People can now get several different types of records for free from the Chattanooga Police Department.
Incident reports, traffic reports and background checks, upon request, will be provided at no cost as long as the person requesting the records wants only one copy. The change comes after the city’s Office of Internal Audit found that it cost more money to collect and process the charges for the records than the actual charge itself.
The reports were originally $7 a piece, while background checks were $5. The cost to the city for processing the charges amounted to about $11, typically, according to the Chattanooga Police Department. The audit was requested by the Chattanooga Police Department’s Records Division, spokesperson Elisa Myzal wrote in an email. The charges had been in place since 2001.
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Incident reports and background checks can be obtained by anyone with a Tennessee ID. Traffic reports, including personal information about those involved in an accident, are only available to attorneys and anyone named in the report, including those who own property named in the report.