Public Records Request

Under Wisconsin Public Records Law, records generated by the UW-Whitewater Police Department may be subject to release. The department processes and releases all records in a reasonable and timely manner, in compliance with the State of Wisconsin’s public records laws.

To request an accident report, please visit the Wisconsin Crash Reports website.  

Records may be obtained the following ways:

• In person at UW-Whitewater University Police Department (Goodhue Hall, 1st Floor)
• Emailed to police@uww.edu
• Faxed to 262-472-5746
• Called in to the non-emergency line 262-472-4660

Public Records Request

Please send an email to police@uww.edu. Record requests must have specific details in order to fulfill the request in a timely manner so please add as much information as possible. If we can't determine specifically what you're looking for we will have to reach out to get additional information, and it may take longer to fulfill your request. We would like the following information to be included if possible.

• Your name
• Requested Information
• Please provide us with a brief description of the incident, case type, name of person involved, and/or location of the incident you are looking to receive a report / body camera footage for.
• Date of Record
• Provide us with the date or dates when the incident occurred.
• Incident Number
• If you have the incident number for the report you'd like to request. Officers sometimes will write that on the back of their business card.  (ex. 2025-001234)
• Email
• Please provide us with the email address you'd like to be contacted at about your open records request.

If you have a release of information form, please attach it to your email.

Records Requests Fee Structure, Billing, and Payment Information

A law enforcement agency may impose a fee upon a requester for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of redacting, whether by pixelization or other means, recorded audio or video content to the extent redaction is necessary to comply with applicable constitutional, statutory, or common law. An authority may not impose the fee with respect to a request for records containing audio or video content for which one of the following apply:

• If the requester is an individual, the requester provides written certification to the authority that the requester will not use the audio or video content for financial gain, not including an award of damages in a civil action.
• With respect to a request for records containing audio or video content if the requester is an individual directly involved in the event to which the requested records relate, that individual’s attorney or other authorized representative, or that individual’s parent or guardian if the individual is under the age of 18.
• With respect to a request for records containing audio or video content if the event to which the requested records relate is a shooting involving an officer of a law enforcement agency.

The per hour fee will be charged for the time it takes to locate, retrieve, and prepare records for disclosure. This rate is based on the actual, necessary, and direct costs incurred by the UW Whitewater Police Department. The per hour fee is determined by calculating the hourly salary of our Records employee plus fringe benefits, adjustments will be made when appropriate. The per hour fee will be calculated based on the actual time spent on the request.
The per hour fee is:

Requesters will receive an estimated invoice of the total cost before processing begins. A check is required by mail before work commences. Payment must be made in full before the records are released.  Accepted forms of payment include a check written out to the University of Wisconsin Whitewater Police Department. In certain cases, the UW Whitewater Police Department may waive or reduce the fee if it is determined that the waiver or reduction is in the public interest.

Processing, Estimates, Communication, Dissemination, and Request Denials.

The UW Whitewater Police Department will process requests as promptly as possible, considering the complexity and scope of the request. Requests for audio and/or video recordings can take up to 12 months to fulfill. Records requests that are not audio and/or video and cause additional personnel time and department resources (paper, storage, etc.) will have a fee assessed to cover our department costs to disseminate the record.