Policy Text
I. Responsibility
A. The Records Unit Manager (Records Manager) will be responsible for the
direction and control of the Records Unit. Only the Custodian of Records
or designee is authorized to release criminal and non-criminal records.
[11.1.1]
B. The Records Manager is hereby designated the Miami Beach Police
Department’s Custodian of Records.
C. The Records Unit is the central component for the Department’s criminal
records, non-criminal records and records control. The Records Unit is
responsible for, but not limited to, the:
1. Retention, maintenance, dissemination and disposition of records
produced by the Department;
2. Verification of case numbers against reports, coding, disseminating
criminal and non-criminal reports and computerized entry of reports
and arrest forms;
3. Merging of reports upon their satisfactory review and approval by a
sergeant or supervisor of higher rank;
4. Maintenance of a centralized computerized records system for
information retrieval and collation for inter-department and outside
agency activities;
5. Maintenance and provision, or making available to employees’ and
the general public case reports, case supplemental reports, traffic
crash reports, arrest reports and property reports;
6. Provision of Local Good Conduct Checks;
7. Ensuring that all court-ordered seals and expungements are in
compliance; and
8. Collection fees for copies of reports, fingerprinting, local good
conduct checks and research.
D. In cases where an original copy of a non-FBR report is received by the
Records Unit, it will be filed by year and case number.
E. All reports and records will be maintained according to state law and
stored in the Records Unit or authorized off-site storage facility.
F. All reports and records will be accessible to operations personnel 24 hours
a day. All authorized employees have access to Records Unit records 24
hours a day.
1. The physical security of and control of access to Department
records is created by key-card access to authorized personnel and
password security.
[82.1.1a]
2. Access by operations personnel to Department records after hours
is created by key-card access to authorized personnel and
password security.
[82.1.1b]
3. The procedures and criteria for the release of Department records
is governed by Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
[82.1.1c]