How to request Illinois police records and body-camera footage
Police records are not one single record. An incident report, arrest record, 911 audio, dash-camera video, body-worn camera footage, dispatch log, policy, and related emails may be held by different public bodies or treated differently under Illinois law. Start by identifying the event and the record you actually want. Then send a focused written request to the agency or other public body that keeps it.
Illinois FOIA generally requires a public body to make its public records available for inspection or copying, subject to the Act’s exemptions. The agency must support an exemption with the facts and law that apply to the request; the result can depend on the record, the investigation, the people shown or identified, and whether another law controls. 5 ILCS 140/3; 5 ILCS 140/7.
1. Identify the record and the custodian
Write down the date, approximate time, location, incident or case number, officer or unit if known, and the agency that responded. A municipal police department, county sheriff, Illinois State Police, 911 center, state’s attorney, or another public body may hold different parts of the same event. If you are unsure, use the public-body directory to find the agency’s FOIA contact.
Separate your request into record categories. For example, request the final incident report and attachments; CAD or dispatch records; 911 audio for a defined time window; body-worn camera recordings for named officers or a defined encounter; and the written body-camera or retention policy. Asking for “everything about” an incident can make identification, review, fees, and exemptions harder.
2. Send a request that can be searched
Use the request builder to prepare a request and then submit it through the agency’s designated email, portal, mail, or fax channel. Include the full request in the message body when sending it electronically. Ask for electronic copies in the agency’s existing format if available, and say that you will accept inspection if copying is not practical. Keep the sent request, delivery confirmation, and every response.
You can adapt this wording:
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, I request electronic copies of the following records held by [agency]: [incident report and attachments / CAD or dispatch records / 911 audio / body-worn camera recordings]. The incident occurred on or about [date], at [location], and involved [case number, call type, or other identifying detail]. For body-worn camera recordings, please search [time range], identify the encounter and officers if known, and include any recording that captures the encounter. Please provide non-exempt portions with lawful redactions and identify the specific statutory basis for each withholding. If no responsive record exists, please say so and identify the office or public body believed to maintain it. Please provide an electronic response and advise me of any copying fee before incurring it.
This requests records; it does not ask the agency to create a narrative or answer investigative questions.
3. Treat body-camera footage as its own question
The Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act requires covered law-enforcement agencies to use officer-worn cameras and sets policy, operation, and retention requirements. Recordings generally must be retained for at least 90 days. A recording flagged for listed events—including a complaint, firearm discharge, use of force, arrest or detention, death or bodily harm, or evidentiary or official purposes—has longer preservation rules; a flagged recording may not be destroyed before two years, and a recording used in a proceeding is retained under the Act’s court-related rule. 50 ILCS 706/10-15; 50 ILCS 706/10-20.
Retention is not the same as access. Section 10-20(b) provides special FOIA rules for recordings, including disclosure of certain flagged recordings and a written-permission condition when the subject had a reasonable expectation of privacy and is a victim or witness. Other FOIA exemptions may also require redaction or withholding, such as private information, an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or law-enforcement information whose disclosure would interfere with a pending or reasonably contemplated proceeding. The agency may have no recording, may have a recording outside its custody, or may lawfully withhold part of a recording. Request the non-exempt remainder and ask for the legal and factual reason for each redaction.
The Attorney General’s FOIA Guide for Law Enforcement and PAC body-camera determinations explain those issues. They are guidance and fact-specific decisions, not a promise that a particular video will be released.
4. Track the response and challenge a denial carefully
For an ordinary request, section 3 generally requires a response within five business days, with limited statutory extensions and special rules for some request categories. A response may be a production, a fee notice, a lawful extension, a clarification request, a partial production, or a written denial. A denial should identify the specific exemption and explain the basis. Read the response against the exact categories and dates you requested; “no responsive records” is different from “records withheld.”
If the agency does not answer, gives only a conclusory denial, or omits records you reasonably described, preserve the request and proof of receipt and consider a focused follow-up. See the guide on unanswered FOIA requests. You can also use the site’s exemptions reference and appeal builder to organize the response and a possible PAC Request for Review. The opinions and issues pages can help you locate fact-specific Illinois Attorney General materials. PAC review has deadlines and procedural limits, and court review may be available; consider legal advice for a dispute involving an active investigation, a criminal case, a juvenile, a victim, or a privacy-sensitive recording.
Sources and scope
This guide was checked October 16, 2026 against current Illinois General Assembly text for 5 ILCS 140/3, 5 ILCS 140/7, 50 ILCS 706/10-15, and 50 ILCS 706/10-20, plus the Attorney General PAC’s law-enforcement guide, PAC page, and determination index. The General Assembly page shows future-dated amendments; check the effective date and text that applies on your request date. No source reviewed here establishes that an agency possesses a particular recording or guarantees release of an incident file.