Laura Crimaldi v. Norton, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20160126)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 10, 2016 SPR16/126 Brian M. Clark Chief of Police Town ofNorton Police Department 82 East Main Norton, MA 02766 Dear Chief Clark: I have received the petition of Laura Crimaldi of The Boston Globe appealing the response of the Town of Norton Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Crimaldi requested a copy of any reports of calls for service for a specifically named address in the Town of Norton between January 1, 2011 and January 30,2016. The Department denied Ms. Crimaldi's request, claiming that Exemptions (c) and (f) of the Public Records Law apply to withhold the responsive record(s). The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 1 0(c ); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). The initial response by the Department's Records Officer Michelle Goodwin did not meet the burden of demonstrating the application of exemptions in the Public Records Law to withhold any records the Department has custody of regarding the request. In a March 2, 2016 telephone discussion, Janelle M. Austin of Kopelman and Paige, P.C., Legal Counsel for the Department informed an attorney on my staff that she reviewed the request and will provide Ms. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Chief Brian M. Clark SPR16/126 Page2 March 10, 2016 Crimaldi with a more detailed, written response concerning the request, and copy this office on the response. I find the Department has failed to properly respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed, with the proviso that Department or its Legal Counsel, within ten (1 0) days of this order, provide Ms. Crimaldi with a detailed response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Department maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Ms. Crimaldi a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. If there are any fees associated with this response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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 ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). To assist in responding to requests for public records I refer the Department to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number below for further infor ation. ill'ams Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Laura Crimaldi Ms. Janelle M. Austin, Esq.