MOU, contracts, etc with NVLS (Watertown Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

Any contract, memorandum of understanding (MOU), user agreement, membership agreement or other document outlining the rights, responsibilities, privileges and terms of service concluded with the following companies/services since 2000:

Vigilant Solutions
Vigilant Video
National Vehicle Location Service (NVLS)

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 fees cannot be waived, 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,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

All records request must be sent to the following:

Watertown Police Department
Records Bureau
552 Main St
Watertown, MA 02472

See web page for additional contact information
www.watertownpd.org

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 27, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

Any contract, memorandum of understanding (MOU), user agreement, membership agreement or other document outlining the rights, responsibilities, privileges and terms of service concluded with the following companies/services since 2000:

Vigilant Solutions
Vigilant Video
National Vehicle Location Service (NVLS)

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 fees cannot be waived, 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,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

This is an appeal of the Watertown Police Department's failure to respond to public records requests, as well as its refusal to accept electronic submission of records requests despite the Secretary of the Commonwealth's guidance.

On May 27, 2013, I submitted the records request below to the Watertown Police Department by email to Captain Thomas Rocca of the department's Bureau of Administrative Services. Captain Rocca had previously processed a records request sent to his email address in April 2013. I would be happy to provide a copy of this request email and response from Captain Rocca.

However, for more than four months, Captain Rocca failed to respond to my May 27, 2013 records request, or to four other records requests submitted via MuckRock.com to his email address.

On September 18, I sent an email directly to Captain Rocca to verify that he was the appropriate departmental contact for records requests. On September 19, I received an email from Captain Rocca (attached) indicating that all requests must be mailed to the department. In response, I pointed Captain Rocca to the Supervisor of Public Record's guide (www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf‎), which is clear on this matter (see page 6): "Written requests may be made by mail, facsimile or email."

Captain Rocca failed to respond whatsoever to my records request within the 10 business days required by the statute, much less to notify me or other requesters that Watertown Police Department requires records requests to be submitted by mail. Captain Rocca has since amended his position (see attached email from October 2) to allow request submission by fax, mail or in-person delivery. This is contrary to the SPR's guidance.

Please direct Watertown Police Department to respond to my records request, which was properly delivered to an agent competent to process it, and more generally to accept records requests submitted electronically.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I will also mail a copy of this appeal to both the Supervisor of Public Records and the Watertown Police Department.

Best regards,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock