Mr David Schiller

September 1^st 2009

Dear Mr Schiller,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Reference No: F-2009-01663

I write in connection with your request for information-dated 22/6/09 and further correspondence dated 10/8/09 for a review of the initial decision.

Newrv Court: Perversion of Justice

Dear Sir,

Last March I telephoned the PSNI in Newry and spoke to a DC

regarding allegations that in dealing with a Case one or more local

Judges had acted knowingly and deliberately to pervert Justice and

I sought an interview with the officer. It was suggested that if

the officer had doubts about the nature of the allegations he could

check a similar case which a DC, now retired, had dealt with a few

years ago

A letter to Ardmore on the 27th March was not answered and one of

the 5th May asking whether it was intended to ignore the alleged

criminal conduct was answered to the effect that my complaint 'is

not criminal' and will not be investigated by the PSNI No

legitimate explanation or reason as to how the matter has been

deemed 'not criminal' has been given Without a legitimate

explanation the PSNI must be deemed to be (inter alia) an accessory

after the fact and your consideration of this matter is hereby

requested

Yours faithfully, --

What information did the PSNI base its decision that the matter was

'not criminal' on?

Sincerely, D A Schiller

I can advise you the Police Service of Northern Ireland has now completed its review. I have examined all the documentation and correspondence held relating to this request and hope the following response will clarify our position and assist in explaining how the request was processed.

Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) in that any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled: -

(a) To be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request and

(b) If that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.

This is a general right of access to recorded information held by public authorities and to ensure compliance, the information must be held.

At the outset I must reiterate that any request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) will be treated as applicant blind. Although the public authority will have a name and address for correspondence this is not an overriding factor in arriving at any decision to release information.

In every case, information will be released under FOIA into the public domain and therefore the PSNI must be satisfied and content with a number of issues relating to any harm that may be caused by disclosure and the public interest etc.

In this instance the main focus of my review was on whether the information you requested was held by the PSNI. Was it written down and processed in electronic or manual format? If so, to examine and review it with a view to release.

The initial response made by the PSNI Central Freedom of Information Team is as follows:-

Question
What information did the PSNI base its decision that the matter was `not criminal'?

Answer
Requests for information via Freedom of Information are for 'recorded information' and this definition means that your request takes the form of a question, which is seeking a member of the Service to express an opinion and as such this is not a valid request for recorded information held by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Under the Act we are obliged to advise and assist and I contacted the officer who was involved in making the decision that the matter was 'not criminal'. The Inspector has advised that they made the decision based on their knowledge of the Law and over 20 years experience

I have carried out further enquiries to establish if there is any information held regarding the above. I confirmed there is no information held and the matter was dealt with by an experienced Police Officer making a decision on an enquiry after a full consideration and examination.

As you can appreciate the Police Service receive numerous enquiries and queries on a daily basis for advice and possible further investigation. Not all will require an investigation and follow up. A large majority will be closed immediately as the police do not require to take any further action. In this case a judgement was made that the complaint was `not criminal' and therefore no action was required.

In conclusion, I am satisfied the Central PSNI Freedom of Information Unit processed your FOI request lawfully and properly. Relevant checks were performed to establish if any information was held by the PSNI and the correct internal departments were consulted.

I have also carried out further checks and independently reviewed your request and can confirm that no information is held and therefore the PSNI has compiled with its obligations under the FOIA 2000.

I have also endeavoured to answer your query and explain our decision and hope this will provide a satisfactory answer to your request.

If you believe this reply is not in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and ask him to investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the FOIA.

You can write to the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Paul Cleland

Data Protection Officer

PSNI Headquarters

65 Knock Road

Belfast

BT5 6LE