Police Officer - Domestic (intimate partner) Abuse policies (Ware Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Materials related to incidents of domestic violence or intimate partner abuse committed both by members of this department and members of the public.

- All policies guiding law enforcement response to incidents of domestic violence, as well as all available reports and statistics regarding the number of related calls for this type of disturbance or crime for the period from January 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019. If incidents of this sort are categorized under a particular type or incident type number, provision of the proper record keeping terminology would be appreciated.

- All policies, disciplinary procedures, reports, reporting requirements, or available statistics regarding the alleged or actual act of domestic violence (also known as intimate partner abuse) committed in any form by an employee or member of this law enforcement agency

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,

Beryl Lipton