Peggy L. Chaput v. Hull Police Department (SPR 20180632)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 17, 2018 SPR18/632 Jean Marcinkewich Hull Police Department 1 School Street Hull, 02045 Dear Jean Marcinkewich: I have received the petition of Peggy L. Chaput appealing the response of the Hull Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Ms. Chaput requested copies of an incident report. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPRl 8/455 Determination of the Supervisor of Records. I closed SPR18/455 by ordering the Department to provide Ms. Chaput with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with the orders, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. On March 24, 2018, this Office received a copy of the incident reports. The Department also expressed to this office that the records requested were delayed due a change in their operating system. Accordingly, this office forwarded the reports to the requestor. In an email dated May 4, 2018, Ms. Chaput expressed to this office that she noticed some information was missing. Ms. Chaput then petitioned this office and as a result SPRl 8/632 was opened. Public Records Law Please be advised, the Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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). 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

Jean Marcinkewhich SPR18/632 Page 2 May 17, 2018 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current appeal In the May 4th email, Ms. Chaput stated, "I have noticed some information that was not included in the final incident Report #18012263 on 03/12/2018." She then writes, "[t]here are no numerical portions of the addresses made available and it seems that the requested Incident Reports are shaded in certain portions making the print unreadable to myself." Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that Ms. Chaput was informed that she may schedule a time to obtain the incident report at the Hull Police Department. Conclusion In light of Ms. Chaput's emails to this office, as well as the Department's communications with this office, this office encourages the Department and Ms. Chaput to communicate further to enable the Department to provide the requested public records. If unresolved issues remain, Ms. Chaput may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Peggy L. Chaput