2018 Revised Code of Washington
Title 70 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
70.48 City and county jails act.
70.48.100 Jail register, open to the public—Records confidential—Exception.

RCW 70.48.100 Jail register, open to the public—Records confidential—Exception.

(1) A department of corrections or chief law enforcement officer responsible for the operation of a jail shall maintain a jail register, open to the public, into which shall be entered in a timely basis:

(a) The name of each person confined in the jail with the hour, date and cause of the confinement; and

(b) The hour, date and manner of each person's discharge.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the records of a person confined in jail shall be held in confidence and shall be made available only to criminal justice agencies as defined in RCW 43.43.705; or

(a) For use in inspections made pursuant to *RCW 70.48.070;

(b) In jail certification proceedings;

(c) For use in court proceedings upon the written order of the court in which the proceedings are conducted;

(d) To the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;

(e) To the Washington institute for public policy, research and data analysis division of the department of social and health services, higher education institutions of Washington state, Washington state health care authority, state auditor's office, caseload forecast council, office of financial management, or the successor entities of these organizations, for the purpose of research in the public interest. Data disclosed for research purposes must comply with relevant state and federal statutes;

(f) To federal, state, or local agencies to determine eligibility for services such as medical, mental health, chemical dependency treatment, or veterans' services, and to allow for the provision of treatment to inmates during their stay or after release. Records disclosed for eligibility determination or treatment services must be held in confidence by the receiving agency, and the receiving agency must comply with all relevant state and federal statutes regarding the privacy of the disclosed records; or

(g) Upon the written permission of the person.

(3)(a) Law enforcement may use booking photographs of a person arrested or confined in a local or state penal institution to assist them in conducting investigations of crimes.

(b) Photographs and information concerning a person convicted of a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 may be disseminated as provided in RCW 4.24.550, 9A.44.130, 9A.44.140, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 43.43.745, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, 72.09.330, and **section 401, chapter 3, Laws of 1990.

(4) Any jail that provides inmate records in accordance with subsection (2) of this section is not responsible for any unlawful secondary dissemination of the provided inmate records.

[ 2016 c 154 § 6; 2014 c 225 § 105; 1990 c 3 § 130; 1977 ex.s. c 316 § 10.]

NOTES:

Reviser's note: *(1) RCW 70.48.070 was repealed by 1987 c 462 § 23, effective January 1, 1988.

**(2) 1990 c 3 § 401 appears as a note following RCW 9A.44.130.

Intent—2016 c 154: See note following RCW 74.09.670.

Index, part headings not law—Severability—Effective dates—Application—1990 c 3: See RCW 18.155.900 through 18.155.902.

Severability—1977 ex.s. c 316: See note following RCW 70.48.020.