MA Bilingual Officers (Boston Police Department)

Dear Adrien Salzberg,

Thank you for your interest in public records of Boston Police Department.  Your request has been received and is being processed.  Your request was received in this office on November 19, 2019 and given the reference number B001707-111919 for tracking purposes.
If this is a media request, please contact the Office of Media Relations directly at 617.343.4520. To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

- Copies of all forms currently used by the department to evaluate an officer/candidate's ability to speak, read, and write languages other than English.

- Copies of department policy on interacting with deaf and hard of hearing individuals

- Copies of department policy related to American Sign Language, if any

- Copies of forms currently used by the department, if any, to evaluate an officer/candidate's knowledge of American Sign Language

- If there exists documentation, such as spreadsheets, of which officers are currently certified as speaking any second language (e.g. Spanish, Vietnamese,) please include this as well.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Adrien Salzberg

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/


You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Public Records Center.
Director, Public Information
Boston Police Department
617.343.6660
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Public Records Center. (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=Ow1KccipsoIsnXbuEgm-2FN44UxibBu-2FIglin8-2BcIh862t9Kmt3AfKStll-2B33fHgly7q38DmBAVMR8lGDbp0zIubKPJ0Oj0OnS5HvQEV1geJaM9euUqMcdc4ZqO-2BxJRiXf_yh-2BpyehsVnBkuY8fD-2FGkFRr3yTinWUF0JTiLEBwIoa5-2BC-2BejD4-2Fko6W6-2BEZiWC2zSGocpDyj9PwREbqVjP-2FeSRSo7xMuXvuOQmI6Tvz0538-2Bj-2FKvhqr32C4zepAf1aGK7uwmcPMipExa7VIpNK4ulS5Q-2Bh2-2Fu-2FTAhhgCzSvhZVYkcU9p3L6KfwhZFgrO2Q3GUHTYEWtk33vQfgaUfrwI8nmcAZNJ09DjV2SAGqsRKyNZjUKW2AKkj0z4Gci2mgjB2KzlBC6dT8THfji3224pmqg6bvH6vpm8t0fQL0gVwJgycC4OYvbmXRyKf0U9AdXhUs4Bh1-2Fwehqc4Z-2FPywm4Vga7Kho5RaR66h7pPV0j55Fm1HoPKEbeQpO04-2FWcEfK4iZ8s58fMcJm5L2rPvcbFQQ-3D-3D)

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City of Boston
Mayor Martin J. Walsh
Public Records RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of November 19, 2019., Reference # B001707-111919 Dear Adrien : The City of Boston (City) has received your request for public records.  This response applies only to records that exist and are in the custody of the City. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p. 32, n.115.  It is expected that a custodian of records must use her superior knowledge of her records with respect to responses to public records requests.  950 CMR 32.04(5).  Specifically, you stated:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

- Copies of all forms currently used by the department to evaluate an officer/candidate's ability to speak, read, and write languages other than English.

- Copies of department policy on interacting with deaf and hard of hearing individuals

- Copies of department policy related to American Sign Language, if any

- Copies of forms currently used by the department, if any, to evaluate an officer/candidate's knowledge of American Sign Language

- If there exists documentation, such as spreadsheets, of which officers are currently certified as speaking any second language (e.g. Spanish, Vietnamese,) please include this as well.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Adrien Salzberg

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/ We have reviewed our files and have located records that correspond to your request. These records have been released to the Public Records Center.  Click the link below to login to the Records Center and retrieve the requested records. Police Records Request - B001707-111919
Very truly yours, Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer