Yisbert Lara v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20160143)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams March 8, 2016 Supervisor ofR ecords SPR16/143 Office of the Legal Advisor Boston Police Department One Schroeder Plaza Boston, MA 02120-2014 Dear Office of the Legal Advisor: I have received the petition ofYisbert Lara appealing the response of the City of Boston 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, Mr. Lara requested a copy of a "detailed" itemized inventory list of 1, 922 pages of records previously disclosed by the Department. In an unsigned response dated February 16, the Department informed Mr. Lara that it does not maintain such a list. The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). There is no obligation to create a record in response to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 32 Op. Atty. Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The Department does not possess records responsive to Mr. Lara's request. Further, whereas the Department is not obligated to create such a list in response to a request for public records. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer 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 r uest. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this det ·n ati r further information. a upervisor of Records cc: Mr. Yisbert Lara OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre