How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Mississippi

The public records law that gets you the video

Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983, Miss. Code § 25-61-1 et seq.

7 working days, 14 with written notice

Public records are public property, and any person has the right to inspect, copy or get a reproduction of any public record of a public body, under the body’s reasonable written procedures on cost, time, place and method of access (Miss. Code § 25-61-5(1)(a)). “Public records” include photographs, films, tapes and recordings, regardless of physical form, used or kept in any public body’s business (§ 25-61-3(b)), so police and other government video is covered. It is state policy that public records are available to any person unless the chapter provides otherwise (§ 25-61-2). Deadline: if the public body has not adopted written procedures, access must be provided within one (1) working day after a written request; no public body may adopt procedures that let it produce or deny a record later than seven (7) working days after receiving the request (§ 25-61-5(1)(a)). If it cannot produce the record by the seventh working day, it must give you a written explanation that the record will be produced and why, with particularity, it cannot be produced in seven days, and unless both sides agree otherwise, production may be no later than fourteen (14) working days after it received your original request (§ 25-61-5(1)(b)). The deadlines are tolled while the body is conducting a competitive procurement (§ 25-61-5(4)). A denial must be in writing and state the specific exemption relied on, and the body must keep denials on file for at least three years (§ 25-61-5(3)). If a record is partly exempt, the agency must redact the exempt material and release the rest, and may charge a reasonable fee for redaction, not exceeding its actual cost (§ 25-61-5(2)). Fees: a public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse, and never exceeding, its actual cost of searching, reviewing, duplicating and mailing; any staff time included must be at the pay scale of the lowest level employee or contractor competent to respond, and fees are collected in advance (§ 25-61-7(1)). The Act sets no separate rule for video. Section 25-61-5 says it “shall stand repealed on July 1, 2028”; 2024 Senate Bill 2308 set that date, so unless the Legislature extends it again, the access-and-denial section is scheduled to expire then. Example, Department of Public Safety only (Highway Patrol, Capitol Police and other DPS divisions): its Public Records Policy says requests must be in writing following its website instructions (it links an online NextRequest portal) or by mail to Legal Division, Attn: Public Records, P.O. Box 958, Jackson, Mississippi 39205; within seven business days it will make records available, send copies once any deposit is paid, give a reasonable estimate, ask for clarification, or deny the request; standard photocopies cost $0.15 per page; electronic records on a storage device cost the device’s actual cost; emailing electronic records is free unless another cost applies; and searching, reviewing and redacting are billed at the hourly rate of the lowest paid qualified employee.

Police body camera and dashcam video

No body cam law found; Records Act rules

We found no Mississippi statute that specifically governs the release, viewing or retention of police body camera or dashboard camera video. Apart from appropriations that fund buying body cameras and a 2022 derelict-vessel law that accepts a removal notice recorded on an agency body camera (§ 49-27-71), the only body camera statute we found in the 1997 to 2026 enacted bills or the official Code is Miss. Code § 45-1-20 (2023 House Bill 1020, section 11), which requires the Department of Public Safety, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated, to provide body-worn cameras to each patrol officer of the Office of Capitol Police, worn and fully operational while on patrol; it says nothing about releasing the video. So police video is a public record under the general Public Records Act (Miss. Code § 25-61-3(b)), subject to its law enforcement exemptions: when in the possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports are exempt, though the agency “in its discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative report” (§ 25-61-12(2)(a)); a law enforcement incident report is always a public record (§ 25-61-12(2)(c)); and nothing in the Act requires disclosing information that would reveal a victim’s identity (§ 25-61-12(2)(d)). The definition of an investigative report lists records compiled in detecting and investigating unlawful activity whose disclosure would harm the investigation, “which may include crime scene reports and demonstrative evidence” (§ 25-61-3(f)(i)); we found no statute or official guidance saying whether crash video counts. Other laws that declare a record confidential also apply (§ 25-61-11). Retention: we found no statute setting a minimum retention period for police video, so ask the agency in your first request to preserve every recording of the crash. Fees are limited to actual cost (§ 25-61-7(1)).

When police can hold video back

Investigative reports: agency may hold

When in the possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports are exempt from the Public Records Act, but the agency may, in its discretion, make public all or any part of one (Miss. Code § 25-61-12(2)(a)). An investigative report is a law enforcement record containing information beyond an incident report, and generally includes, if beyond the incident report: records compiled in detecting and investigating unlawful or alleged unlawful activity whose disclosure would harm the investigation, which may include crime scene reports and demonstrative evidence; records that would reveal informants or witnesses; records that would prematurely release information that would impede enforcement, investigative or detection efforts; records that would disclose investigative techniques or their results; records that would deprive a person of a fair trial; records that would endanger an official, officer, informant or witness; quality control or peer review records; and records that would impede or jeopardize a prosecutor’s ability to prosecute the alleged offense (§ 25-61-3(f)). The incident report itself stays public: a narrative of the alleged offense, if one exists and contains no investigative information, including at a minimum the name and identification of each person charged with and arrested for it, the time, date and location, and the property involved (§§ 25-61-3(e), 25-61-12(2)(c)). If confidentiality is decided in a private hearing before a judge, the agency may redact the identity of confidential informants or of the people under investigation, or other information other than the nature of the incident, time, date and location (§ 25-61-12(2)(b)). The statute sets no point at which the exemption ends, and we found no official guidance on when it stops applying. Because several listed categories turn on harm to an investigation or prosecution, an agency may cite them to withhold crash video while a criminal case, such as impaired driving or leaving the scene, is open; if that happens, ask again after the case ends. Any denial must be in writing and name the specific exemption (§ 25-61-5(3)).

Do traffic cameras in Mississippi record?

MDOT: live feed only, no footage kept

The Mississippi Department of Transportation’s public records request page says: “Please be advised that MDOT’s traffic cameras are live feed only. MDOT does not maintain video footage or images from traffic cameras.” Its undated MDOTtraffic FAQ says MDOT “does not currently use the cameras for historical data collection, nor does MDOT store the images in any way,” and, asked whether the cameras are used to give speeding or red-light tickets, answers that they are currently used only as tools to help officials make traffic management decisions and to show the public current traffic conditions. Live views are on MDOTtraffic.com. So do not expect an MDOT highway camera clip of your crash. City and county traffic or public safety cameras are separate systems, and we found no official statement on whether they record; ask that agency in a written public records request right away, and ask nearby businesses and drivers, through the bounty board, for their footage. For other MDOT records, the same page says requests for other agencies’ records must go to those agencies, that after-hours submissions count as received the next business day, that the actual costs of searching, reviewing, redacting, duplicating and mailing must be paid in advance, and that questions go to the Public Records Officer, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Post Office Box 1850, Jackson, MS 39215-1850, 601-359-7600, mdotpro@mdot.ms.gov.

Red-light and speed cameras

Local red-light, speed cams banned

Neither a county board of supervisors nor a city’s governing authority may adopt, enact or enforce any ordinance authorizing the use of automated recording equipment or systems to enforce compliance with traffic signals, traffic speeds or other traffic laws on any public street, road or highway, or to impose or collect any civil or criminal fine, fee or penalty for such a violation; counties and cities using such equipment had to remove it before October 1, 2009 (Miss. Code § 17-25-19(1), enacted by 2009 House Bill 1568). “Automated recording equipment or system” means a camera or optical device working with a traffic control signal or radar speed detection equipment, or both, designed to record images of the rear license plate of a vehicle not complying with the signal or the posted speed limit (§ 17-25-19(2)). The section addresses counties and cities; we found no statute authorizing a state agency to run red-light or speed cameras, and MDOT says its cameras are currently used only for traffic management and public traffic information. A 2012 law (Miss. Code § 63-9-35, Senate Bill 2289) bars placing on a Mississippi driving record, or reporting to an insurer, a citation from another state issued by an automated traffic enforcement system that Mississippi does not authorize, and a 2013 law (§ 63-9-37, House Bill 91) says DPS recognizes another state’s camera fines only if that state is a member of the Driver License Compact. Separately, a 2011 law (Miss. Code § 37-41-59, enacted by Senate Bill 2472, “Nathan’s Law,” section 6) authorizes every school district to mount a camera on any retractable, hand-operated stop sign on a school bus; we found no statute on who may get that video, so if a school bus may have recorded your crash, ask the school district in writing at once under the Public Records Act.

If your request is denied

Ethics Commission complaint or court

Ethics Commission: any person denied the right to inspect or copy public records may file a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission (Miss. Code § 25-61-13). The Commission forwards it to the head of the public body, which has fourteen (14) days from receipt to respond; after the response, or after 14 days with none, the Commission may in its discretion dismiss the complaint or set a hearing. It may order the body and its employees or officials to produce records or take other reasonable steps, review records privately (finishing within 30 days after receiving them), mediate, and impose the Act’s penalties. The Commission’s Public Records Act page says to attach a copy of the written denial, if any, and it takes complaints through an online form. Court: any party may petition the chancery court of the county where the public body is located to enforce or appeal a Commission order, and that court reviews de novo; you also may file a complaint in any chancery court with jurisdiction without first going to the Commission, but you must serve written notice on the Commission when you file (§ 25-61-13). DPS’s Public Records Policy names the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County for suits against DPS. Penalty: a person who denies access to a non-exempt public record, or charges an unreasonable fee, may be liable civilly in their personal capacity for up to $100.00 per violation, plus all reasonable expenses of the person bringing the proceeding (§ 25-61-15). We found no statutory deadline for filing a complaint with the Commission or in court. You may want to ask a lawyer before suing.

What to do now

1. 1

   Request police video in writing today

   Write to the agency that worked the crash under the Public Records Act (Miss. Code § 25-61-5) for all body camera and dashcam video, giving the date, time, place and report number.

2. 2

   Ask them to preserve every recording

   We found no Mississippi law setting how long police must keep video. Ask in the same request that all recordings of the crash be kept, even if release is denied for now.

3. 3

   Skip MDOT, find other cameras

   MDOT says its traffic cameras are live feed only and it keeps no footage. Ask city or county agencies about their cameras, and post the crash on the bounty board for dashcam footage.

4. 4

   Track the seventh working day

   By then the agency must produce, deny in writing citing an exemption, or explain in writing why it needs up to 14 working days. After a denial, you may complain to the Ethics Commission.

Frequently asked questions