27^th August 2009

Our ref: IOS 418-09/FOI-60705

P. John

[email address]

Dear P. John,

Re: request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your email of 4 August in which you request information, for 2008 and 2009, on the number of defendants arrested, charged, cautioned, convicted, fined and given custody for offences under part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

The Ministry of Justice holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, the data for 2008 will not be available until much later this year. I therefore regret that, at this time, we are not able to provide you with the information you have requested.

Data on the number of persons arrested comes within the remit of the Home Office who would therefore need to answer this part of your request.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the Ministry of Justice has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how the Department handled the original request.

If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two calendar months of the date of this letter, at the following address:

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

Ministry of Justice

6^th Floor, Post point 6.24

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

e-mail: [email address]

During the in dependent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx

Yours sincerely,

Dave Perry

1

Evidence and Analysis Unit (E&A)

Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR)

Ministry of Justice

Email: [email address]

Evidence and Analysis Unit (E&A)

Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR)

Ministry of Justice

Email: [email address]