Press releases and Police Daily Log

Most police activity is public record. California law permits and requires the release of most police activity to the public. Under the public records law, we are required to make information available about incidents occurring in Menlo Park. This includes the type of crime, general locations, and names of people arrested for alleged crimes. Daily police logs do not list all routine calls for police service, or routine items such as traffic stops, medical calls, alarm calls, or noise complaints. All daily log content posted on this site is screened and edited. Some information cannot be released in daily logs:

Names of juveniles, crime victims, or suspects in certain crimes
Addresses of the incident or involved parties
Details of some incidents, like domestic violence, and cases under investigation

News releases are written and released as incidents involving major crimes, bulletins about wanted suspects, and items of general community interest occurring in Menlo Park. We recognize that media representatives have deadlines, and we will do what we can to assist in meeting them. A media release may be emailed directly to local media contacts and/or posted as soon as possible after an incident. Media releases may include the names, ages and cities of criminal suspects or victims, photos, places involved and details about the incident or officers involved.