Joseph Steinbach v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20242927)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 5, 2024 SPR24/2927 Shawn Williams, Esq. Records Access Officer City of Boston – Police Department 1 City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Joseph Steinbach appealing the nonresponse of the Boston Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 16, 2024, Mr. Steinbach requested the following records: [1] An extract of your records management system or database that includes each school-related arrest and each referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school year (up until the day the records are produced). Specifically, we request an extract of the database to include the following columns: a. Date of arrest or referral to law enforcement b. Time of arrest or referral to law enforcement c. Charge (or charges) d. Whether the individual(s) was arrested or referred to law enforcement f. [sic] Age of individuals(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement g. Race of individuals(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement h. Ethnicity of individuals(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement i. Disability status of the individual(s) arrested or referred to law enforcement j. Whether the individual arrested or referred to law enforcement is a student at the school. k. Name of arresting officer, if applicable, and l. Badge number of the arresting officer or the officer that referred the youth to law enforcement, as applicable. 2. If such an extraction of the database in question 1 is not possible, please provide police reports and school incident reports on each school-related arrest 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

Shawn Williams, Esq. SPR24/2927 Page 2 November 5, 2024 conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022- 2023 school year (up until the day the records are produced). 3. Please provide an unduplicated count of arrested students for each school year including 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school year (up until the day the records are produced). 4. If such an extraction of the database in question 1 is not possible, please provide police reports and school incident reports on each referral to law enforcement conducted during the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021- 2022, and 2022-2023 school year (up until the day the records are produced), per the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection for that year. For each referral to law enforcement, please include the school, demographic, and incident information described in DESE’s School Safety and Discipline Report Data Handbook v. 20.0. 5. Please also provide an unduplicated counts of referrals to law enforcement (as defined above) for each school year including 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school year (up until the day the records are produced). Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Steinbach petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/2927, was opened as a result. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Department has provided a response. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Steinbach with a response to his request, provided 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Steinbach may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Joseph Steinbach