As that familiar childhood adage goes: “Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets, hurt someone.” Unfortunately, this wisdom has been lost on many state legislatures and police departments who have kept civilians’ complaints and police misconduct records under wraps. Without strong public records laws the public suffers because officers are shielded from robust and transparent disciplinary processes.

In a recent victory, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 1421, which requires California police departments to publicize complaints, internal investigations, and records of certain prior misconduct. Proponents of the bill successfully argued that transparency is the only way to hold police officers accountable and to build trust between the community and the police. Without public access to complaints against police officers, departments can get away with shoddy and biased internal investigations, or no investigations at all. Officers who prove time and again to be either dangerous, incompetent, or both can keep their jobs and effectively conceal their records. Without public accountability, police brutality, wrongful convictions, and false arrests continue unchecked. California’s bill is part of a larger trend towards demanding higher levels of transparency from police departments. In theory, Massachusetts is ahead of the curve given the recent reform to the state’s public records law. But in practice, Massachusetts residents are still fighting an uphill battle to get their records requests fulfilled.