When North Carolina's State Highway Patrol or other state law enforcement agencies collect statistics on traffic stops, is the identity of the officer who made each stop a public record, or can the state keep officer names confidential?

Plain-English summary

The Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety asked whether the identity of a state officer making a traffic stop and the stop's location were public records. The Attorney General answered after HB 1840 amended G.S. § 114-10(2a). The amended statute required agencies to collect and maintain both pieces of information. It allowed agencies to identify officers by anonymous numbers and declared that the correlation between numbers and names was not a public record and could be disclosed only when required by court order. The AG concluded that the officer's identity was not public, while the stop location was public.

The Secretary also asked about differences between state and federal law on access to officer identities. The AG said HB 1840 eliminated any prior difference on this point. The opinion compares amended G.S. § 114-10(2a) with 42 USC § 3789g, which prohibits federal grantees from releasing research data identifiable to a specific private person.

Currency note

This opinion interprets the law as amended in 2000. Check the current statute before relying on its treatment of traffic-stop records today.

What this means for you

If you request traffic-stop records: The opinion says the location of a stop is a public record, but an officer's identity is not. It identifies a court order as the statutory exception for disclosure of the correlation between an anonymous number and an officer's name.

If you maintain the records: The amendment permits anonymous identification numbers for officers and requires collection and maintenance of stop locations and officer identities. The opinion says the number-to-name correlation cannot be disclosed by the agency unless a court orders it.

Common questions

Can the public get the name linked to an anonymous officer number?
No. The opinion quotes the amendment: the correlation "shall not be a public record and shall not be disclosed by the agency except when required by order of a court."

Is the location of a traffic stop public?
Yes. The AG expressly distinguishes the stop location from the officer's identity and says the location is part of the public record.

Does this opinion decide how a criminal defendant obtains the stopping officer's name?
No. It addresses public-record status and the statutory court-order exception; it does not discuss criminal discovery or case records.

What did the AG say about federal law?
The AG said that HB 1840 eliminated any previous difference between state and federal law regarding confidentiality of the officer's identity in this information. It cited 42 USC § 3789g's restriction on identifiable research data released by federal grantees.

Citations

• G.S. § 114-10(2a), as amended by HB 1840, § 17.2(a): collection of officer identity and stop location; anonymous numbers; confidentiality of the number-to-name correlation except by court order.
• 42 USC § 3789g: federal grantee restriction quoted in the opinion.
• Utilities Comm. v. Edmisten, Atty. General, 291 N.C. 451, 232 S.E.2d 184 (1977): clear statutory language receives its plain meaning.

Source

• Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/traffic-law-enforcement-statistics-public-records/

Original opinion text

Re: Advisory Opinion; Traffic Law Enforcement Statistics; Public Records; G.S. § 114-10(2a)

Dear Mr. Dugdale:

By letters dated May 9, 2000 and June 21, 2000, you requested, on behalf of the Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, the opinion of this office concerning whether the identity of a state law enforcement officer making a traffic stop and the location of the traffic stop is a public record. These requests for opinions have been held by this office pending action by the General Assembly on HB 1840.

The Legislature recently enacted HB 1840 and it was signed into law by the Governor on June 30, 2000. See CH. SL 00.0067. Section 17.2(a) amends G.S. § 114-10(2a) to provide that the identity of a state law enforcement officer making a traffic stop and the location of the stop must now be collected and maintained. It further provides that "[t]he identity of the law enforcement officer making the stop . . . may be accomplished by assigning anonymous identification numbers to each officer" and that "[t]he correlation between the identification numbers and the names of the officer shall not be a public record and shall not be disclosed by the agency except when required by order of a court."

This new legislation specifically resolves your first question. The identity of the officer is not a public record. The location of the stop, however, is part of the public record. The obvious intent of the Legislature is to keep the identity of officers making traffic stops confidential. Where the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, there is no room for statutory construction and the statute must be given its plain meaning. Utilities Comm. v. Edmisten, Atty. General, 291 N.C. 451, 232 S.E.2d 184 (1977).

In your letter of June 21, 2000, you also ask for our guidance in resolving differences between state and federal law with respect to access to the identity of officers making traffic stops. Any difference that heretofore existed between state and federal law with respect to the confidentiality of the identity of law enforcement officers making traffic stops was eliminated by the adoption of HB 1840. State law and federal law, as they relate to this information, are now the same. Compare G.S. § 114-10(2a) as amended and 42 USC § 3789g (prohibiting release by federal grantees of research data "identifiable to any specific private person.")

We hope that this opinion has provided you the guidance you need. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Signed by:

James J. Coman
Senior Deputy Attorney General

Isaac T. Avery, III
Special Deputy Attorney General