The Sticky shocker projectile

Dear Ms Hughes,

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2010030000982
I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 03/03/2010. I note you seek
access to the following information:

* "From one of your own reports please can you show me what research you
did in to the pain cause before you started using the sticky shocker,
* I would all so like to know when you find it more favourable to it
instead of the usual projectile with a wires
* I would all so like to know the coast per unit I would all so like to
know if you still buy all your taser equipment through taser UK all
though I know there address will not give it hear,
* I know from a news report world service in 2007 that you have the heat
gun I would like to see the research you did on it before you issued
them.
* I would all so like to know if the office are allowed to take there
weapon home with them or are they stored in a safe place and checked
to see if they have been used through out the day.
* I would all so like to know if these items are for sale to the public.
* I would all so like to know the coast per unit to you."

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act). You will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act,
subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference
to a third party. In some circumstances the MPS may be unable to
achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and
given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet, which details your
right of complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
write or contact Katie London on telephone number 02071613907 quoting
the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Katie London
Policy and Support Officer
COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think
the decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your
request.

Ask to have the decision looked at again –

The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is
to telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your
decision letter.

That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues
and assist with any problems.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision
of the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act)
regarding access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS
to have the decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 40 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied
with the decision you may make application to the Information
Commissioner for a decision on whether the request for information has
been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information
Commissioner please visit their website at
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk. Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 01625 545 700

show quoted sections

Dear Ms. Hughes

In the period from the 4th March 2010 to 13th April 2010, the MPS has
received 5 requests from you including two which were transferred to the
MPS from the Metropolitan Police Authority. Each of these requests
contains multiple questions on the subject of the use of firearms and less
lethal technologies. The requests you have made are as follows:

* 4 March 2010: "The Sticky shocker projectile": MPS reference number
2010030000982
* 16 March 2010: "Training courses given by Raythone to police
officers": MPS reference number 2010030003861
* 17 March 2010: "The Annual Coasted Training Plan 2004/5": MPS
reference number 2010030003861
* 23 March 2010: "Patten report recommendation 69/70 non-lethal
weapons": MPS reference number 2010030005562
* 13 April 2010: "Noise Generating Devices Medical Reports": MPS
reference number 2010040002822

It is my decision that your five requests are all requests for information
about the use of firearms and less lethal technologies, and that they
should therefore be aggregated in accordance with the provisions of the
Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004. The Regulations allow that when multiple requests for
the same or substantially similar information are received within a short
period of time, a public authority may aggregate the requests, and take
into account the cost that would be incurred in responding to them all.
For this reason, it is my decision that the time needed to determine
whether information is held in respect of these five requests would exceed
the cost threshold of 18 hours/**450. This letter therefore serves as a
refusal notice for the following request:

4 March 2010: "The Sticky shocker projectile": MPS reference number
2010030000982

1. From one of your own reports please can you show me what research you
did in to the pain cause before you started using the sticky shocker,
2. I would all so like to know when you find it more favourable to it
instead of the usual projectile with a wires
3. I would all so like to know the coast per unit
4. I would all so like to know if you still buy all your taser equipment
through taser UK all though I know there address will not give it hear,
5. I know from a news report world service in 2007 that you have the heat
gun I would like to see the research you did on it before you issued them,
6. I would all so like to know if the office are allowed to take there
weapon home with them or are they stored in a safe place and checked to
see if they have been used through out the day.
7. I would all so like to know if these items are for sale to the Public
8. I would all so like to know the coast per unit to you
Full details of the refusal notice and the relevant sections of the
Freedom of Information Act and the Fees Regulations are provided in the
Legal Appendix section below. However, in order to assist I have provided
a number of links to documents that provide information relevant to your
requests, and may help you to focus future requests on specific
information held by the MPS - they also indicate that firearms and less
lethal technologies used by the police service must first be approved by
the Home Office, who conduct research into the use and effects of both
firearms and less lethal technologies and may therefore hold further
information on this subject.

Please be aware that should you wish to make further requests to the MPS
on the subject of firearms and less lethal technologies, you should allow
60 working days from the date of this response before doing so - any
further requests made on these subjects within this time period will be
aggregated with your requests which have already been received.

The relevant links are as follows:

Parliamentary statement on less lethal technologies used by the police
service:

Police: Weapons: 21 June 2007
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...

Home Office publications:

Police equipment and technology
http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov...

Operational policing: police use of firearms
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operatio...

The following reports, submitted by the MPS to the MPA and published on
the MPA website, provide a history and costs of less lethal technologies
used by the MPS. They also refer to the research conducted into these
technologies by the Home Office:
"MPS position on 'less lethal' technology and options": 28 February 2002
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/200...

Introduction of the 'Baton Gun' weapon system as a 'less lethal' option:
27 June 2002
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/200...

Introduction of the 'baton gun' weapon system as a 'less lethal' option:
19 July 2002
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/x-cop/2...

Introduction of the taser (electronic stun gun) as a less lethal option: 4
April 2003
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/x-cop/2...

MPA support for stun gun as less lethal option: 4 April 2003
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/news/press/2003/03...

Update on the use of Taser: 9 June 2006
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/x-cop/2...

Conversion to the x26 Taser: 27 September 2007
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/x-cop/2...

ACPO Conflict Management Taser Trial by Specially Trained Officers
(STO'S): 25 October 2007
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/200...

Taser usage and its diversity implications: 25 October 2007
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/mpa/200...

Taser trial final report: 2 April 2009
http://www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/sop/200...

Guidance for use of firearms and less lethal technologies:

Police use of firearms and less lethal options
http://www.npia.police.uk/en/11944.htm

Manual of Guidance for the management, command and deployment of armed
officers
http://www.npia.police.uk/en/13618.htm

Further information on the ACPO Working Group on Armed Police is available
on the West Mercia police website:

http://www.westmercia.police.uk/about-us...

The website contains further links to the following documents:

* ACPO Policy and Operational Use of Taser by Authorised
Firearms Officers
* ACPO Policy and Operational Use of Taser by Specially Trained
Units
* Evaluation of Taser - Digest of Public Opinion Survey
* Independent Evaluation of the Operational Trial of Taser
* Manual of Guidance on the Management, Command and Deployment
of Armed Officers
* Manual of Guidance Police Use of Firearms
* Operational Guidance for the Attenuating Energy Projectile

I note that on the 2nd of April 2010 you requested an internal review of
the processing of this request as you had not received a response within
the statutory 20 day deadline. Section 45 of the Freedom of Information
Act (concerning the Codes of Practice) provides guidance for dealing with
complaints and requests for internal reviews. Specifically, paragraph 38
of the Codes of Practice states:

"Any written reply from the applicant (including one transmitted by
electronic means) expressing dissatisfaction with an authority's response
to a request for information should be treated as a complaint*** These
communications should be handled in accordance with the authority's
complaints procedure, even if, in the case of a request for information
under the general rights of access, the applicant does not expressly state
his or her desire for the authority to review its decision or its handling
of the application."
The emphasis of this paragraph is that the internal review stage of the
complaints procedure should be initiated on receiving communication from
the applicant which expresses dissatisfaction "with an authority's
response to a request for information". Therefore, an internal review
should only be instigated once a response has been received by the
applicant - I have made enquiries with the Information Commissioner's
office and confirmed that an internal review should not take place before
a final response from the public authority is received by the applicant.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the delay
that you experienced, and to confirm that in this instance the MPS were in
breach of Section 10 of the Act. If you dissatisfied with the decision
taken in this final response, please contact us and an internal review can
now be instigated.

LEGAL APPENDIX
The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and
Fees) Regulations 2004 section (4) sets out that the public authority can
take account of the following factors in determining the costs incurred in
relation to the request:
(a) determining whether it holds the information,
(b) locating the information, or a document which may contain the
information,
(c) retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the
information, and
(d) extracting the information from a document containing it.

This letter therefore serves as a refusal notice for the information you
have requested under section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000:
17 (5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for
information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or 14 applies must,
within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a
notice stating that fact.
Section 12 (1) of the Act states:
12 (1) Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a
request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.
In cases where it would exceed the appropriate limit even to determine
whether the requested is held, section 12(2) is also relevant:
12 (2) Subsection (1) does not exempt the public authority from its
obligation to comply with paragraph (a) of section 1(1) unless the
estimated cost of complying with that paragraph alone would exceed the
appropriate limit.
Section 12(4) provides that multiple requests for similar information may
be aggregated:
12 (4) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that, in such
circumstances as may be prescribed, where two or more requests for
information are made to a public authority -
(a) by one person, or
(b) by different persons who appear to the public authority to be acting
in concert or in pursuance of a campaign,
the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to
be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them.

Regarding the aggregation of related requests, the Freedom of Information
and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 section
5 (1) and (2)also states:

5 (1) In circumstances in which this regulation applies, where two or more
requests for information to which section 1(1) of the 2000 Act would,
apart from the appropriate limit, to any extent apply, are made to a
public authority -
(a) by one person, or
(b) by different persons who appear to the public authority to be acting
in concert or in pursuance of a campaign,
the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to
be the total costs which may be taken into account by the authority, under
regulation 4, of complying with all of them.

(2) This regulation applies in circumstances in which-
(a) the two or more requests referred to in paragraph (1) relate, to any
extent, to the same or similar information, and
(b) those requests are received by the public authority within any period
of sixty consecutive working days.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet which details your right of
complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me at the following e-mail address - [email address]
quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Louise Lander
Higher Information Manager

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the case officer that dealt with your request.

Ask to have the decision looked at again ***

The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the case officer that is nominated at the end of your decision
letter.

That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Public Access Office
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1TR

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 40 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
Alternatively, phone or write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 01625 545 700

show quoted sections