DE 25-IB47 2025-09-29

If I called the police to report harassment and want to see the report I generated as a victim, can I get it through Delaware FOIA?

Short answer: No. The AG determined that DSP did not violate FOIA when it denied the request. Section 10002(o)(3) treats police reports as investigatory files, which are categorically excluded from FOIA, and the opinion found the exemption has no exception for a person who filed the complaint or believes he is the victim. The AG also noted that FOIA governs what records are public, not whether a person is entitled to records about himself.

Disclaimer: This is an official Delaware Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Delaware attorney for advice on your specific situation.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page, or PDF in the sidebar) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

View original AG opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Michael Ryan called the Delaware State Police in October 2024 to report someone harassing him. The officer took the complaint and created a report. In August 2025, Ryan filed a FOIA request for the report, identifying the officer and the report number. He learned that he had not been listed as a victim on the report and wanted to review it.

DSP denied the request under the investigatory files exemption, 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3). Ryan petitioned, asking the AG for an exception based on his status as the person who made the complaint and, he argued, the actual victim. DSP responded that police reports fall within the exemption and that it could not make an exception because Ryan was not listed as a victim on the report.

The AG denied the petition. Records of criminal investigations are, in the opinion's words, "categorically excluded from the scope of FOIA," and a police report documenting a complaint is part of the investigatory file. The opinion found the exemption "attaches as soon as a public body is made aware of a potential issue, and it does not contain an exception for these circumstances," meaning there is no first-party or victim carve-out.

In a footnote, the AG added that FOIA does not decide whether a person is entitled to records about himself; it "merely mandates what records are public." Quoting an earlier opinion (18-IB13), the AG explained that "the propriety of a request seeking records about the requesting party is outside the scope of the FOIA statute, as 'any such entitlement would have no basis in Delaware's FOIA and is therefore beyond the scope of our role in this context.'"

What this means for you

If you filed a police complaint and want the report

This opinion holds that Delaware FOIA does not give you access to the police report, even if you made the complaint or believe you are the victim. The AG treated police reports as investigatory files that are categorically exempt under § 10002(o)(3), and it found no exception for a first-party or victim requester. The opinion does not address other, non-FOIA ways of obtaining the report, so it offers no view on those.

If you are a Delaware police records officer

The opinion supports denying a FOIA request for a police report under § 10002(o)(3), including when the requester is the person who filed the complaint. The AG read the investigatory files exemption as categorical, attaching once the public body is aware of a potential issue, with no exception for the requester's status.

Background and statutory framework

29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3) exempts "[i]nvestigatory files compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes including pending investigative files, pretrial and presentence investigations and child custody and adoption files where there is no criminal complaint at issue." The opinion read that exemption as removing records of criminal investigations, including police reports, from FOIA entirely.

Under 29 Del. C. § 10005, the AG treats a citizen's correspondence alleging a FOIA violation as a petition for a determination of whether a violation occurred. The public body bears the burden of justifying a denial. Here the AG concluded DSP carried that burden by invoking the investigatory files exemption.

The opinion's footnote drew on a prior AG opinion, 18-IB13 (Mar. 6, 2018), for the point that FOIA governs what records are public, not whether a requester is entitled to records about himself.

Common questions

I filed the complaint, so isn't the report mine?

According to this opinion, no, at least not for FOIA purposes. The resulting report is part of the police department's investigatory file, and the AG found the exemption applies regardless of who initiated the underlying incident.

Does it matter that I believe I am the victim?

The AG said it did not. DSP noted Ryan was not listed as a victim on the report, and the opinion found the investigatory files exemption "does not contain an exception for these circumstances," so victim or first-party status did not change the result.

Why doesn't FOIA let me get records about myself?

The opinion explains in a footnote that FOIA "merely mandates what records are public." Whether someone is entitled to records about himself is, quoting 18-IB13, "outside the scope of the FOIA statute."

Citations

Statutes: 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10008 (FOIA); § 10002(o)(3) (investigatory files exemption); § 10005 (petition and determination procedure).
Prior AG opinions: 18-IB13 (Mar. 6, 2018).

Source

Original opinion text

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Attorney General Opinion No. 25-IB47
September 29, 2025

VIA EMAIL
Michael Ryan
[email protected]

RE: FOIA Petition Regarding the Delaware State Police, Department of Safety and Homeland Security

Dear Mr. Ryan:

We write in response to your correspondence alleging that the Delaware State Police, Department of Safety and Homeland Security ("DSP") violated Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10008 ("FOIA"). We treat your correspondence as a Petition for a determination pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10005 of whether a violation of FOIA has occurred or is about to occur. For the reasons set forth below, we determine that the DSP did not violate FOIA by denying access to the requested record.

BACKGROUND

On August 1, 2025, you submitted a FOIA request to the DSP for "a copy of the report from a complaint [you] filed against someone who has been harassing [you]." The request identified the officer who took the complaint and the report number. On August 4, 2025, the DSP denied access to this report pursuant to the exemption for investigatory files for criminal law enforcement purposes under 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3). This Petition followed.

In the Petition, you assert that you made a complaint in October 2024 over the telephone to the officer and although you are a victim, you have learned you were not listed as a victim on this report. You have not had the opportunity to review the report, but you believe that as a victim, you should be permitted to view the report. On this basis, you request an exception to the investigatory files exemption.

On September 9, 2025, the DSP, through its legal counsel, replied to the Petition ("Response"). The DSP argues that it properly cited the exemption for investigatory records for criminal law enforcement purposes under 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3), as records of law enforcement incidents, including police reports, fall under this exemption. The DSP states that it cannot make an exception, as you are not listed as a victim on the report.

DISCUSSION

Delaware's FOIA law "was enacted to ensure governmental accountability by providing Delaware's citizens access to open meetings and meeting records of governmental or public bodies, as well as access to the public records of those entities." FOIA requires that citizens be provided reasonable access to and reasonable facilities for the copying of public records. The public body has the burden of proof to justify its denial of access to records. In certain circumstances, a sworn affidavit may be required to meet that burden.

In its response to this request for a police report documenting a verbal complaint, the DSP asserted Section 10002(o)(3), which exempts "[i]nvestigatory files compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes including pending investigative files, pretrial and presentence investigations and child custody and adoption files where there is no criminal complaint at issue." The records of criminal investigations are "categorically excluded from the scope of FOIA." We determine that the DSP's denial of access to this report under the investigatory files exemption is proper, as police reports are part of the investigatory file. The investigatory files exemption attaches as soon as a public body is made aware of a potential issue, and it does not contain an exception for these circumstances.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the DSP did not violate FOIA by denying access to the requested report.

Very truly yours,

Daniel Logan
Chief Deputy Attorney General

cc: Joseph C. Handlon, Deputy Attorney General; Dorey L. Cole, Deputy Attorney General

[Footnote 9]: FOIA does not prescribe whether a person is entitled to records that pertain to that person; FOIA merely mandates what records are public and must be made available to Delaware citizens through the FOIA request process. See Del. Op. Att'y Gen. 18-IB13, 2018 WL 1405829, at *1 (Mar. 6, 2018) (finding that the propriety of a request seeking records about the requesting party is outside the scope of the FOIA statute, as "any such entitlement would have no basis in Delaware's FOIA and is therefore beyond the scope of our role in this context.").