Shaffer, Maya v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20150199)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords July 1, 2015 SPRlS/199 Lieutenant Michael McCarthy Office of Media Relations Boston Police Department One Schroeder Plaza Boston, MA 02120-2014 Dear Lieutenant McCarthy: I have received the petition of Maya Shaffer of The Bay State Examiner appealing the response of the Boston Police Department (Department) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 O(b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Shaffer requested copies on January 7, 2015 of all records requests made under the Public Records Law that were received by the Department from July 1, 2014 to October 1, 2014, and all responses from the Department's records custodian. Ms. Shaffer also requested "an itemized list of all documents." Initially, Ms. Shaffer did not receive a response within ten (10) days and she petitioned this office. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate, a denial, or a response that there are no records responsive to the request. The Department is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. On March 24, 2015, the Department provided Ms. Shaffer with a document listing the requests received by the Office of Media Relations. No other records were provided. Ms. Shaffer appealed, as this list is not responsive to her request. While the City is not obligated under the Public Records Law to create a list or key in response to a public records request, the actual public records requests exist and must be provided. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Lt. Michael McCarthy SPR15/199 Page Two July 1, 2015 An attorney on my staff contacted you a number of times and was informed that Ms. Shaffer would receive a written, good faith estimate for the cost of providing her with the requested records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($1 0.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). To date, this office has not received a copy of any estimate sent to Ms. Shaffer. Accordingly, whereas I find that the Department has failed to meet its burden under the Public Records Law, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order to provide Ms. Shaffer with a written, good faith estimate. Once Ms. Shaffer pays the estimate, she must be provided with the records. A copy of the estimate must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this offic t pre@sec.state.ma.us. 'Iiams Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Maya Shaffer