Burbank Police Department Makes Arrest Logs Public

The Burbank Leader has reported that the Burbank Police Department has made its daily arrest logs available on the city’s website.  Those wishing to search for arrest info prior to that time needed to go to the police station to obtain it. Sources say this is just another step in an effort to allow better communication between police personnel and the residents they serve.

This, however, is not the first time a police department has embraced this type of technology.  The Glendale Police Department has arrest logs dating back to late 2010 available on its website, they said.

Acting Police Chief Scott LaChasse told the Leader that making Burbank arrest reports available on-line had been a long-time goal of the department and that personally had been working toward it since Jan. 2010.

The Department said the information is updated every 24-hours and is done via computer program.  The program, created by a crime analyst, pulls information logged at the jail when arrest information is logged into the system.

LaChasse said this is just the first step in further opening channels of communication between the Burbank Police Department and community members.  Social media access, he said, will likely be utilized as a means of “pushing information out”.

He is hopeful that the community will provide feedback so the department can “incorporate the community’s needs”.  By having a better understanding of the every-changing scope of what it is the community requires, he said, he believes the Department will be better able to serve residents.

From a bail bonds industry perspective, these types of arrest logs tend to be used for malicious purposes by unscrupulous bondsmen. Working in an illegal as well as unethical manner, bail companies can “mine” the arrest logs and perform background searches in an attempt to solicit bail from family and friends.

The Burbank Police Department is located at 200 N. Third Street, Burbank CA, 91502.  The Burbank Jail houses both misdemeanor and felony arrestees until their criminal arraignments. If persons who are arrested and detained at this facility are not released on bond or are ineligible for bail the will be kept there until they are brought before a judge.

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