Requests for Police Records

Per Montana law, most police reports are considered confidential, not public records, and dissemination is limited. 

WHO CAN REQUEST A REPORT:

Vehicle Incidents / Property Damage

• Parties named or involved in the report/incident (drivers, vehicle owners, passengers)​
• Insurance carriers
• Legal representatives of parties (attorneys, Court-appointed guardians, parents of minors, etc. - documentation must be provided with request)

All Other Categories* 

• Victims of a cited offense per MCA 44-5-303
• Legal representatives of victims of a cited offense (attorneys, Court-appointed guardians, parents of minors, etc. - documentation must be provided with request)

         *Note: if there is active prosecution regarding the incident in the report, the report will not be released until prosecution of the                       matter has concluded.

Document Requests typically NOT processed by the City of Great Falls when involving:

• Felonies - contact Cascade County Attorney's Office at 406-454-6915.
• Fatalities - contact Cascade County Attorney's Office at 406-454-6915.
• Minor in Possession (MIP) or other juvenile non-minor traffic charge - contact Cascade County Justice Court at 406-454-6873.
• Outside of City limits or created by a different agency - contact Cascade County Attorney's Office (for Sheriff), Montana Highway Patrol, etc.

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PROCESS:
 

Pursuant to Great Falls City Commission Resolution 10242, please be advised that the Great Falls City Attorney’s Office will charge for document searches, along with charges for copies of police reports, photo CD’s, DVD’s, surveillance videos, and any other items beyond the first 5 pages.

When making a document request, your request must contain the following:

1. Request form (below), completed for each separate incident request. The $15.00 admin fee is required for each individual request. Multiple incidents on one form will not be accepted and will be returned.
   • Contact the Police Department if you do not have the incident number. Reports may still be submitted without the incident number if enough additional info is provided - specifically name, date, and address of incident.
   • Note that payment will be processed and NOT refunded even if the report is denied, including: if requestor not legally authorized to request, report not found, not enough info provided to locate, involves a felony or fatality, or report not within jurisdiction.
2. A notarized signature from the requestor stating the requestor is a named party in the report or is legally authorized to request it;
   • If not notarized, payment will not be processed and request will be returned.
3. A $15 check or money order payable to the City of Great Falls for non-refundable administrative charges for the search, for each request.

What to expect after we receive your completed request:

1. The report will be pulled and processed, please expect 2-4 weeks for completion (or until prosecution is complete for non-vehicle incidents).
2. Confidential Criminal Justice Information (see Montana Code Annotated 44-5-103(3)) and other private information will be redacted.
3. If under 5 pages, the report will be automatically mailed to you, OR if you provided your email address on the form the report will be securely emailed at no further cost.
4. If over 5 pages and/or videos were requested, the report will be delivered to you in the most economical way as determined by the City Attorney's Office, unless a preference is noted on the form. This may be:
   • printed and requestor contacted for pick-up (or mailed directly to insurance or attorney requestors)
     • payment required upon pick-up before release of report
   • via CD or USB for large reports with audio or video ($15.00 per CD/drive), requestor will be contacted for pick-up (or mailed directly to insurance or attorney requestors)
     • payment required upon pick-up before release of report
5. If the report has not been picked up, we will be unable to process other requests from the requestor until payment in full has been made, and we may undertake collection efforts for payment.

WHAT CAN BE REQUESTED:

CFS COMMAND LOG / DISPATCH LOG:

The CFS Command Log / Dispatch Log is the initial report created by a Great Falls Police Department Dispatcher when a citizen informant calls the Great Falls Dispatcher Center to report an incident or when an officer conducts an investigatory stop. This report provides basic information about the incident including date and time, location, incident type, nature of the call, law enforcement personnel assigned or dispatched to the incident, and the citizen caller, if any. It is also known as the “initial offense report” as described in Montana Code Annotated § 44-5-103. It does not include a detailed description of the incident, the law enforcement officer’s detailed narrative, or State Accident Form. This is the only element of a police report that is considered public information, excepting any contained Confidential Criminal Justice Information or private information of parties. This is typically less than 5 pages and usually does not incur additional charges.

STATE ACCIDENT FORM:

The State Accident Form is created by law enforcement personnel when a vehicle accident occurs and $1,000 in damage is sustained. The form provides information concerning the vehicle(s) and driver(s) involved in the accident. The form may include a diagram, a summary of the accident, insurance information, and any supplemental narratives written by law enforcement personnel. This is most commonly requested by and for insurance companies. This is typically less than 5 pages and usually does not incur additional charges.

BASIC CASE REPORT/NARRATIVE:

The Basic Case Report/Narrative includes the above-mentioned CFS log and State Accident Form, but also includes photographs (if any), citations, and other relevant attachments. This is typically MORE than 5 pages and may incur additional charges depending on delivery method.       

OTHER:

Other items that may or may not be available are copies of 911 calls, video recording from a law enforcement vehicle, video recording from the DUI Processing Room, surveillance videos, and other potential documents/material gathered in an investigation. These items need to be specifically requested and typically require an alternate method of delivery and will incur additional charges.