Two things decide more criminal cases than argument does: the video, and whether the officer followed the department’s own written policy. Both are public. This is where each Tampa Bay agency keeps them.
St. Petersburg publishes its rulebook
The St. Petersburg Police Department puts its General Orders online in full. That is unusual and it matters, because a written policy is a standard an officer can be measured against. If the report and the policy do not line up, that is a question worth asking out loud, and the answer is on the city’s own website.
The ones that come up most in an impaired driving or search case:
- III-40, Mobile Video Recording Systems: when recording is required, when it may stop, and how the footage is retained.
- III-20, Hospital Procedures: the department’s own rules for what happens at the hospital, which is where a DUI blood draw usually occurs.
- III-25, Search of a Person, and III-14, Property and Evidence: how a search is supposed to be conducted and how what is seized is supposed to be handled, which is the front half of every chain of custody argument.
- III-01, Field Contacts, and III-23, Incident Reports: what an officer is supposed to document, and when.
- III-09, Towing and Impounding Vehicles, and III-16, Notice to Appear: what happens to the car, and when an officer may issue a notice instead of making an arrest.
Records and video requests go through the city records portal. St. Petersburg has run body cameras since December 2020, so in most current cases the footage exists. Non-emergency line is 727-893-7780.
The other agencies, and where their records live
| Agency | Find someone in custody | Records and video |
|---|---|---|
| Pinellas County Sheriff | Who’s In Jail | pcso.govqa.us Full guide to what the Sheriff controls |
| Hillsborough County Sheriff | Arrest Inquiry | hillsboroughsheriff.govqa.us |
| Tampa Police | Booked into the Hillsborough jail, so use Arrest Inquiry above | tampa.gov/police/records, which handles reports, body camera video, and other public records |
| St. Petersburg Police | Booked into the Pinellas jail, so use Who’s In Jail above | City records portal |
| Clearwater Police | Booked into the Pinellas jail, so use Who’s In Jail above | Clearwater records portal |
| Manatee County Sheriff | Jail and inmate information Charges and bond |
manateecountyfl.mycusthelp.com |
| Sarasota County Sheriff Venice Police arrestees book into the Sarasota County jail |
Arrest reports and inmate search | sarasotasheriff.govqa.us |
| Pasco County Sheriff | Jail | pascocountysheriff.govqa.us |
| DeSoto County Sheriff | Jail roster Jail FAQ |
Request through the Sheriff’s office directly |
The Highway Patrol publishes its manual too
FHP works crashes and makes a large share of the impaired driving arrests on the interstates and state roads, and it puts its policy manual online. Two chapters do most of the work in a DUI case.
- 17.22, Mobile Video and Audio Recording names field sobriety exercises specifically as official police business to be recorded, and requires recording of a suspect’s actions during interviews, while undergoing field sobriety exercises, and when placed in custody. If exercises were performed and there is no video, that is worth an explanation.
- 17.04, Traffic Crash Investigations is the blood draw chapter. It tells troopers to seek a warrant in death or serious bodily injury cases, and if a warrant cannot be obtained in time, to clearly describe all exigent circumstances which led to the request for a blood draw. That sentence is a cross-examination question the agency wrote for itself. It also directs that medical blood be pursued by warrant or subpoena, in concert with the Assistant State Attorney and FHP General Counsel, which is a chain of decisions that leaves a paper trail.
Other chapters worth having: 17.21 Traffic Stops, 11.01 Arrests, and 12.01 Collection and Preservation of Evidence. FHP crash reports come from the state crash portal, and records requests go through FLHSMV open government. Which troop responded depends on troop boundaries.
Ask early, and ask in writing
Video is the reason to move quickly. Agencies keep footage for a set period and then it is gone, and the retention clock does not pause because a case is pending. A written request early is worth more than a good argument late.
Two more things worth knowing. A crash report and a criminal case run on different rules: what you said at the scene to complete the report is covered by the accident report privilege. And if a DUI arrest just happened, the license clock started immediately, independent of the criminal case. The license deadline checker will tell you how long is left.
Links and phone numbers as published by each agency, checked July 2026. Policy documents are the versions posted by St. Petersburg at that date; departments revise them, so check the revision line before relying on one.
