As you are aware, Section 60, of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, allows police officers, of or above the rank of superintendent, to grant special powers to all officers in uniform (within a specific geographic area and specific timeframe) allowing them to search individuals and vehicles, without the need for any reasonable suspicion.

Can you please provide the following information:

The application was suspended for clarification and the response is incorporated below.

REQUEST

RESPONSE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

- What number of individuals did Merseyside Police stop and search,

under powers granted by Section 60, during the whole of 2008

(number per month), and also, during the first three months of 2009

(number per month).

Stop searches - CJPOA 1994, Section 60

Anticipation of violence

January-2008

2833

January-2009

2315

February-2008

2674

February-2009

2265

March-2008

1670

March-2009

1427

April-2008

1068

May-2008

836

June-2008

2005

July-2008

1906

August-2008

2012

September-2008

2296

October-2008

2789

November-2008

2087

December-2008

2185

REQUEST

RESPONSE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

CLARIFIED AS:

(i)Please could you provide copies of all written and signed authorisations in accordance with Section 60(9)? during the course of 2008 and to date in 2009.

(ii) How are the public notified regarding the granting of these special powers?

.

(i) Exempt information sec 12, Section 30, section 38 and section 40 Freedom of Information Act 2000, the cost exemption, investigations and proceeding, health and safety and the personal data exemption.

The cost of providing you with the information is above that which we are legally required to respond to. i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information, reading, extracting information to be disclosed and communicating the information, exceeds the `appropriate level' as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

It is estimated that it would take in excess of 92 hrs work to comply with this aspect of the application. 18 hours work at the specified rate provided in the Regulations, equates to the cost exemption limit of £450.00. Time has been spent on other aspects of the application that has to be considered in relation to the cost exemption.

In respect of the personal data exemption, disclosure of the full text of an authorisation will frequently involve disclosure of information which is personal within the meaning of section 1, Data Protection Act 1998 at the definition of personal data, in paragraph (a) or (b).

In addition disclosure of information forming the intelligence on which some authorisations are granted may lead to the identification of members of the public who may consequently be subject to reprisals by the criminal community on the basis that they, are a police “grass” - informant.

(ii) The powers are short term in nature and designed to prevent and detect crime. Where appropriate, community contacts will be consulted in relation to the use of such powers but the public are not generally notified about the power (unless stopped) in order to gain maximum benefit from the use of the power.

The cost exemption is bases on a total of 1393 such authorisations being granted in the period in question. Each application would have to be manually examined to ensure that information that should not be disclosed was redacted.

(ii) To disclose the target group of persons,

In relation to a short term power, would lead to those individuals who were involved in criminal activity avoiding the area in which the power operated, frustrating the policing purpose and compromising the effective enforcement of the law.

REQUEST

RESPONSE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please could you provide copies of all documents containing studies, summaries or reports about the implementation of Section 60.

Exempt information Sec 21 Freedom of Information Act 2000

Information accessible by other means.

MPA Community Safety & Liaison Committee, 14^th February 2008

http://www.merseysidepoliceauthority.gov.uk/

assets/_files/documents/apr_08/mpa__1207650141_140208.pdf

This is an example of a report provided to the Merseyside Police Authority. Other such data may be contained in other MPA public minutes.

CLARIFIED AS:

Where a person is stopped under a Section 60 authority and is not further proceeded against by Merseyside Police, what personal information will be recorded by Merseyside Police as a result of the Section 60 stop?

Exempt information - Section 21 Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Information reasonably accessible by other means.

See P.A.C.E. Code of Practice, “A”

Relating to powers of stop search and the recording of public encounters

http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/pace-code-a-amended-jan-2009?view=Binary

In particular, A 2.12 onwards to 2.18 and section 4, where the data that must be asked for and which must be recorded is listed.

Sec 60 (10) and 60(10A) provide that a person stopped in a vehicle or searched under the power shall be entitled to obtain a written copy of a statement that he/she was searched under the powers conferred by the section, if he/she applies for such a statement not later than the end of the period of twelve months from the day on which the vehicle was stopped or he/she was searched.