The Seattle Police Department is excited to present a new way in which to view certain police reports online. Accessing police reports will now be more convenient and easier for the public. This will replace the current system of redacted reports on CD-ROMs available at selected police precincts when the Department went “paperless” in 2007.
For the past 6 months Department staff from SPD IT, the Public Requests Unit, Data Center, Records Files and the City of Seattle DoIT Web Team have worked together to create internet based access to police reports. This access is provided via a user authenticated website similar to other web applications provided by the City of Seattle.
Beginning Thursday, June 3rd, all homicides, robbery, burglary and aggravated assault cases will be available online. Naturally, there will be a delay as the reports are transcribed and redacted, but generally they will be available within 2-3 business days of when the report was written. The reports will be searchable by General Offense number, offense and/or date range. If more staff becomes available, more types of crime reports may be added in the future.
Accessing this link will take the user to this new feature:
http://www.seattle.gov/police/records/online.htm
Once there, you will need to provide a valid email address and create a password. You will receive automatic confirmation and, once you have checked the terms and conditions agreement box, you will be able to access reports from any computer. We sincerely hope this will make it easier for citizens and members of the media to access reports.
Here is a link to some Frequently Asked Questions regarding this new online feature:
http://www.seattle.gov/police/records/PoliceReportsFAQ.htm
You can also access this link from the Seattle Police Department’s homepage at