Public Records Requests
Public records requests are useful tools to victims of violent crime.
In our own case we have made dozens of public records requests and obtained many things that we will share over the course of our Victim’s Voice work: 911 calls, dashcam footage, dashcam statements (who knew police interviews take place on the hood of a police car?), court room audio, evidence photos, etc.
It takes time but little money. Also, if you need to hire an attorney, speak with a reporter, file complaints, escalate to a federal level, etc. you will have everything you need.
A small sample of our records request.
TIP: Make a list of every entity and every person involved with your case. For example, police, prosecutor, court, judge, clerks, public schools, animal control, etc. Make public records requests for information related to your case using expansive dates and expansive roles. Or make them very specific.
You can request records like police reports, but also emails, texts, hand-written notes, etc. For example, we have made public records requests to University of Michigan for their part in the online libel of our son and the women who were also attacked (physically and then via online harassment). You can review that request here. There are dozens of examples Victim's voice will be posting - and the results of those requests will also be posted.
TIP: Comb the web for other samples and "How to" sites. There are many.