Weak public records law still allows police and other government agencies to withhold information

We recommend Colman Herman’s latest article in Commonwealth magazine: Meet the new public records law – same as the old one. Although the Massachusetts Public Records Law was updated in 2017, it remains one of the weakest in the country. Herman’s article describes how law enforcement organizations such as the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police routinely fail to provide documents. Other government offices such as the MBTA have tried to claim that certain records are exempt from disclosure; sometimes they had to produce the records after losing an appeal, but other times Attorney General Maura Healey has reversed an appeal, causing records to remain secret.  

A strong public records law is vital to a healthy democracy. Some of the records Herman seeks are complaints made against government officials for racial and gender discrimination, draft settlement agreements made with a state trooper, and disciplinary actions taken against licensed massage therapists for sexual misconduct.

Public records are a powerful tool for police accountability. Public access to police disciplinary information would help individuals, communities, and movements such as Black Lives Matter to identify systemic problems in police departments and demand change.