Report: Rulings ‘Further Dilute’ State’s Open Record Law
A series of rulings by the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office found that police departments may use broad discretion when deciding whether to release criminal records — even when that information documents the arrests of their own officers.
According to The Boston Globe’s Todd Wallack, the decisions “further dilute the state’s open record law, already considered one of the weakest in the nation.’’
Among the recent rulings, Wallack writes that:
Boston police can withhold the names of five police officers caught drunken driving. State Police can withhold the report on an officer who was arrested. North Andover can refuse to release booking photos of a state trooper. And, the Department of Correction can withhold its entire log of people incarcerated in the state prison system.
You can read Wallack’s full report here.
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