Support Services Bureau : Support Services Division : Records Unit

If you think maintaining your home files is a burden, you should visit the Records Unit of the Mobile Police Department. These 45 employees process and screen and cull some 6,000 reports every month. Plus they service the public, state and federal agencies and other law enforcement personnel. It’s a daunting task led by a Chief Records Clerk, who answers to the major who is head of the Support Services Division.

Following are the many tasks undertaken by the Records Unit:

  • Provides copies of accident reports upon request from citizens and interested agencies, such as insurance companies. The Records Unit is open to the public from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.
  • Issues permits to chauffeurs, private investigators, security guards, adult entertainers, and solicitors.
  • Enters all the investigative reports into the computer system. These reports are the basis of all the crime data for the City of Mobile.
  • Maintains records on all adult arrests and case dispositions that are originated by the Mobile Police Department. They are available to the public, by law, on a limited basis: citizens can view their own arrest records and employers may check on the arrest record of individuals, with the consent of those individuals.
  • Prepares and distributes the Daily Bulletin, a report for officers on crimes of the previous 24 hours, along with other pertinent information. Its includes reports on stolen vehicles, missing persons, runaways and burglaries.
  • It enters case information into the Alabama Criminal Justice Information System to track properties. For example, it will submit the serial numbers of properties stolen in a burglary. This information goes from the state to a national informational system.
  • Culls through 600 to 800 reports per month to update them, making sure the information is current and accurate.
  • Provides criminal history information for authorized law enforcement personnel and maintains a log of the requests as required by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information System and federal law. Thee criminal history checks can be conducted nationwide but, by law, are provided only to a law enforcement officer on official business.
  • Compiles and submits Uniform Crime Supplements, which are crime statistics required by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information System.
  • Provides applications to citizens for obtaining their own criminal records. The application fee for a state criminal records check is $25 and a national records check will cost $49.