Payments to informers

Michael Traill made this Freedom of Information request to Strathclyde Police

The request was refused by Strathclyde Police.

From: Michael Traill

24 January 2010

Dear Strathclyde Police,

Please consider this communication as a request for information in
accordance with the FOISA 2002.

My request is for information relating to payments made to
informers during 2009.

Please provide a breakdown of each transaction for each informer
and for what reason the money was provided. In recognition that you
cannot provide names for obvious reasons, simply labeling people as
informer 1, informer 2 etc is perfectly acceptable.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Traill

Link to this

From: John Cameron
Strathclyde Police

4 February 2010

Attachment Acknowledgement letter.pdf
17K Download View as HTML

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Mr Traill

Please see attached

John Cameron
Freedom of Information Officer

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

<<Acknowledgement letter.pdf>>

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: John Cameron
Strathclyde Police

22 February 2010

Attachment Response Letter Non Disclosure.pdf
31K Download View as HTML

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Mr Traill

Please see the attached response

John Cameron
Freedom of Information Officer
Strathclyde Police

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

<<Response Letter - Non Disclosure.pdf>>

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: Michael Traill

22 February 2010

Dear Strathclyde Police,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Strathclyde Police's
handling of my FOI request 'Payments to informers'.

I note your refusal to provide details of individual transactions.
Secret police activity is wide spread accross Europe and is
therefore no surprise you wish to hide from the public details of
the amount you pay to informers or what are routinely called
"grasses".

My original request related to information for the year 2009.

In your response you have deemed it possible to provide a total for
the year 2008/09. Therefore I cannot see it being out of order to
expect an overall figure be provided for 2009 instead.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/pa...

Yours faithfully,

Michael Traill

Link to this

From: John Cameron
Strathclyde Police

26 February 2010

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Dear Mr Traill

I note your comments

I have provided the figure for the financial year period 2008/09(April
2008 - Mar 2009). The reason for this is that payments to CHIS are, as
with all other financial transactions, accounted for by the force
Finance Department. It is normal practice for this department to account
for all financial transactions in terms of financial year periods rather
than calendar year periods. (I refer to the Decision Notice 037/2009 by
by the Scottish Information Commissioner Paragraph 68 in which he takes
the view that the collated annual totals of payments to CHIS is recorded
for accounting purposes).

That said, since receiving your e mail I have returned to our Finance
Department to ascertain if a figure for the calendar year 2009 would be
available but they confirmed that they are unable to provide this. Had a
figure been available to me for the calender year period of 2009 then I
would perceive that there would indeed be no harm in disclosing this to
you.

In light of the above explanation I would be obliged if you could advise
me whether you wish to continue with your request for an internal review
and if so, given the Information Commisssioners recent decision
(Decision 037/2009) whether you could expand on your reason for
disatisfaction so that we might focus our review response.

Yours Sincerely

John Cameron
Freedom of Information Officer
Strathclyde Police
Tel 0141 435 1204

show quoted sections

Link to this

Michael Traill left an annotation (26 February 2010)

Its interesting to note that when asked to carry out an internal review the force has chosen to suspend that request, answer any points raised in the request for a review, and then offer a review.

Is this perhaps an attempt to keep the figures low for instances where people have felt the need to submit a request for a review?

Link to this

From: Michael Traill

26 February 2010

Dear John Cameron,

You will note that I requested an internal review.

Despite my request being very clear indeed you have chosen to ask
me to confirm that I want an internal review.

I would not have requested one take place had I not wished one to
take place!

Yours sincerely,

Michael Traill

Link to this

From: Sheena Brennan
Strathclyde Police

18 March 2010

Attachment FOI Review Response Traill 0049 10.pdf
19K Download View as HTML

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

       
Good morning Mr Traill

Please find attached the response to your request for a review of your
recent FOI enquiry.

Many thanks

Sheena
 
Sheena Brennan
Force Disclosure Manager &
Acting Head of Information Management
9th Floor, Pegasus House
Tel No: 0141 435 (704) 1200
 

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

<<FOI Review Response - Traill 0049 10.pdf>>

show quoted sections

Link to this

Joanna Iatridou left an annotation ( 5 April 2010)

Questions arising from this FOI request and the answers to it:
1. What is the difference between a CHIS and a Citizen Informant?
2. Is there separate funding for C.Is as opposed to CHIS?
3. CIs and CHIS are they reporting to different strata or ranks in the Law Enforcement?
4. From my experience, a type of CHIS would be Private Investigator Firms or PIs, right?
5. From my experience there are rewards in kind such as plasma tv gifts or second hand (maybe confiscated) good quality smart cars or even jobs, not just cash, therefore the figure of 221.000 approx cash paid out in 2008 does not reflect accurately what's going on, right?
6. A wealthy person can exact revenge and stay hidden by paying a Private Investigator to act as a CHIS to database the target with malicious fabricated crimes or suspicions, so the system is open to abuse when the price is right?
7. CIs and CHIS sometimes need the use of flats or houses for surveillance and black operations against a targeted for revenge person. The cash to obtain the use of flats and houses goes in a CI budget or a CHIS budget?

Link to this

Michael Traill left an annotation ( 5 April 2010)

I got this email sent using the private message fcility a short time ago:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Joanna Iatridou has used WhatDoTheyKnow to send you the message
below. Your details have not been given to anyone, unless you
choose to reply to this message, which will then go directly to the
person who wrote the message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Michael Traill,

You placed a really useful question and the figure of 221K approx
for 2008 is interesting to know. I placed an annotation as I got
utterly destroyed by the abuse of the CHIS system in the UK.

Here it is:

Questions arising from this FOI request and the answers to it: 1.
What is the difference between a CHIS and a Citizen Informant? 2.
Is there separate funding for C.Is as opposed to CHIS? 3. CIs and
CHIS are they reporting to different strata or ranks in the Law
Enforcement? 4. From my experience, a type of CHIS would be Private
Investigator Firms or PIs, right? 5. From my experience there are
rewards in kind such as plasma tv gifts or second hand (maybe
confiscated) good quality smart cars or even jobs, not just cash,
therefore the figure of 221.000 approx cash paid out in 2008 does
not reflect accurately what's going on, right? 6. A wealthy person
can exact revenge and stay hidden by paying a Private Investigator
to act as a CHIS to database the target with malicious fabricated
crimes or suspicions, so the system is open to abuse when the price
is right? 7. CIs and CHIS sometimes need the use of flats or houses
for surveillance and black operations against a targeted for
revenge person. The cash to obtain the use of flats and houses goes
in a CI budget or a CHIS budget? (end of annotation)

Personally, I will be making SARs to clean up fabricated filth in
databases to destroy me. Plus I found out two English female
victims as this type of CHIS abuse was done to them to get them
tortured and crippled for the entertainment of the Law Enforcement,
or security related militias.

Hm.. your comments are welcome, better email me. Is there any
decent human rights group? Liberty speculated that this issue will
not make them money or publicity.

Yours,

Joanna Iatridou

---------------------------------------------------------------------
View Freedom of Information requests made by Joanna Iatridou:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/joann...
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Link to this

Michael Traill left an annotation ( 5 April 2010)

A short time ago I got another email courtesy of the facility on this website.

This one was entitled: please do not be alarmed and dont publish this.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Joanna Iatridou has used WhatDoTheyKnow to send you the message
below. Your details have not been given to anyone, unless you
choose to reply to this message, which will then go directly to the
person who wrote the message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr Michael Traill,

I do not have your email address, simply the website allows to send
you direct message if I click on your name. If you search Joanna
Iatridou on the website you can see my FOIs and annotations.

I am grateful for two questions you asked, payments to informers
and RIPA to Glasgow Council as that Council nearly killed me in
2008.

In gratitude for your questions and for getting answers, here is
two things that will enhance your safety:

follow my FOIs and those of Marry Hughes or Mary Dutton Hughes.

Also, the Police is connected with black operation militias of
reformed criminals, probably organised,trained and weaponised by
MI5 and they can retaliate if you step too much on their toes by
directed energy weapons against you at your home, as they did to
me. They can shoot you on the top of the head and cause you thermal
brain injury within 3-4 seconds. Do be alert about your general
health and any signs of exhaustion. Also they can put "perps" to
gang up on you. If you are already targeted this way I can help you
in terms of precautions.

Take care and well done for your questions!

Best Regards,

Joanna Iatridou

---------------------------------------------------------------------
View Freedom of Information requests made by Joanna Iatridou:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/joann...
---------------------------------------------------------------------

How bizarre

Link to this

Joanna Iatridou left an annotation ( 5 April 2010)

Mr Traill,

Bizarre? Yes indeed, bizarre weapons and being sold in the black markets.

http://www.examiner.com/x-10438-Human-Ri...

Link to this

Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Strathclyde Police only: