Baltimore Police Patrol

Ms. Raih,

You have made a request for public records pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article, § 4-101, et seq, to the Baltimore Police Department ("BPD").   You have made a requested concerning e-mails " sent out by or to the office of Commissioner Davis that include the key phrases "12 hour shift", "gang violence", "consent decree", "Department of Justice" and "Freddie Gray" generated after June 1st, 2017."   

Request for BPD emails are handled by the Information and Technology Section (I T).  BPD emails are handled separately from the City of Baltimore emails. BPD emails have a limited retrieval time frame.  The I T technicians can retrieve emails for approximately 3 years then an outside vendor must be hired to retrieve archived emails at a much more substantial cost.

The cost of in-house retrieval is based on the number of email that must be reviewed before being disclosed.  Confidential opinions, deliberations, advice or recommendations from one governmental employee or official to another for the purpose of assisting the latter official in the decision-making function may be withheld.  In addition, part of an interagency, or intra-agency letter or memorandum that would not be available by law to a private party in litigation can be withheld. 

The BPD can run a word, name or phase through the email retention system.  The BPD can run individual email addresses or the entire BPD email system.  Once the system identifies the emails with the word, name or phase each email will have to be review to determine what can be disclosed and their relevancy. 

The average staff time of review e-mails for release is thirty pages reviewed per hour (e-mails and attachments).  Time differs depending on the size or complexity of the e-mails.  Once all disclosable emails are identified the BPD will advise of the actual cost of producing the e-mails.

It take 3 hours of staff time to receive, review a request and forwarded the e-mail request it to the I T section and for the I T Section to run the given search terms or addresses, to up load the e-mail to a CD and deliver to Legal Affairs for and have an attorney to up load the e-mail to the program so he can provide an estimate for reviewing every page of communications and respond with a cost estimate.  The $50.00 charge to start the search and downloading of e-mails reflex 3 hours of work with 2 hours not charged.  If the final costs and terms are agreed upon emails will be reviewed. 

It is in petitioner's interest to narrow or identify specific persons or email addresses or to use precise key search words or phrases to limit unnecessary or unwanted emails.  If you would like the BPD to proceed with your request remit a check or money order in the amount of $50.00 along with the email addresses, individual names and or key search words or phrases.  Nothing in this response is intended to indicate that any records sought from the BPD exist or to waive any privileges held by the BPD.  You may contest this response by filing a complaint for Judicial Review in Circuit Court pursuant to GP § 4-362. 

If you would like start the search and download process remit check or money order in the amount of $50.00 payable to the Director of Finance; mail the payment to the Baltimore Police Department's Office Legal Affairs, 100 N Holiday St., Room 100, Baltimore, Md. 21202   Please refer to tracking # MPIA17  in any subsequent correspondence in this matter. 

Sincerely,

Wayne Brooks
Assistant to Legal Affairs
Baltimore Police Department
100 N Holiday St., Room 100,
Baltimore, Md. 21202
DCU@baltimorepolice.org
MPIA request forms
http://law.baltimorecity.gov/office-legal-affairs-baltimore-police-department

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in or attached to this e-mail message may be a privileged and confidential attorney/client communication, or otherwise confidential, and is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are notified that any distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the Legal Affairs Division immediately by telephone at 410-396-2496 and DELETE the message from your system immediately. Thank you.
 
The materials in this e-mail are private and may contain sensitive law enforcement information. Please note that e-mail is not necessarily confidential or secure. Use of e-mail constitutes your acknowledgment of these confidentiality and security limitations. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited as covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender via telephone or return e-mail.