PRS licence for police music performance at Climate Camp

Dear Mr Hansen

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 2056-2009

Thank you for your request received by Kent Police on 13 March 2009. I
note you seek access, in summary, to the following information:

Relating to the PRS licence held by Kent Police with regard to music
played by Kent Police at the Climate Camp, Kingsnorth

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 194429 quoting the reference
number above.

Yours sincerely,

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

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

Dear Mr. Hansen,

Thank you for your comment about your Freedom of Information request
reference 2056-2009 relating to music played during Climate Camp. This has
been received and I will ensure that this is forwarded to the appropriate
person.

Many Thanks

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

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

Mr Hansen,

I write further to your two recent communications received by Kent Police.
In your first e-mail (our ref 2056-2009) received by Kent Police on 13^th
March 2009, you asked the following:

Please provide a copy of the licence Kent Police obtained for its public
performance of copyrighted music at the Climate Camp. While the Ride of
the Valkyries is presumably out of copyright, the theme from Hi-de-Hi and
I fought the law and the law won are not. Please also provide a list of
the music played by Kent Police.

Answer: Your question refers to an incident that senior officers in Kent
were anecdotally aware of, and which has been made reference to in a
report published by a political party some months after the events
described.

Following the operation to Police the Climate Camp, Kent Police recorded
47 complaints under Section 14 of the Police Reform Act and some of these
complainants included references to this incident along with other
concerns about which they wished to advise us.

As these complaints concerned general issues related to the direction and
control of a policing operation they were recorded under section 14 of the
Police Reform Act and fed back to the operational commanders for their
consideration as to how such problems may be avoided or better managed in
future operations. However, section 14 complaints are not specifically
investigated and so no detailed information is recorded or held that can
answer your questions.

In accordance with section 14, the Silver Commander was made aware of the
public concerns about this incident so that lessons could be learned for
future, similar operations. As regards the outcome of the incident
itself, the commander was satisfied that the matter was immediately,
informally and proportionately dealt with by a Kent Police officer.

Kent Police does hold PRS licenses for the playing of music in workplaces,
PRS 116511 and PPL license 000855017 refer.

Your second communication, our reference 2671-2009, was received on 1^st
April 2009.

In
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cl...
I was told that the staffing problems were hopefully about to be resolved
and the long awaited compendium of information" would be put on your web
site. I have just checked and this basic information has still not been
provided. It does seem that Kent Police has something to hide.

Is it still Kent Police's position that this information has not been
provided due to "staff shortages", or is there another excuse now?

This question asks for comment. As has been previously explained to you,
this is not a form of information a public authority is required to
provide under the Act.

I note that Kent Police have now spun the list of items stolen by them at
the climate camp. Instead of providing what is supposed to be the full
list (which Nigel Amos helpfully provided a link to

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pd... in
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/th...)

http://www.kent.police.uk/News/Latest_Ne...
only contains a short list which "mysteriously" fails to mention things
like the "assortment of coloured marker pens", " bluetac", "tweezers",
"blankets / rugs" and so on which are in the full list. Please provide me
with a copy of the criteria which were used to decide which items in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pd...

were to be included on
http://www.kent.police.uk/News/Latest_Ne...
and which items were to be excluded.

Answer. There is no recorded criteria and so this information is not
held. Any further statement in relation to this would be comment, which
once again I remind you that I am not required to provide under the Act.
However, I note that the short list accompanies the following comment from
ACC Thomas, the Strategic Commander of the Operation, which very obviously
provides a context for the short list.

'It was clear from the start of the camp that some items taken there were
for criminal purposes including the majority of what we seized. These
include grappling hooks, climbing equipment, bolt cutters and a range of
locks and bolts. By seizing such items we could let the protest proceed,
more confident that the Power Station could operate safe from attack. It
is better to prevent criminality than to deal with its consequences.”

The full list of items has now been included in the compendium of
information. This is currently undergoing completion and will be published
on our website in the coming weeks.

Yours sincerely,

Nigel Amos

Freedom of Information Advisor

>>> David Hansen <[FOI #9280 email]> 12/03/09 23:08
>>>
Dear Sir or Madam,

Please provide a copy of the licence Kent Police obtained for its
public performance of copyrighted music at the Climate Camp.

While the Ride of the Valkyries is presumably out of copyright, the
theme from Hi-de-Hi and I fought the law and the law won are not.
Please also provide a list of the music played by Kent Police.

[1]http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20...
outlines the performances and
[2]http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default... outlines The
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. We are told that Kent
Police obeys the law, so it should be very easy to produce a copy
of the licence in days.

Please note that "replies" which involve attachments in proprietary
file formats are not acceptable. A reply which is not in plain text
format will be deemed to be a refusal to answer. For the copy of
the licence a .gif or .jpeg will be fine.

Yours faithfully,

David Hansen

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