Mississippi, a state of limited access to government records, making police reports available to public

Mississippi journalists and other open-government advocates won a victory today, with final passage of a bill that would guarantee public access to incident reports by police. House Bill 474 passed the Senate unanimously and is headed to Gov. Haley Barbour.

The bill "would clarify the definition of incident reports that include information such as the name of a person arrested or charged with a crime," reports Leah Rupp of The Clarion Ledger in Jackson. "Investigative reports, which usually include more detailed information, would only be made public if the law enforcement agency chose to give it out."

The bill is the result of a year of lobbying by the Mississippi Press Association and other groups, and compromises among MPA, the House, the Senate and law-enforcement officials. It appeared to get a boost from Mississippi newspapers' recent package of stories, "Secrecy in Mississippi," showing how the Magnolia State had some of the country's most limited access to government records. (Read more)