Framingham Forward v. Framingham, City of - Police Department (SPR 20251406)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 2, 2025 SPR25/1406 Paul J. Iversen Record Access Officer Framingham Police Department 1 William Welch Way Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Mr. Iversen: I have received the petition of Framingham Forward (“requestor”) appealing the response of the Framingham 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 March 8, 2025, the requestor sought, “[p]olice Call Logs for 5/3/2025-present unredacted...” The Department responded on May 19, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1406, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(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 agency or municipality 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, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). 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. If there are any fees associated with a response, a written good faith estimate must be 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

Paul J. Iversen SPR25/1406 Page 2 June 2, 2025 provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The Department’s May 19th Response In its May 19, 2025 response, the Department states, “[a]ll logs are publicly available now that an IT error has been resolved.” In the appeal petition, the requestor states, “[t]he City provided no responsive records at all, only a general statement that ‘logs are publicly available,’ without specifying where, whether they were complete, or whether the version provided to the public includes redactions.” Records Available on a Public Website Please be advised that it is permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records via a link to a website. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall . . . to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07 (2)(a) (“A records access officer shall inform a requester of the availability of records online to avoid delays and fees associated with the provision of public records”). Therefore, based on the requestor’s petition, I find the Department must provide the requestor with reasonable assistance to enable them to locate the responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide the requestor with a response to the 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Framingham Forward