If you are a victim of harassment, you may go to the West Justice Center to obtain a restraining order. The address is 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683. The phone number is (714) 896-7188. For witness coordination, please call (714) 934-4634.

Court Forms for Civil Harassment

Call your local police department . to report abuse. IF THE ABUSE IS LIFE THREATENING, CALL 911. The police can issue an Emergency Protective Order to protect you.

There are several agencies that can provide you with help in getting a Restraining Order, counseling and treatment options, shelter information as well as other legal assistance. Here are a few:

• Restraining Order:
  • Domestic Violence Assistance Program Office located in room 705, 7th floor, at the Superior Court of Orange County, Lamoreaux Justice Center
  • 341 The City Drive S.
    Orange, CA 92868
  • (714) 935-7956
  
  
• National Domestic Violence Hotline:
  • (800) 799-7233
  
  
• Orange County Family Justice Center: Offers comprehensive services
  • 150 W. Vermont Ave.
    Anaheim, CA 92805
  • (714) 765-1645
  • http://www.anaheimfamilyjusticecenter.org
  
  
• Mariposa Women and Family Center: Counseling and support
  • 812 W. Town and Country Rd.
    Orange, Ca 92868-4712
  • (714) 547-6494
  • http://www.mariposacenter.org
  
  
• Legal Assistance:
  • Legal Aid Society of Orange County: (714) 571-5200
  • Public Law Center: (714) 541-1010
  • Orange County Bar Association: (949) 440-6747


• Shelters:
  • Human Options: (877) 854-3594
  • Laura’s House: (949) 498-1511
  • The Sheepfold: (877) 743-3736
  • Women’s Transitional Living Center: (714) 992-1931
  • Interval House: (562) 594-4555 or (714) 891-8121

You will need to plan on spending most of the day at the courthouse preparing the applications, attending the hearing, and obtaining the orders and copies for service. The process can be done on Monday-Friday and should be started before 9:30am. Included are links to the Orange County Court system with more information on domestic violence restraining orders.

OC Court Forms

If you are a victim of harassment you may go to the West Justice Center to obtain a restraining order. The address is 8141 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683. The phone number is (714) 896-7188. Court Forms for Work Place Restraining Order

Copies of crime and incident reports are available for purchase provided you are involved in the case. You may request a copy of your report through the following methods:

In Person

Please complete and print the Request for Release of Police Records form and come to the police station to pick up a copy of your report. You will need to bring a valid copy of your photo I.D. (driver's license, identification card, or a recent copy of your passport). To find the police department, click here.

Mail

If you choose to request your report by mail, please complete and print the Request for Release of Police Records form with as much information as possible and send it to the following address:

Westminster Police Department
ATTN: Records Division
8200 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster, CA 92683

Please note that we will NOT mail your report back to you. We are required to verify your identity before releasing a report. Please bring a valid copy of your photo I.D. (driver's license, identification card, or a recent copy of your passport).  You will be called when your report is available for pick up. To find the police department, click here.

Costs

To determine the price of your report, you may call the Records Division at (714) 548-3218. The price per page is $.30, and the average length of a report can range from 1 to 10 pages long. We recommend having, at least, $10 dollars handy to cover the cost of a report. We do accept Visa and Mastercard.

Releasing a Report

Some reports take approximately 10-14 days, so it is highly encouraged to call the Records Division to check on the availability of your report at least two weeks before you need it. Same-day service is not always available due to the necessary steps to review the case and, potentially, redact the case from information that may not be eligible for release.

Under the California Public Records Act, some reports are not releasable and your request may need to be reviewed by the Records Division. Our Records Specialists have ten (10) business days to determine if and when a report can be released. You will be notified if we are unable to release the report.

If you were arrested by the Westminster Police Department, you can obtain a copy of the arrest report only after your case has been adjudicated. Prior to adjudication, you must contact the District Attorney’s Office for a copy. Some arrest records may contain information that cannot be released or may need to be redacted. If your report falls under this category, we will inform you at the time of the request what information we can provide you.

Access to criminal history summary records maintained by the California Department of Justice is restricted by law to legitimate law enforcement purposes and authorized Applicant Agencies. Individuals have the right to request a copy of their own criminal history record from the department to review the information for accuracy and completeness. Requests from third parties are not authorized and cannot be honored by the department. If you would like to review the accuracy and completeness of your own criminal history record follow the instructions listed on the Attorney General’s website.

Attorney General's Website

There are two methods of receiving property from a vehicle if you are not the registered owner.

1. You may contact the owner and have the owner come to the Police Department to sign a release for permission to retrieve property from the vehicle.
2. If the owner is unable to come to the Police Department, you may have the owner prepare a letter authorizing you to remove your property from the vehicle.

A list of your property you are trying to retrieve needs to be listed in the letter. Have the owner include a copy of their driver’s license or California identification with the letter. There is no fee for this service.

You must be a resident or at one time resided in the City of Westminster. You may come to the front counter at the Police Department and present a valid form of photo identification (Drivers License, California Identification, or a passport with a fairly recent photo). A record check of our computer system will be conducted to determine if you have been arrested by our Police Department. Copies of our arrest records only go back to 1997 unless the individual was arrested for retainable felony cases. All other records have been purged and cannot be substantiated with documentation. We will provide you with a letter regarding your criminal history status in our city.

Orange County Juvenile Court limits access to juvenile court records in accordance with T.N.G. v Superior Court (1971) 4 C3d 767, 94 CR 813, and Welfare and Institution Code Section 827. Certain reports may be obtained at the Police Department if you are the minor or parents/guardian of the juvenile. If we are unable to release the report, we will provide you with a form to petition the Orange County Juvenile Court or you may obtain the form from the Juvenile Court, 341 City Drive, P.O. Box 14169, Orange, CA 92613, (714) 935-7000.

The completed petition can be mailed to the above address or delivered to Juvenile Court Reception on the second floor of the Lamoreaux Justice Center. The Juvenile Court does not accept petitions via facsimile. After reviewing the petition, the Presiding Judge of Juvenile Court will either grant or deny the request. A certified copy of the petition is then returned by mail to the petitioner if the petition is granted.

Civil subpoenas are served to the “Custodian of Records” during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., open lunch, and are served by attorneys. 

Civil subpoenas for police records only may be served for an established court hearing.  Typical police records includes arrest reports, traffic collisions reports.. calls for service or event logs, photographs, 911, dispatch audio recordings,  body worn cameras and evidence video, may be served for an established court hearing.  

To better aid the Records staff with searching, we ask that you include:

• case number
• date of the incident
• time of the incident
• street or location of incident 
• full name
• date of birth
• the nature of the crime

• All civil subpoenas must include the $15 initial processing fee by law per Civil Code.
• All civil subpoenas may result with additional fees. See established fee schedule.

• All civil subpoenas must be served with a minimum 15 days of the court hearing and must be stamped by the court.
• Civil subpoenas are responded and sent directly to the court of hearing and address to the CLERK OF THE COURT
• Subpoena service providers for attorneys will be called for a pick-up. Please include your work order number.

*Any subpoenas for city records are still served through the city clerk’s office as standard practice. 

Court ordered booking is done by appointment only. To make arrangements, contact the Records Bureau by calling (714) 548-3218 and make an appointment for a "court ordered booking."

You will be asked pertinent information. Please have your court paperwork handy when speaking to the Records Specialist. You will be required to bring the court ordered paperwork with you, as well as a valid identification so that it can be signed off and processed per court requirements.