Phoenix says its new police records fees are aimed at commercial users. The biggest increase in the new schedule, which took effect Nov. 1, is a video review fee of $23 for every half hour of footage a records clerk has to review. Families, defense attorneys and reporters pay it too.
That is $46 an hour, the most Arizona law allows. Before the change, Phoenix charged about $4 for a case's body camera footage, according to ABC15's 2025 reporting.
The city is doing this because it is drowning. The Police Public Records and Services Bureau has a backlog of nearly 40,000 requests, expects almost 140,000 requests this year, and tells people that video needing redaction can take two years or more. Mayor Kate Gallego called the backlog "unacceptably long."
Everyone agrees on the problem. The question is who pays for the fix.
Illustration: 40,000 requests in the queue, $46 an hour to see the video.
What changed on Nov. 1
The City Council adopted the new fees and a staffing increase on Sept. 23, as Item 63 on its formal agenda. The clerk's results record only that the item was adopted. They show no roll call and no speakers, and no coverage we found reports any dissent.
Under the new schedule:
Crash and incident reports are free to non-commercial requesters if delivered digitally, and 25 cents a page printed.
Commercial requesters pay a $10 flat fee plus 25 cents a page.
"Primary" video, released with a medium blur over the whole recording, is free for everyone.
"Supplemental" video, with standard redactions so you can actually see what happened, costs $23 per 30 minutes reviewed, commercial or not.
911 recordings stay at $16.50, photos at $4.
Crime victims or their representatives get one free copy of police records on request. The city's materials do not say whether that free copy covers supplemental video.
The fee that isn't commercial
The city's own framing is that the increases are modest and land mostly on businesses that profit from public records. Gallego went further in October, telling KTAR the backlog is driven partly by content creators who don't live in Phoenix, and that the city "won't be the cheapest out there for people who are just trying to find clickbait."
The commercial piece of the schedule is a $10 flat fee. The video fee is the one that scales, and it does not distinguish between a YouTube channel and a mother. A two-hour incident with several officers' cameras can mean many hours of review, billed at $46 each, because the fee is based on how much footage is reviewed, not on how much is released.
Free blurred video is real, and for many requesters it may be enough. What we don't know is how much of a blurred recording a family can actually see, or what share of requesters end up needing the paid version.
A backlog that kept growing
The backlog grew 64 percent in 18 months, Gallego said in June, according to KJZZ, which also reported her account of a mother who was told she would wait six years for body camera video of her daughter's death.
The city's own wait-time figures don't line up. In September, KJZZ cited city documents saying crash reports often take days and video averages 18 months. The city's announcement of the new fees said crash reports can take up to six weeks and video two years or more.
To clear it, the city is adding 10 permanent non-sworn positions, moving six people in by internal transfer and bringing on 19 temporary staff meant to clear the backlog within a year of training. The city says the new fees will fully fund the permanent jobs and one-time police budget savings will cover the temporary ones. No dollar figure for either has been published.
What the law says
Arizona's public records law requires custodians to "promptly furnish" copies. It sets no number of days, but a failure to respond promptly is treated as a denial.
The $46 cap comes from a 2023 law sponsored by Sen. John Kavanagh and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, which lets local agencies charge for the time spent reviewing and redacting video. Phoenix had stayed far below that ceiling. As of Nov. 1, it is at it.
The law also gives commercial requesters a separate track, where agencies can charge for staff time, equipment and the records' commercial value. Use as evidence in a court case does not count as commercial.
Next door
Phoenix isn't alone. Mesa and Gilbert already charge the full state fee, and Mesa's body camera wait has run about two years, ABC15 reported in 2025. Tempe's wait for arrest body camera footage was about 14 months. DPS charges $21.33 per half hour plus a $9 email fee.
What makes Phoenix different is scale. It is the fifth-largest city in the country, and its backlog is measured in tens of thousands.
What we still don't know
We put these questions to the Phoenix Police Department. Its public information office replied that "there is extensive information on the public records fee increase already available online," pointing to the city's newsroom story and the Sept. 23 council agenda. It did not answer any of them.
How each council member voted on Item 63, and whether it passed on consent.
What the new staff cost, and how much the fees are expected to raise, split between the $10 commercial fee and the $46-an-hour video fee.
Why the video fee applies to non-commercial requesters, and whether the victim's free copy includes supplemental video.
What a "medium blur" video actually shows, and how many requesters need more.
Which wait-time numbers are right, and what public milestones the city will report as the backlog comes down.
This story is based on the City of Phoenix's fee schedule and Sept. 23 announcement, the City Clerk's formal meeting results, Arizona Revised Statutes 39-121.01, 39-121.03 and 39-129, a Nov. 4 response from the Phoenix Police Department, and reporting by KTAR, KJZZ, ABC15, Patch and the Arizona Mirror. Phoenix's previous fees come from news reports, not an official schedule, and the old commercial fee could not be confirmed. The council roll call and staffing costs were not available. Any further answers from the city will be added with a dated update. If you have requested Phoenix police video and been quoted a fee or a wait, we want to hear from you: [email protected].