confiscation of property

Dear Ganesh Sittampalam

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request received by Kent Police on 05/08/08 and I note
you seek access, in summary, to the following information:

Please could you send me a copy of any internal advice for officers;
stating under what circumstances it is appropriate to confiscate; people's
property. I am particularly interested in anything that; explains why you
might confiscate a board game, as described in; this news article:;
[1]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/...

Your interest in Kent Police is appreciated and pending a specific
response to your request, I enclose a sheet, which summarises your rights.
Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or contact me on telephone number 01622 654413 quoting the reference
number above.

Yours sincerely,

Karen Hicks

Freedom Of Information Team

Enc. Your Rights – A Summary

Freedom of Information Team
Data Protection Unit
Kent Police
Force HQ
Sutton Road
Maidstone
Kent ME15 9BZ

E-mail: [2][Kent Police request email]
Tel: +44 (0)1622 654429/654413
Fax: +44 (0)1622 654437
Internal: 19-4429/4413

This email and any accompanying document(s) contain information from Kent Police, which is confidential or privileged.
The information is intended to be for the exclusive use of the individual(s) or bodies to whom it is addressed.
If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by contacting the sender or telephoning 01622 690690.
The copyright in the contents of this email and any enclosure is the property of Kent Police and any unauthorised reproduction or disclosure is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998.

References

Visible links
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/...
2. mailto:[Kent Police request email]

Dear Ganesh Sittampalam,

We are very conscious that a response to your request is overdue and for
this failure in our service we apologise. This is due to an unexpected
increase in the number of requests made to the Authority. I can confirm
that your request is receiving attention and you can expect a full
response shortly.

Regards,
Lorraine Watson

Freedom of Information Team
Data Protection Unit
Kent Police
Force HQ
Sutton Road
Maidstone
Kent ME15 9BZ

E-mail: [1][Kent Police request email]
Tel: +44 (0)1622 654429/654413
Fax: +44 (0)1622 654437
Internal: 19-4429/4413

>>> Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #1601 email]> 05/09/08
21:54 >>>
Dear Karen Hicks,

Your response is now two days overdue. Please could you deal with
this request immediately?

Yours sincerely,

Ganesh Sittampalam

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Dear Ganesh Sittampalam,

Lorraine and Karen in our Freedom of Information team have made me aware
of your e-mail. I am dealing with a number of FOI requests regarding the
climate camp, many of which ask for similar, although not necessarily the
same information.

I apologise for the delay and I am acquiring the information for all of
the requests as quickly as I am able. A huge amount of information has
been created after such a large operation and it has yet to be sorted or
catalogued. As I am sure you can appreciate, this makes actually locating
the information very difficult.

However, the information is beginning to come together and I am confident
that I can provide you with a response to your specific request within a
few days.

Thank you for your patience, which we very much appreciate.

Regards,
Nigel Amos
FOI Advisor/ Lead Auditor
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards
FHQ
01622 654430
>>> Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #1601 email]> 10/09/08
21:41 >>>
Dear Lorraine,

As this is now a week overdue, please could you tell me when you
expect to have a reply?

Yours sincerely,

Ganesh Sittampalam

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Dear Ganesh Sittampalam

Please find attached Kent Police response to your FOI request dated
05/08/08, we do apologise for the delay and thank you for your patience.

Best Wishes
Karen Hicks

Freedom of Information Team
Data Protection Unit
Kent Police
Force HQ
Sutton Road
Maidstone
Kent ME15 9BZ

E-mail: [1][Kent Police request email]
Tel: +44 (0)1622 654429/654413
Fax: +44 (0)1622 654437
Internal: 19-4429/4413

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Kent Police request email]

Dear Mr Sittampalam,

I'm looking into this. To do so I need to retrieve the specific PACE S1
form, which is one of thousands currently being processed. I suspect this
may take me a little while so I must ask you once again for your patience
as I investigate this. In the meantime if you have any other questions
please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,
Nigel Amos
FOI Advisor/ Lead Auditor
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards
FHQ
01622 654430

>>> Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #1601 email]> 17/09/08
20:00 >>>
Dear FOI Team,

Thanks for the response. You explain that the board game was
confiscated because it contained balaclavas. Please could your
clarify whether you just confiscated the balaclavas, or whether you
any other items that were part of the board game too (including the
box, if any), and if so what the justification for that was?

Regards,

Ganesh

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Dear Ganesh Sittampalam,

I have this morning received further information and so I have amended our
response to you to include this and this is attached.

The relevant, amended, paragraph reads as follows.

In the specific instance of the seizure of three board games, titled
‘War on Terror’, the games contained ‘balaclava’ style head
coverings that could have been employed to conceal identity. During the
policing of the operation, protestors were observed employing such head
coverings as they reconnoitred the power station site during attempts to
gain illegal access. The board games were seized from a vehicle under a
general warrant issued on the 31^st August. They were brand new and
sealed and so were seized in their entirety rather than damaging the
property to seize the suspect articles.

Thank you for your patience,

Regards,
Nigel Amos
FOI Advisor/ Lead Auditor
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards
FHQ
01622 654430

>>> Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #1601 email]> 17/09/08
20:00 >>>
Dear FOI Team,

Thanks for the response. You explain that the board game was
confiscated because it contained balaclavas. Please could your
clarify whether you just confiscated the balaclavas, or whether you
any other items that were part of the board game too (including the
box, if any), and if so what the justification for that was?

Regards,

Ganesh

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Dear Ganesh,

No problem, that is what I am here for. I do note that I made an error
below and in the document, that the warrant in fact was served on the 31st
July, and not August 31st as stated.

best regards,

Nigel

>>> Ganesh Sittampalam <[FOI #1601 email]> 18/09/08
14:43 >>>
Dear Nigel Amos,

Thanks, that makes things clear. I appreciate your efforts looking
into this.

Regards,

Ganesh

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