Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published · Reviewed
Done0 of 31
The first 72 hours
Records that prove notice
Medical and injury records
Safety and support
Los Angeles County records
| Record and holder | Who may ask and how | Fee and timing | Agency page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime report and statements, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)Covers: Crimes in the City of Los Angeles, including Tarzana and Woodland Hills.Who holds it: LAPD Records and Identification Division, Document Processing Unit. | Who may ask: The victim, or a representative. An attorney's request must include "A signed release from the victim." Domestic violence victims "should apply directly to the concerned Area of occurrence," the LAPD Area where it happened. How: By mail to Records and Identification Division, Document Processing Unit, P.O. Box 30158, Los Angeles, CA 90030. | $28 (LAPD Form 08.42.01, fees effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027), by "check or money order payable to the LAPD" (do not send cash). No fee for domestic violence victims. Family Code section 6228 gives victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking one free copy within five working days, for requests within five years of the report. | LAPD records request instructions (January 2026). LAPD Form 08.42.01, fees effective July 1, 2026. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| 911 recordings, LAPD (domestic violence and sexual assault victims)Who holds it: LAPD. Its notice says "9-1-1 recordings can only be requested by Department personnel." | Who may ask: A victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, through the LAPD Area where it happened. How: Ask at that Area's station, which requests the recording for you. Other requests go through a Public Records Act request; we could not verify LAPD's online route, so call LAPD. | Free under Family Code section 6228. A city department may destroy recordings after 100 days (Government Code section 34090.6), so ask at once. | LAPD notice on victim access (January 22, 2024). Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Calls for service at the address, LAPDWho holds it: LAPD's dispatch records. The law that opens them is Government Code section 7923.615. | Call LAPD and ask how it handles a Public Records Act request for calls at an address. We could not verify its request route or fee, so we list none. | Call the agency for the fee and timing. | No agency page verified. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Crime report, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD)Covers: Unincorporated areas and the cities that contract with the Sheriff.Who holds it: Records and Identification Bureau, 12440 East Imperial Highway, Norwalk. | Who may ask: The Bureau lists "Release of crime reports to victims." How: By appointment, or by mail with "valid notarized identification." | $25 "When a file and/or booking number is provided," $35 when not. Domestic violence victims: "one free copy within 5 years of the completion of the report." Reports "older than 10 years may not be available if they have been purged." | Sheriff's record requests. Fee schedule (June 30, 2022). Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Calls for service, 911 recordings and station video, LASDWho holds it: Risk Management Bureau, Public Records Act Unit, 4900 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 102, Commerce, CA 90040. | Who may ask: Anyone, by Public Records Act request. The Unit's list names "911 Recordings" and "Calls for service reports," and video "from Sheriff's Department facilities such as a station public parking lot." How: Write to the Unit at the address above. The Department's records page says it does not have dash cameras in patrol cars as of April 2026. | Copies at the "direct costs of duplication" (Government Code section 7922.530). The Department has 10 days to answer, sometimes 14 more (section 7922.535). A county department may destroy recordings after 100 days (section 26202.6). | Sheriff's record requests. Records questions. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Body camera video of the attack and earlier calls, LAPD or LASDWho holds it: The police agency that answered the call. | Who may ask: A Public Records Act request, or a subpoena once a lawsuit is filed. Agencies often withhold video while an investigation is open. | Not stated. State guidance says video that is not evidence "should be retained for a minimum of 60 days" (Penal Code section 832.18), and agency schedules vary. | Penal Code section 832.18. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Court index for eviction, restraining order and criminal cases, Superior Court of Los Angeles CountyWho holds it: The Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Its name index covers limited civil cases, which include evictions, from 1991, and unlimited civil cases from 1983. | Who may ask: Anyone can search the index. An eviction file is closed to the public unless the landlord won judgment within 60 days or after trial, but a resident of the building can see it with one party's name or the case number and proof of residency (Code of Civil Procedure section 1161.2). How: Search online by name. Documents from criminal and family law cases are not available online. | Registered users pay $1.00 a search for the first 10 in a month, then $4.75 for searches 11 to 99, with lower rates after that; guests pay $4.75 a search, charged "regardless of the number of results." Document images cost $1.00 a page for pages 1 to 5, then $0.40 a page, up to $40.00 a document. | Find a case. Search fees. Checked November 11, 2026. |
Orange County records
| Record and holder | Who may ask and how | Fee and timing | Agency page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime report, Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD)Covers: Unincorporated Orange County and the cities that contract with the Sheriff.Who holds it: OCSD Records, Santa Ana. | Who may ask: Victims, their authorized representative, an insurer and a "Person suffering bodily injury," among others. How: Call Records first; a report takes 7 to 10 days to be finalized. Then request it by email, in person in Santa Ana, by mail to P.O. Box 449, Santa Ana, CA 92702, or by fax. | "fifteen cents ($0.15) per page." A domestic violence report "is released at no cost to the victim pursuant to Family Code section 6228." | Sheriff's report requests. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Calls for service, 911 audio and other records, OCSDWho holds it: OCSD. | Who may ask: Anyone, by Public Records Act request. How: By email, by mail to 320 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703, ATTN: CPRA, in person, by fax or by phone. | $0.15 a page. | Sheriff's public records requests. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Crime report, Santa Ana Police DepartmentCovers: Crimes in the City of Santa Ana.Who holds it: Santa Ana Police Records Division. | Who may ask: "The victim of a crime or a person who is listed in the report may request a copy (excluding the suspect/arrestee)." How: Online, by mail or in the lobby, with identification. | The department says a request "may require a payment of fees" and states no amount. | Santa Ana police records. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| CAD logs and 911 audio, Santa Ana Police DepartmentWho holds it: Santa Ana Police Department. CAD logs, the dispatch record of each call, are listed among its public records. | Who may ask: Involved parties may request 911 audio. How: Through the police records request portal linked from the department's records page. | Not stated. Special statistical reports may carry programming costs of $55 an hour. The department notes that 911 "audio is only retained for 180 days." | Santa Ana police records. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Trespass authorization signed by the property owner, Santa AnaWho holds it: The owner and the Santa Ana Police Department. Santa Ana asks owners of properties with trespass problems tied to "Drugs, Gangs, Prostitution, and/or Panhandling" to sign a Limited Authorization for Arrest form, which "will remain valid for 12 months." | Who may ask: A Public Records Act request to the City, or a request to the owner once a lawsuit is filed. A signed form can show the owner knew of trespass problems at the property. | Not stated. | Santa Ana trespass program. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Court index for eviction and other civil cases, Orange County Superior CourtWho holds it: Orange County Superior Court Civil Case Access: unlimited civil cases from 1996, limited civil cases from 2005, and most documents filed on or after January 1, 2008. | Who may ask: Anyone can search. For an eviction case, the court asks for "the complete name of one plaintiff, the complete name of one defendant, and the exact address of the subject premises as provided on the complaint." How: Online through Civil Case Access, or through the court's separate Case Name Search. | "fees apply" for documents; the search fee is not stated on the court's page. | Civil case access. Checked November 11, 2026. |
Ventura County records
| Record and holder | Who may ask and how | Fee and timing | Agency page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime report, Ventura County Sheriff's OfficeWho holds it: The Ventura County Sheriff's Office, for the areas it polices. | Call the Sheriff's Office. Its website did not open for our check, so we list no fee, timing or request rules. | Call the agency for the fee and timing. | No agency page verified. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Calls for service and 911 audio, Ventura County Sheriff's OfficeWho holds it: The Sheriff's Office dispatch records. The law that opens them is Government Code section 7923.615. | Call the Sheriff's Office and ask how it handles a Public Records Act request. We could not verify its route or fee. | Not verified. A county department may destroy recordings after 100 days (Government Code section 26202.6). | No agency page verified. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Court index for eviction, restraining order and criminal cases, Ventura Superior CourtWho holds it: Ventura Superior Court Records, Hall of Justice. Files are viewed in Room 218. | Who may ask: Anyone, by a search request in person or in writing, not by phone. How: Submit the search request to Records. The online Case Inquiry limits remote display of some case types. | "a $15 fee per search request with a maximum of 15 names per request." | Court records. Case Inquiry. Checked November 11, 2026. |
| Victim assistance, Ventura County District AttorneyWho holds it: The Crime Victims' Assistance Unit, which offers advocates, court accompaniment and help with protective orders. | Who may ask: Victims of crime. How: Call (805) 654-3622. | Free. | Crime Victims' Assistance Unit. Checked November 11, 2026. |
Records and deadlines
The records clock is shorter than the lawsuit clock. Most California injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). Some claims have more time, and our negligent security deadlines guide lists them; the deadline calculator gives a first look at the dates. The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer. 911 audio may be destroyed after 100 days, and body camera video that is not evidence after 60 days, so the letters and requests in the first group go out first.
Fees, addresses and request rules on this page are what each agency's own page said when we checked it on November 11, 2026. Agencies change them, and the agency's page controls. This page publishes no crime, call or code data about any address or building. For the claim itself, start with our Los Angeles negligent security lawyer page; for injuries from unsafe conditions rather than crime, see our premises liability page. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship, which is formed only by a signed written fee agreement.
This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed only by a signed written fee agreement.