Section 8.06 - Public Database(1) The Commission shall establish, by a date adopted by a vote of the Commissioners, and thereafter shall maintain, a public database of information concerning individuals who, at any point since July 1, 2021, have served as an officer or have been certified.(2) The public database must be searchable and accessible to the public through the Commission's official website.(3) Except as provided in 555 CMR 8.06(4), the public database shall make the following available to the general public, to the extent that the information is possessed by the Commission: (a) These forms of information for each officer identified in 555 CMR 8.06(1): 1. The officer's first name and surname;2. The officer's current certification status in Massachusetts, provided that, if the officer is challenging, or has the opportunity to challenge, a certification decision before the Commission or any of its personnel in accordance with a Commission regulation or policy, the officer's status shall be listed as under review or described in a comparable manner;3. The dates on which the officer, in Massachusetts, was first certified, was most recently certified, and ceased being certified;4. All of the officer's employing law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and the dates of the officer's employment with such law enforcement agencies;5. Commendations received by the officer in connection with the officer's service in law enforcement;6. The date of, and reason for, any decertification by the Commission or by a comparable body in any other jurisdiction;7. The beginning date and end date of, and the reason for, any suspension of certification by the Commission;8. As to any retraining order issued by the Commission, the date of the order, the reason for the order, the type of retraining ordered, and any date of completion of the retraining ordered;9. A copy of each final opinion, decision, order, set of findings, and vote issued by the Commission pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, § 10 in connection with any proceedings concerning the officer, accessible in a commonly available electronic format; and10. A summary of the officer's disciplinary record, which may incorporate information provided by law enforcement agencies that have employed the officer, and which shall list: a. Complaints against the officer;b. The final disposition of each listed complaint;c. The nature of any discipline imposed as a result of each listed complaint;d. Whether each complaint was submitted anonymously; ande. Whether each complaint was submitted under the pains and penalties of perjury.11. For each decision and action referenced in the database that is being challenged through a proceeding before the Commission, the Civil Service Commission, an arbitrator, or a court, an accompanying notation of that fact; and(b) Prominently displayed advisories concerning the possibility that decisions and actions concerning officers have been or will be challenged and the benefit of independently seeking the most current information.(c) To the extent reasonably feasible, ways for public users to obtain information regarding the following, aggregated by rank, by department, or statewide: 1. Decisions by the Commission and comparable bodies in other jurisdictions to decertify officers;2. Decisions by the Commission to suspend the certification of officers;3. Decisions by the Commission to order the retraining of officers;4. Officers who have served;5. The number of complaints that were resolved adversely to officers; and6. The number of complaints that were not resolved adversely to officers.(4) Except as provided in 555 CMR 8.06(5), the public database shall not make available to members of the general public: (a) The following forms of information: 1. Records relating to a preliminary inquiry or initial staff review used to determine whether to initiate an inquiry that are confidential under M.G.L. c. 6E, § 8(c)(2), or 555 CMR 1.03: Confidentiality of Preliminary Inquiries or 1.07(2);2. Other information related to disciplinary proceedings that is confidential under 555 CMR 1.01(2)(d), 1.09(6)(c): Public Access, or 1.10(4)(a): Public Access;3. Identifying or contact information that is generally non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 66, §§ 10B and 15;4. Criminal offender record information that cannot be communicated under M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 168 or 178, 803 CMR 2.00: Definitions, or 803 CMR 7.00: Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS); and criminal history record information that cannot be disseminated under 803 CMR 7.00;5. Sealed or expunged records that are non-public and confidential or are unavailable for inspection under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100L, 100O, or 100Q;6. Juvenile delinquency records that must be withheld under M.G.L. c. 119, § 60A, or juvenile criminal records that cannot be communicated under M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 168 and 178;7. Police-log entries pertaining to arrests of juveniles that are non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 41, § 98F;8. Police-log entries pertaining to handicapped individuals that are non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 41, § 98F;9. Police-log entries pertaining to alleged domestic violence or sex offenses that are non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 41, § 98F;10. These records, to the extent that they are not public reports and generally must be maintained by police departments in a manner that shall assure their confidentiality under M.G.L. c. 41, § 97D: a. Reports of rape and sexual assault or attempts to commit such offenses;b. Reports of abuse perpetrated by family or household members, as defined in M.G.L. c. 209A, § 1; andc. Communications between police officers and victims of such offenses or abuse;11. Information in court and police records that identifies alleged victims of sex offenses or trafficking and is non-public, must be withheld, and cannot be published, disseminated, or disclosed under M.G.L. c. 265, § 24C;12. Identifying, contact, employment, or educational information of victims of crimes or domestic violence or members of their families that is non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 66, §§ 10B and 15;13. Contact, employment, or educational information of victims, members of their families, or witnesses that is confidential and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 258B, §§ 3(h) and 3(w);14. Identifying, contact, employment, or educational information of family-planning personnel or members of their families that is non-public and non-disclosable under M.G.L. c. 66, §§ 10B and 15;15. Personal data that is non-accessible under M.G.L. c. 66A;16. Forms of "personal information" referenced in M.G.L. c. 93H, § 1, other than the names of individuals;17. Data that the Commission is precluded from disclosing pursuant to a court order;18. Information the disclosure of which would violate a person's right against unreasonable, substantial, or serious interference with privacy under M.G.L. c. 214, § 1B; and19. Any other information that is non-disclosable under federal or Massachusetts law; and(b) The following additional forms of information:1. These forms, the revelation of which could potentially impact officer health or safety, including by facilitating attempts to coerce officers or exploit any individual vulnerabilities:a. Information relating to a member of an officer's family, except where such family member is an officer and any relation between the two officers is not revealed;b. Information concerning an officer's personal finances that is not otherwise publicly available;c. Information that could readily be used to facilitate identity theft or breaches of data security including, but not limited to, an officer's date of birth, passwords, and entry codes;d. Information concerning an officer's medical or psychological condition;e. Any assessment of whether an officer possesses good moral character or fitness for employment in law enforcement under M.G.L. c. 6E, § 4(f)(1)(ix) that was made: i. By a person or entity other than the Commission or its personnel; andii. Pursuant to 555 CMR 7.05: Determination of Good Character and Fitness for Employment or 7.06(9): Good Character and Fitness for Employment or otherwise in response to a request by the Commission in connection with a process of determining whether to initially certify or recertify an officer;f. Information concerning an officer's conduct as a juvenile;g. Information concerning any firearm, or firearms license or permit, that an officer currently possesses in a personal capacity;h. Law enforcement information, including information concerning the following subjects, if disclosure could compromise law enforcement or security measures:i. Undercover operations;ii. Confidential informants;iii. Clandestine surveillance;iv. Secretive investigative techniques;vi. The details of security being provided to a person or place; orvii. Subjects of comparable sensitivity.i. Information concerning any complaint or disciplinary matter that has not been resolved adversely to the officer, unless the matter was resolved in a manner that the Commission determines to have been unwarranted;j. Information concerning a decision or action that has been reversed or vacated; andk. Any other information that could readily be used in an attempt to coerce action or inaction, or exploit individual vulnerabilities, of an officer.2. Law enforcement agency records that are within the scope of those being audited by the Commission pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, §§ 3(a)(9), 3(a)(21), and 8(d);3. Records associated with Commission meetings that may be withheld under M.G.L. c. 30A, § 22;4. Information that an individual has the ability to have corrected, amended, or removed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 66A, § 2(j) or 555 CMR 8.08;5. Information that shall not be disclosed pursuant to 555 CMR 8.08(10);6. Information that is protected by a privilege against disclosure recognized by law and is held by the Commission;7. Information that is protected by a privilege against disclosure recognized by law and is held by a person or entity other than the Commission;8. Data that is non-disclosable under any formal agreement or memorandum of understanding between the Commission and any other federal, state, local, or tribal governmental entity including, but not limited to, any Commonwealth of Massachusetts Data Sharing Memorandum of Understanding, any Data Use License Agreement between the Commission and another governmental entity, and any Massachusetts Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) User Agreement;9. Information that a court has expunged, placed under seal, impounded, or relieved the Commission of having to disclose;10. Information the confidentiality of which is the subject of dispute in litigation or an administrative proceeding;11. Any document, record, or petition generated by the Witness Protection Board or by a prosecuting officer and related to witness protection services that is non-public and non-disclosable under 501 CMR 10.14: All Other Disclosures Related to Witness Protection;12. Information concerning a complaint or disciplinary matter that the Commission, by vote of the Commissioners, has decided not to make available to members of the general public;13. Information concerning any individual who is no longer serving as an officer and who last received a certification more than three years earlier, but who has not been decertified; and14. Information that otherwise does not constitute a public record under M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, cl. 26.(5) The public database may be designed to allow particular individuals to access certain forms of information that are listed in 555 CMR 8.06(4) to the extent that the Commission is not precluded by law from making such information available to those individuals.(6) The Commission may make other determinations concerning the content, the accessibility of information, and the format of the public database as follows: (a) Any such determination shall be made in accordance with guidelines established by a vote of the Commissioners following an opportunity for public input, or, if no such guidelines are established, in accordance with guidelines established by the Commission's Executive Director;(b) Such a determination may provide for forms of information that are not specifically referenced in 555 CMR 8.06(3) or (4) to be made available, or to be made unavailable, to the general public or to particular individuals;(c) Any such determination must be consistent with 555 CMR 8.00 and other relevant provisions of law; and(d) Any such determination must be made with due consideration for the health and safety of officers.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1493, eff. 4/14/2023.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1503, eff. 4/14/2023.