Story Removal Requests
Local3News.com continues to receive an increasing number of requests from people we have reported on who say a story is affecting their ability to get a job or gain custody of their children long after their case is dropped or sentence completed.
We write stories about crime because we believe public safety is important to the public. We rely on public records to write these stories but recognize that with time the newsworthiness of some stories diminishes.
Local3News.com will consider requests for the removal of non-felony and non-violent criminal offenses. Other cases will be handled on an individual basis.
Local3News.com will not consider removal requests from celebrities or elected officials. We will also not remove stories related to the death of another person.
To be considered, the following should be met:
- The person named in the story must make the request.
- A judge has dismissed the charges and the person named is able to provide expungement paperwork.
- The person named has completed jail/prison time and is able to provide expungement paperwork.
The following criteria will be considered:
- Severity and nature of the incident that led to charges.
- Whether others were injured in the incident.
- The ongoing threat to public safety.
Email using this form with questions or to submit your request. Documentation must be provided for requests to be considered.
This process applies to content on Local3News.com only. We will review the request and respond to you. Once a story is removed from our website, it will still take time for web search engines to re-index Local3News.com. This process is controlled by companies like Google and can take several weeks.
All removed stories remain in our internal archives and can be recalled if the person named is involved in future incidents.
