Lisa Munger v. Department of State Police - Legal Office (SPR 20171119)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 24,20 17 SPRl711119 Daniel Brunelli, Esq. Staff Counsel Department of State Police Office of the Chief Legal Counsel 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 0 17 02 Dear Attorney Brunelli: I have received the petition of Lisa Munger appealing the response of the Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Munger requested a copy of, "all records, reports, papers or documents regardless of form and specifically including electronic form where available, relative to all Department calls including journal and log/blotter from January 22, 1996 through February 5, 1996, and regardless of whether the call was initiated by the Department or at the request of and/or on behalf of any other law enforcement agency." Prior appeal and Department's response The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR171876 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 29,2017). The Department provided an initial response on June 21,2017 asking Ms. Munger to clarify or narrow her request. After receipt of Ms. Munger's June 24thl etter clarifying her request of responsive records, the Department provided Ms. Munger with a compact disc containing a PDF file of the daily logs for six (6) of the Department's barracks. The Department also advised Ms. Munger that due to the age of the requested logs, they no longer exist for the remaining Department barracks. Ms. Munger appealed to the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) seeking further assistance. In her August 15,201 7 petition to the Supervisor, Ms. Munger states that daily call logs as specified under G. L. c. 4 1, fj 98F must be permanently retained and that the Department did not provide a copy of the approved application for destruction of the log records. While G. L. c. 41, 5 98F and the Municipal Records Retention Schedule cited by Ms. Munger only applies to Municipal Police Departments and College and University Police Departments, the Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule. (2017 Edition), applies One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Daniel Brunelli, Esq. Page 2 August 24,2017 to state government entities, such as the Department. Under the Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule Number 0 1- 17, Series Number J4-4 Dispatch and Communications Records, "documents all radio, telephone, or electronic communications received or generated during a shift relating to incidents, complaints, patrols, or response; Includes digital, audio or video recordings of dispatch calls, ambulance calls, E-911 calls, field response, and communications between units andlor command centers: Retain for 1 year." It is my understanding that a staff member of the Public Records Division provided you with a copy of this appeal file. An attorney in the Public Records Division also had a conversation with you on August 23rdr egarding details of the search. You explained that personnel at each of the Department's barracks conducted a diligent search for the records and provided approximately 520 pages of records to Ms. Munger on a compact disc. The Department's A-6 (Danvers), B-4 (Cheshire), B-5 (Russell), D-4 (Oak Bluffs) and H-2 (Framingham) barracks searched for and culled the records which you provided to Ms. Munger on July 27th.Y ou advised Ms. Munger that no other logs from January 22, 1996 through February 5, 1996 exist, including the remainder of the Department's barracks. The fact that some of the Department's barracks have the requested records and others do not raises some issues concerning records management. While the Department was only required to retain the records in this record series for one year, it is generally necessary to seek permission from the Records Conservation Board to destroy records, other than those records that are meant for administrative use. It is unclear whether the Department sought permission from the Board to destroy any of the log records from January 22, 1996 through February 5, 1996. Order The Department is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Munger with a response to her request, regarding whether records were searched within the Department's archives and whether the Department had sought and obtained permission to destroy any of the responsive records. Accordingly, this administrative appeal is closed with the proviso that the Department will provide a supplemental response to Ms. Munger in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. 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.M s. Munger may appeal the substantive nature of the supplemental response within ninety (90) calendar days. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Lisa Munger