Google Alerts (Maryland State Police)
| Tracking # |
20-2087 |
| Multi Request | Google Alerts |
| Submitted | July 25, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
A. Copies of emailed Google Alert subscription confirmations received between January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request.
B. Copies of all emailed Google Alerts received between January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request. Google Alerts may be identified by any or all of the following:
1. Containing the phrase "Google Alert" in the Subject line
2. Being sent by an email address with the display name "Google Alerts"
3. Being sent from the email address googlealerts-noreply@google.com
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Maryland State Police
RE: PIA# 20-2087 Google Alerts Dear Requester: On
July 29, 2020, the Maryland State Police received your request under the
Public Information Act (Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions
Article §§ 4-101 through 4-601) for the information captioned above.
I am writing to advise that it will take us more than 10 working days to
produce the requested records. The delay is due to the time required to
perform a thorough search of our records and to conduct the necessary
review process. The Maryland State Police maintains large volumes of
records, which are stored at various facilities throughout the state. Once
all of the records have been collected, they must be reviewed to determine
whether they are, in whole or in part, exempt from disclosure under the
Act. If any are to be withheld, our response will explain the reason. If
there is a fee associated with the collection, processing and releasing of
the requested information, you will be advised of same.
We believe that we will be able to respond to your request within 30 days
of the date it was received. However, if we are able to complete your
request more quickly, you will receive a response sooner.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns
about your request.
Sincerely,
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Administrator II
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: MSP PIA -State Police- <msp.pia@maryland.gov>
Date: Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 2:36 PM
Subject: PIA Log #20-2087
To: Mark Urbanik -State Police- <mark.urbanik1@maryland.gov>
See below
KW
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 29, 2020 at 1:25 PM
Subject: Maryland Public Information Act Request: Google Alerts (Maryland
State Police)
To: <msp.pia@maryland.gov>
Maryland State Police
PIA Office
1201 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
July 29, 2020
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the
following records:
A. Copies of emailed Google Alert subscription confirmations received
between January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request.
B. Copies of all emailed Google Alerts received between January 1, 2016 and
the date of the processing of this request. Google Alerts may be identified
by any or all of the following:
1. Containing the phrase "Google Alert" in the Subject line
2. Being sent by an email address with the display name "Google Alerts"
3. Being sent from the email address googlealerts-noreply@google.com
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have
previously written about the government and its activities, with some
reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock,
Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among
others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my
editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss
and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits
such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit
MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not
limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the
activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not
necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in
advance.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting
on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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 calendar
days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
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For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 99088
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
--
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
Maryland Department of State Police
Central Records Division
1711 Belmont Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21233
(410) 281-2700 (M)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
From: Maryland State Police
Dear Requester:
This letter is in response to your recent request under the Maryland Public
Information Act for records in the possession of the Maryland State
Police. Specifically, you requested copies of emailed Google Alert
subscription confirmations and emailed Google Alerts received between
January 1, 2016 and the date of the processing of this request.
A search of Maryland State Police emails alone revealed roughly 20,000
documents within the established parameter. It is estimated it will take
staff about 4 minutes to download, review, and redact (if applicable) each
email. This will involve a total of approximately 1,333 staff hours. The
hourly pay for staff involved in this review process is $35 an hour.
Therefore, the estimated cost of reviewing and preparing the documents as
requested is $46,585.00, including the two hours of free research time
required by law.
Due to the significant amount of staff time needed to complete this
request, the Maryland State Police will not waive fees. We will initiate
further processing of your request upon receipt of a check made payable to
the Maryland State Police for $46,585.00
Pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland General Provisions Article §
4-362, you are entitled to seek judicial review of this decision. You may
also refer any concerns about this decision to the Public Access Ombudsman
pursuant to GP § 4-1B-01 et seq.
Sincerely.
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Administrator II
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
From: Emma North-Best
The review process is nonexistent as the information is all open-source by nature. Unless the Maryland State Police intends to literally redact the news, the review process is worse than redundant - it's a ludicrous waste of time that cannot be justified.
From: Maryland State Police
Dear Requester,
Pursuant to Maryland statute, I am required to provide you with an
estimated cost for processing your request. The cost I noted in my prior
email is just that, an estimate. At this point in the process, I'm unable
to provide you with anything more definatiive. With that said, I would
agree with you that most likely there would be little to no need to redact
the emails so that should speed up the process. Still, we're dealing with
such great numbers that it's going to take significant time to download and
review. Although I appreciate your position, I will not release any
records without first reviewing. I need to assure that the Maryland State
Police is not inadvertanley releasing protected information.
In order to reduce cost to you, is it possible to reduce your sample size
or provide more specific search parameters?
Please advise me as to your intetions in this matter.
Sincerely,
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Administrator II
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
Files
There are no files associated with this request.