  This includes property crime reports, person crime reports, and lost or found property reports. 

Many of these reports can be released to:

• A crime victim
• An authorized representative of a crime victim
• An insurance carrier against which a claim has been made and/or might be made
• A person suffering bodily injury, property damage, or loss

Some exceptions to disclosure are:

• If the disclosure would endanger the safety of a witness or other involved party
• If the disclosure could endanger the successful completion of an investigation and/or a related investigation
• If the Department is prohibited by law from releasing the report

Types of reports that generally cannot be released:

• Crimes currently being reviewed or prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office
• Child abuse or neglect
• Elder and dependent adult abuse

Please note reports are not released to arrested individuals or persons being prosecuted for a crime. These persons may obtain reports from the District Attorney through their legal representatives in the discovery and/or subpoena process.

If requesting reports or other items through the civil process with a subpoena or court order, please contact the Civil Liabilities Division at 909-387-3708 or visit:

You can find more information on the CPRA here:

https://wp.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/divisions/professional-standards

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=7920.000.&nodeTreePath=2.13.1.1.1&lawCode=GOV

Juvenile Reports

Juvenile reports fall under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 and California Rules of Court, rule 5.552, and include juvenile incident and arrest reports.  The Department may only release reports to persons and entities identified in Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 and California Rules of Court, rule 5.552, which include:

• The minor who is the subject of the proceeding
• The minor’s parent or guardian
• The attorneys for the parties who are actively participating in criminal or juvenile proceedings involving the minor

Requestors not listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 must petition the Juvenile Court directly for the release of a juvenile record, since the Juvenile Court has the exclusive authority to determine to whom, and the extent to which, juvenile record information may be released. 

For further information, please visit:

https://www.sb-court.org/divisions/juvenile/juvenile-delinquency/how-do-i-obtain-copies-police-reports

Coroner Reports

Generally, coroner reports are only released to the next-of-kin or the designated representative of the next-of-kin. These reports can be obtained from the Sheriff’s Coroner Division in person, by mail, or by email.

You may contact the Coroner Division at (909) 387-2978.

A copy of their records request form can be found at:

https://wp.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/Coroner-Request-for-Information.pdf

Additional information can be located here:

https://wp.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/divisions/coroner/coroner-additional-information/

Crisis Intervention Reports (Welf. & Instit. Code, § 5150)

Crisis intervention reports are confidential medical records and may only be released to those persons with the authority to receive them pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 5328.

HOW TO REQUEST RECORDS:

There are three ways to request a copy of a record:

Online, using the county’s online portal: 

https://sanbernardinocounty.nextrequest.com/

In person, by visiting your local station or Sheriff’s Headquarters Records Division from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.  Sheriff’s Headquarters and local stations are closed to the public on weekends and holidays.

In writing, by sending your written request to:

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Records Division
PO Box 569
San Bernardino, CA 92402

Request Information:

Request for Information Form

Please note that while you can make an anonymous request, certain records can only be provided to persons stated in the relevant provision of law.  Therefore, please be sure to bring your driver’s license or other government-issued identification with you if you plan to request records in person or have a photocopy of your valid identification ready to upload to our online system.

BOOKING INFORMATION ON CURRENT INMATES:

Generally, the Sheriff’s Department does not release booking photos.

If you are looking for booking or release information on an inmate, please check here:

https://wp.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/corrections/inmate-locator/

THE PUBLIC’S RIGHTS TO CERTAIN RECORDS:

Several laws, including the California Public Records Act (CPRA) and provisions of the Vehicle Code and Welfare and Institutions Code, serve to provide the public with either the right, or the ability if certain conditions are present, to inspect and copy certain records that California government agencies create and retain, including those at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Because these laws contain numerous exceptions to disclosure that serve to limit what an agency may provide or will restrict to whom the agency may provide a record to, and the laws are further subject to other laws, such as those protecting privacy, each request for records is carefully examined with all of the pertinent laws and rules in mind. 

Thus, a record request could be granted because the CPRA or the Vehicle Code expressly states that the Department must provide that particular record to that requestor.  Or the request could be denied because the applicable law instructs the Department that it cannot disclose the given record to anyone at all, or the Department may only disclose that record to certain requestors but not to others.

Additionally, even if the Department can or must provide the record under the law, there still may be some information in the record that is protected and not disclosable, such as due to another person’s privacy rights. In that case, the Department must redact those portions of the record so as to conceal the protected, non-disclosable information. Examples include dates of birth, social security numbers, the names and addresses of victims and witnesses of crimes, suspect names, criminal history information, and medical information.

Reports and other documents requested without a subpoena, court order, or specific statutory authority will be treated as a request made under CPRA. Many of the Sheriff’s records may be exempt from disclosure under provisions of the CPRA or other laws. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, § 7930.000 et seq., formerly Gov. Code, § 6275 et seq.). In order to identify responsive records and review them for possible exemptions, the Sheriff’s Department may take up to 10 calendar days to respond to a CPRA request (Gov. Code, § 7922.535, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (c) and, if necessary, may take a reasonable period of time thereafter to produce the non-exempt records that are responsive to the request.California Public Records Act FAQ’sCommunications DivisionValley Control CenterDesert Control Center

What is the California Public Records Act (CPRA)?

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) is a series of state laws (Gov. Code, § 7920.000 et seq., formerly Gov. Code, § 6250 et seq.) that require public disclosure of certain records that California governmental agencies create and retain. The CPRA serves to safeguard government accountability and transparency to the public.

What is a “public record”?

The CPRA defines a “public record” as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.” (Gov. Code, § 7920.530, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6252, subd. (e).) The California Supreme Court has also said that a public record has four features: “it is (1) a writing, (2) with content related to the conduct of the people’s business, which is (3) prepared by, or (4) owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency.” (City of San Jose v. Superior Court (2017) 2 Cal.5th 608, 617.) Consequently, if the writing is not related “to the conduct of the public’s business” and is not “prepared, owned, used or retained by” a local agency, then under the CPRA, the record will not be deemed a public record subject to disclosure.

What is a “writing”?

The CPRA defines a “writing” as “any handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored.” (Gov. Code, § 7920.545, formerly Gov. Code, § 6252, subd. (g).)

Are all public records subject to public disclosure?

No. The CPRA recognizes that some records contain information that must be kept confidential—for example, records containing someone’s private medical information (see Gov. Code, § 7927.700, formerly Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (c)). Thus, the CPRA contains provisions that expressly exempt (or exclude) particular types of records and information from disclosure. Additionally, the CPRA can provide that certain records may only be released to specific persons.

What if the requested records contain both disclosable and nondisclosable information?

Some records will contain a mixture of information that is and is not disclosable. Thus, the Department may have to redact the records you seek in order to prevent disclosure of protected information. If the burden of redacting a record becomes too great or if the exempt information is too difficult or impossible to untangle from information that is not exempt, the Department may be justified in denying the records request. (American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of North California, Inc. v. Deukmejian (1982) 32 Cal.3d 440, 452–454; Becerra v. Superior Court (2020) 44 Cal.App.5th 897, 939–934.)

Who can request public records?

Any member of the public can request public records under the CPRA. A “member of the public” is “any person, except a member, agent, officer, or employee of a federal, state, or local agency acting within the scope of his or her membership, agency, office, or employment.” (Gov. Code, 7920.515, formerly Gov. Code, § 6252, subd. (b).) The term “person” includes “any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or association.” (Gov. Code, 7920.520, formerly Gov. Code, § 6252, subd. (c).)

Can I make an anonymous request for public records?

Generally speaking, yes. A public records requestor normally does not have to provide their name when making a public records request. Depending on the circumstances of the request, however, the requestor may need to provide an email or mailing address in order to receive the records, such as when the requestor (or designee) will not be picking up the records in person. There are also some instances where certain records may only be available to specified persons, such as a crime victim or a parent of a juvenile. In those situations, the person will need to present proof of their identity and/or relationship. A request may be submitted anonymously through our online portal: https://sanbernardinocounty.nextrequest.com/.

Do I have to state a reason for making my CPRA request?

No. The CPRA provides that “every person has a right to inspect any public record,” except as provided within the CPRA. (Gov. Code, § 7922.525, formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (a).)

Does a request for records have to be in writing?

No. A request for records from the Sheriff’s Department may be made verbally. However, a written request may be preferable to ensure that your request is clearly articulated and understood. A request may be submitted through our online portal: https://sanbernardinocounty.nextrequest.com/.

When are records to be made available for inspection?

Public records are open to inspection during the public lobby hours at the Sheriff’s facilities that are open to the public. Some records may not be immediately available for inspection because it may be necessary for someone to review and redact portions of the record(s). (Gov. Code, § 7922.525, formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (a).)

Can I get help with identifying the records I want if I am unsure how to describe them?

Yes, the Department can help you make a records request that is focused and effective, and reasonably describes identifiable records. If necessary, the Department can:
(1) Assist you to identify records and information that are responsive to your request or to the purpose of your request, if
stated.
(2) Describe the information technology and physical location in which the records exist.
(3) Provide suggestions for overcoming any practical basis for denying access to the records or information sought.
(Gov. Code, § 7922.600, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253.1, subd. (a).)

What is the time frame for responding to a request for public records?

The CPRA provides that upon a request for a copy of records, the Department “shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefore. If the agency determines that the request seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall also state the estimated date and time when the records will be made available.” (Gov. Code, § 7922.535, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (c).)

The 10-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt. (Civ. Code, § 10.) If the tenth day falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day is deemed the response deadline. (Civ. Code, §§ 11, 12a.)

If unusual circumstances exist, the Department may also provide written notice that it needs to extend the deadline, for no more than 14 days per notice, to determine whether the requested records can be produced. The Department must explain the reason for the delay and provide the requestor with a date upon which the determination will be made. (Gov. Code, § 7922.535, subd. (b), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (c).)

“Unusual circumstances” include, but are not limited to, the need to gather and examine a voluminous amount of records in connection with a request and the need to consult with another agency, compile data, or write a programming language. (See Gov. Code, § 7922.535, subd. (c), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (c).)

Can a requestor have the records disclosed in electronic format?

Yes. If the records are subject to disclosure, the requestor may receive them in either printed or electronic form. If electronic form is desired, the Department asks that you use the County’s online records request portal: https://sanbernardinocounty.nextrequest.com/.

ls the Department required to provide a copy of the electronic record in the format requested?

Yes, if the Department uses that format to make copies for its own use, or for use by other agencies. (Gov. Code, § 7922.570, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253.9, subd. (a)).)

Does the Department charge a fee for copies of the records being requested?

Generally, the Department will not charge for digital copies of records produced through the County’s online records request portal. You may, however, be required to cover the cost of producing a record in other instances, such as when the request requires data compilation, extraction, or programming. (Gov. Code, § 7922.530, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (b)); Gov. Code, §6253(b)(2).)

What if the Department does not have records that are responsive to my request?

The Department will advise you in writing if it does not have a record that is responsive to your request. The reason the Department may not have a record can vary. For example, the Department may have never created the record, such as when it was not the responding agency to an incident. Or, the record may have already been lawfully destroyed. Please note that the Department does not have a duty to create a record that does not exist at the time of the request, nor does the Department have to reconstruct a record that was lawfully discarded prior to the receipt of the request. (Gov. Code, § 7922.535. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6253, subd. (c)).)

How long must the Department maintain records?

Local agencies are generally required to retain records for two years. (See Gov. Code, § 26202.) The Department, however, possesses many different kinds of records for which retention periods will vary. If a CPRA request seeks records that are beyond the retention period for the records sought, the Department will advise the requestor that this is the case.

Where can I find the records retention schedule?

The Department’s records retention schedule is available here: https://wp.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/SBCSD-Records-Retention-2020.pdf

On what grounds may a request for public records be denied?

A request for public records may be denied if the CPRA or another law expressly exempts those records from disclosure. (See, e.g., Pen. Code, § 11167.5, exempting disclosure of child abuse reports). Also, a request may be denied under a balancing test, referred to as the “catchall” exception, which allows an agency to justify withholding a record by demonstrating that, on the facts of a particular case, the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the record. (Gov. Code, § 7922.000, formerly Gov. Code, § 6255, subd. (a).)

Does the CPRA list those California laws that expressly exempt information contained in a record from being disclosed?

Yes, Government Code section 7930.000 et seq. (formerly Gov. Code, § 6275 et seq.) lists out several California statutes that describe certain records and information that are exempt from disclosure. Other exemptions are contained elsewhere, such as in the Penal Code or the Welfare and Institutions Code.

ls the Department required to respond in writing to a CPRA request?

If the request for records was submitted to the Department in writing and the Department intends to deny the request in whole or in part, then the Department must respond in writing and explain the basis of the denial. (Gov. Code, § 7922.540, subd. (a), formerly Gov. Code, § 6255, subd. (b).)

Can the Department deny a request based on the purpose of the request?

No. The requestor’s purpose for asking for the records is usually irrelevant. If the records are subject to disclosure and no exemption applies, the records must be disclosed. (Gov. Code, § 7921.300, formerly Gov. Code, § 6257.5.)

Is a written communication within the Department regarding pending or current litigation subject to disclosure?

No, if the written communication falls within any exemption or privilege. For example, Government Code section 7927.200 (formerly Gov. Code, § 6254, subdivision (b)) excludes “(a) Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the public agency is a party, until the pending litigation has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled [and], (b) Records pertaining to a claim made pursuant to Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810), until the pending claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled.”

What if I believe that the Department unjustifiably denied my request for a record?

You can always contact the Department if you think that your request has been improperly denied. It is possible for a request to be denied due to a misunderstanding about the request. The Department’s online portal allows a requestor to comment on the Department’s response. You can submit a comment asking that the Department reevaluate a denial of your request by locating your request on the online portal here: https://sanbernardinocounty.nextrequest.com/

If you believe that the Department is unlawfully withholding records, you may seek a court order compelling the Department to produce records.

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