RSPB assistance

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Thank you for your email received Monday 15th March in which you make a
request for information that Northumbria Police may hold.

We are in the process of dealing with your request and expect to revert to
you shortly. A response should be provided by 14/04/10.

Yours sincerely

Jan Mcewan

Information Compliance Unit

[NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')

Thank you for your email received 15th March 2010 in which you made a
request for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria
Police.

As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of
access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police),
subject to certain limitations and exemptions.

You asked:
"in the interest of true justice which rspb member is assisting Northumbria
Police in the Jim Railton case [Alnwick auctioneer]"

In response:

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide a response for your attention.

Will shall not be providing the information requested and by withholding we
shall rely on the following exemptions

Section 40(2) Personal Information
Section 30 of the Act (Investigations & Proceedings by Public Authorities)

Section 40(2) Personal Information is a class based absolute exemption and
there is no requirement to consider the public interest in
disclosure. That being said where Section 40(2) is engaged in order to
make the exemption absolute there needs to be evidence that a data
protection principle would be breached by disclosure. In this case it
would not be fair to process information which could lead to the
identification of an individual. Therefore the first principle of the Data
Protection Act would be breached.

Section 40 - Personal Information

(2) Any information to which a request for information relates is also
exempt information if -

(a) it constitutes personal data which do not fall within subsection
(1), and

(b) either the first or the second condition below is satisfied.

(3) The first condition is -

(a) in a case where the information falls within any of paragraphs (a)
to (d) of the definition of "data" in section 1(1) of the [1998 c. 29.]
Data Protection Act 1998, that the disclosure of the information to a
member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene -

(i) any of the data protection principles, or

(ii) section 10 of that Act (right to prevent processing likely to cause
damage or distress), and

(b) in any other case, that the disclosure of the information to a
member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene any
of the data protection principles if the exemptions in section 33A(1) of
the [1998 c. 29.] Data Protection Act 1998 (which relate to manual data
held by public authorities) were disregarded.

Section 40 is a classed based, absolute exemption and therefore there is
no need to explain the public interest considerations in this area.

You should consider this to be a refusal under section 17 of the Act.

Section 30 of the Act (Investigations & Proceedings by Public Authorities)

Section 30 of the Act (Investigations & Proceedings by Public Authorities)
states that information is exempt information if it has at any time been
held for the purposes of any investigation. This exemption is a qualified
and class based exemption and accordingly Northumbria Police does not need
to carry out a harm test for this exemption.

As section 30 is a qualified exemption the application of a public interest
test is required and I have set this out below.

Public Interest Test under Section 30

For Disclosure:

Accountability
Disclosure of information about how Northumbria Police conducts its
functions could enhance the accountability of the Force and its individual
officers in the performance of their respective duties. There is a
legitimate public interest in knowing that the Force takes action against
any members of staff who are alleged to have breached procedures.

Public Awareness and Debate

Disclosure of information about issues of concern can assist individuals to
make informed decisions on issues that are relevant to them. The community
at large may benefit from disclosure as this may encourage accurate and
informed public debate. It would also correct rumour and speculation and
provide confidence in the Force's ability to investigate any alleged
offences.

Against Disclosure:

Investigations

It is the Association of Chief Officers (ACPO) view that information
relating to investigations will rarely be disclosed under the provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Whilst such information may be
released in order to serve a core policing purpose (i.e. to protect life
and property and/or assist in prevention and detection of crime and/or in
the apprehension and prosecution of offenders), it will only be disclosed
if there are strong public interest considerations favouring disclosure.
The further the considerations favouring disclosure are from a tangible
community benefit, the lighter the considerations will be. It is my view
that disclosure could undermine any ongoing and future investigations and
potentially cause damage to the criminal justice process.

Human Rights, Morals and Ethics

Northumbria Police has a duty to ensure all investigations are dealt with
fairly and equally. It is important that any investigation is conducted
with regard to confidentiality and privacy. The public interest would not
be served if a disclosure breaches the obligations placed on an authority
under the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly the right to
life, fair trial and privacy.

Efficient and Effective Conduct of the Service

The current or future law enforcement function of the Police Service would
be undermined or compromised by release of the requested information.
Disclosure would prejudice future effective investigations and would cause
damage to the service and the community.

Flow of Information to the Service
It is in the public interest that members of the public are not inhibited
in any way from providing information to Northumbria Police. The public
need to retain confidence in the Force in order to allow us to gather
information and perform our public service function.

Balancing Test:

When considering applications under the Freedom of information Act,
information should be disclosed unless the reasoned application of the
exemptions and public interest considerations favours non-disclosure. I
have analysed the competing arguments and weighed up the community benefit
and opportunity for debate that disclosure of this information may provide.
However, I consider that the release of information which relates to
ongoing investigations would have a huge impact on the ability of
Northumbria police to conduct effective investigations in the future. We
must seek to protect our core policing function and not disclose
information which could potentially undermine the whole criminal justice
process. In this case the public interest is significantly weaker whilst
the investigations are still ongoing.

Decision:

I have carefully considered your request and I have decided that on balance
it is in the public interest to withhold this part of the requested
information. It is my view that provision of this information would not be
beneficial to the community as a whole and it may deter members of the
public from seeking police assistance or providing information.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you should consider
this a refusal for that specific part of your request.

The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.

How to complain

If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.

(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)

If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.

Yours sincerely

Michael Cleugh
Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial: 01661 869389

[NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]
NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk