Online Videos May Reduce Crime

According to this story, some police departments are posting crime scene videos online in the hope that citizens may identify the perpetrators. It would seem that private individuals could make similar postings. This is also similar to the attempt to … Continued

Secret Ballots and Open Records

The House of Representatives is about to pass a bill that authorizes public balloting for union elections. On its face, the bill appears to favor openness. Opponents cite secret ballots as one of the elements of a free democratic society … Continued

In Car Cameras and Open Records

The objective of transparency and Open Records is to change individual behavior through trust building in one direction and peer pressure in the other. According to this story, transparency of driving behavior increases safety. The counter argument from the privacy … Continued

Cuba Vetoes Open Records

Successful societies tend to be open societies. Openness encourages the trust necessary to encourage individuals to make the long term social and financial investments associated with economic and social growth. Cuban leaders either do not understand the concept of openness … Continued

Seattle Releases Sex Offenders

Eighty-three convicted criminals — including high-risk sex offenders and violent felons — have been released from two King County jails because they exceeded the total that the state Department of Corrections was allowed to place there. Full Story

L.A. madam’s ‘trick book’ is unsealed

When Hollywood madam Jody “Babydol” Gibson was busted eight years ago, word that police had seized her list of celebrity clients stirred intense curiosity in Hollywood — and not a little worry. Now the names of those clients are in … Continued

Volunteer or Contact

We’re always looking for volunteers. If you have a database that you think should be public, let us know. We’ll probably show you how to do it yourself or maybe put you together with another volunteer to do it. We … Continued

Open Records Databases

US Crime Victimization Tables Dallas County Voting Records Census 2000 Databases Holocaust Searchable Database Database of AOL Searches BBB Charity Rankings UK St. George’s Hospital Mortality Texas Education Agency Online Check Register US Charity Financial Rankings Police Misconduct Database Dallas … Continued

Our History

In 1997, Kendall Clark, Charlie Lindahl, and Russell Fish formed The Open Records Project. The project’s revolutionary mission was to make public documents available for free on the then new Internet. The Dallas Examiner agreed to sponsor the effort and … Continued