Search Peabody Police Records
Peabody police records are held by the Peabody Police Department's Records Division on Allens Lane. The department sits in Essex County and serves a city of about 54,000 people. Peabody has a formal FOIA request process run through the records office, and Captain Douglas Marcus is the Records Access Officer. If you need an incident report, arrest record, or crash report from Peabody, this page walks you through how to get it. The records office keeps set hours and takes requests by mail, email, fax, and in person at the station.
Peabody Overview
Peabody Police Department Records Division
The Peabody Police Department is at 6 Allens Lane, Peabody, MA 01960. The records phone line is 978-538-6345. You can also send a fax to 978-977-3261. The Records Division handles all requests for police reports, and Captain Douglas Marcus is the Records Access Officer for the city.
Hours for the Records Division are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. The office is closed on weekends and holidays. Plan your visit or call within those hours. If you show up after 3:00 PM on a weekday (or noon on Friday), you will not be able to pick up records.
The Peabody Police Records Division page has details on what the office does and what types of reports you can get.
This page lists the types of records the division keeps and how to reach the office by phone or fax.
The records office can provide investigation reports, property reports, supplement reports, vehicular accident reports, arrest records, and miscellaneous incident reports. That covers most of what people look for. If you are not sure which type of report you need, call the records line and describe the incident. Staff can help you figure out the right report to request.
How to Request Peabody Police Records
Peabody uses a FOIA Request Form for all police records requests. You must fill out this form and send it in. There are four ways to submit it: email, fax, mail, or in person at the station.
The Peabody FOIA Request Form is on the department website and can be filled out online or printed.
The form asks for your name, contact info, and a clear description of the records you want.
To send by mail, address it to: Peabody Police Department, Records Division, 6 Allens Lane, Peabody, MA 01960. To fax, use 978-977-3261. For in-person requests, go to the station during records office hours. Be specific about what you need. Include dates, names of people involved, and report numbers if you have them. The more detail you give, the faster they can find your records.
The department follows M.G.L. Chapter 66, Section 10, which is the state public records law. Under this law, Peabody has 10 business days to respond to your request. Some records tied to open cases or exempt under state law may not be released right away. The department will tell you if that is the case.
Types of Peabody Police Records
The Records Division keeps several types of files. Here is what you can ask for:
Investigation reports cover the details of crimes and incidents that the department looked into. These are the most common type of police report people request. Property reports deal with lost, found, or stolen items logged by the department. Supplement reports are follow-up reports added to an existing case file as new info comes in.
Vehicular accident reports from Peabody are also kept by the records office. You can get these directly from the department, or you can use BuyCrash.com to search for and buy crash reports online for about $20 each. BuyCrash is the state system for accident report sales and works for most crashes in Massachusetts.
Arrest records show who was taken into custody and for what charge. These are public in most cases, though some may be restricted if the case involves a juvenile or is still under seal. Miscellaneous incident reports cover anything else that does not fit neatly into the other categories.
Not all records are public. Under M.G.L. Chapter 4, Section 7(26), certain records are exempt from disclosure. This includes files that could compromise an ongoing investigation, personal medical records, and documents protected by attorney-client privilege. If your request is denied, the department must cite the specific exemption.
Peabody Police Records Fees
Peabody follows the state fee rules set out in 950 CMR 32.08. Copies cost $0.05 per page. The first two hours of search and retrieval time are free. After that, the city can charge $25 per hour for staff time spent finding and compiling your records.
Most simple requests cost very little. A single incident report might be a few pages, so you would pay just pennies for copies. Bigger requests that take staff more than two hours to put together will cost more. The department will let you know the estimated cost before they do the work so you can decide whether to go ahead or narrow down what you need.
There is no fee to look at records in person at the records office, when access is allowed. You only pay for copies you take with you.
Legal Resources and Appeals
If Peabody denies your records request, you have the right to appeal. File an appeal with the Supervisor of Records under M.G.L. Chapter 66, Section 10A. The supervisor reviews the denial and issues a ruling within 10 business days. If you still disagree, you can take it to Superior Court. Courts can award attorney fees if you win.
For state criminal history checks (CORI records), go through the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. CORI requests cost $25 and are separate from local police records. These are statewide records that cover criminal history across all of Massachusetts, not just Peabody.
Court records for cases in Peabody can be searched on MassCourts. This site lets you look up case numbers, docket entries, and party names for criminal and civil cases. It does not include the police reports themselves, but it can help you find case details you need to make a records request.
The Essex County District Attorney's office handles prosecutions for crimes in Peabody. If you need records related to a prosecution rather than the initial police report, the DA's office may be the right place to ask.
Essex County Police Records
Peabody is part of Essex County on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The county covers a large area with many cities and towns. For more on county-level police records and related resources, check the Essex County page.
Nearby Cities
Other cities near Peabody with police records pages on this site.