Paid $400 for a records request, then found the free route

I needed a police report from Fresno for a case and the city's attorney office quoted me $400 and a 6 week wait. Tried the state public records portal on a whim, same exact report showed up in 4 days for zero dollars. The clerk even admitted they push you to the paid path first because it's easier for them. Has anyone else beat the system by just asking the state instead of the local office?

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patriciam2226d ago

Wow that is nuts, 400 bucks versus free for the same paper is a huge gap. Honestly what bugs me most is the clerk basically admitting they steer people toward the paid path because it's easier for them, that sounds less like a mistake and more like a habit. So when you went through the state portal, did you have to give them the exact report number or case info, or were you able to just describe what you needed and they found it? I'm asking because I tried something like this once and the state site wanted a specific ID I didn't have, so I gave up and paid. If you can share what details you plugged in, that would help a lot of people skip the runaround. Also did the city ever explain why it was 6 weeks when the state did it in 4 days?

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