Deaths in Custody

Dear Ms Mercer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 22 February
2010, concerning deaths in police custody.

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject
to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is
being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day
timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period
considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your
request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised
time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with
your request at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit.
In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day
timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your
request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment
or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Unit

Dear Ms Mercer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Your request for information, received, 21 February 2010 concerning deaths
in custody has now been considered.

Before I explain the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I
thought that it would be helpful to outline the parameters set out by the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) within which a request for
information can be answered.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 creates a statutory right of access to
information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a
request must, if permitted, state under Section 1(a) of the Act, whether
it holds the requested information and, if held, then communicate that
information to the applicant under Section 1(b) of the Act.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject
to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities
to withhold information that is unsuitable for release. Importantly the
Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once
access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then
considered public information and must be communicated to any individual
should a request be received.

DECISION

We can confirm that some relevant information is held by West Midlands
Police. However, while the majority of the information is attached to this
email I am afraid that I am not required by statute to release all of the
information requested. Please find attached a partial response
(3305_ans_01.pdf). This letter serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) for the answer to
question 1.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act places two duties on public
authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at s1(1)(a) is to
confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held.
The second duty at s1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been
confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon section 17 of
the Act requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a)
states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states
(if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for
information that is easily available on the Internet. The information is
exempt by virtue of Section 21 of the FOI Act. Under Section 21 we are not
required to provide information in response to a request if it is already
reasonably accessible to you.

Section 21 and explanatory notes are shown here:

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/foi/p...

Your attention is drawn to your right to request a re-examination of your
case under West Midlands Police review procedure (attached). Please note
that such an appeal must be received within six months of the date of this
correspondence.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Unit

West Midlands Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections
1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright
owner*s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Midlands
Police Headquarters, Lloyd House, Colmore Circus Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6NQ.

show quoted sections