The Most Public Part of Public Service

By: Matthew Reed | Oct. 20, 2026

“(As a police chief, my) experiences have convinced me of something very simple: public records do not belong to us.

They do not belong to the police chief, the town administrator, the department head, the board or commission, or the employee who created them. We are merely their custodians. They belong, ultimately, to the public we serve.

That distinction matters.”

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How do public records laws work in New England? We tested it.

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Final task force report details recommended changes to New Mexico public records law