Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board Meetings

The request was successful.

Dear Cambridgeshire Constabulary,

Could you please release:

1. The upcoming dates, times and locations for Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board meetings.

2. The papers for the last, and in so far as available, the next, meetings of the board.

3. Any current information relating to attendance at board meetings by the public.

Regards

--

Richard Taylor
Cambridge
http://www.rtaylor.co.uk

Richard Taylor left an annotation ()

Cambridge City Council's Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on the 9th of July was told this board met in April 2012 and was chaired by the Chief Constable.

I have previously sought information about the operation of the board, which appears to have a central role in relation to police and crime matters in Cambridgeshire, but without much success:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bo...
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ca...

Information about the board and its operation should be pro-actively made public.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary

Dear Richard

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 0393/12

We acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information (FOI) request which
was received by Cambridgeshire Constabulary on 10/07/12.

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. You will receive a response within the statutory
timescale of twenty working days as defined by the Act. In some
circumstances, we may be unable to achieve this deadline. If this is the
case, you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the earliest
opportunity.

If we require any further clarification regarding this request, you will
be notified.

We would advise you that the nature of certain requests may involve
payment of a fee. If this is the case, you will be notified.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
telephone on 01480 456 111 asking for the Information Access Office or
email [Cambridgeshire Police request email]

Regards

Donna Milton
Information Access Office
Cambridgeshire Constabulary

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Cambridgeshire Constabulary

1 Attachment

Dear Richard

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 0393/2012

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Cambridgeshire Constabulary on 10th July 2012 in which you asked the
following:

Could you please release:

1. The upcoming dates, times and locations for Cambridgeshire Criminal
Justice Board meetings.

2. The papers for the last, and in so far as available, the next, meetings
of the board.

3. Any current information relating to attendance at board meetings by the
public.

I regret to inform you that Cambridgeshire Constabulary have not been able
to complete its response to your request by the date originally stated.

The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and in any case no
later than 20 working days after receiving your request. We must consider
firstly whether we can comply with Section 1 (1)(a) of the Act, which is
our duty to confirm or deny whether the information requested is held and
secondly we must comply with section 1(1)(b), which is the provision of
such information. However, when a qualified exemption applies either to
the confirmation or denial or the information provision and a public
interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response to be
longer than 20 working days, if the balance of such public interest is
undermined.

In this case we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of
the public interest lies in respect of either of the above obligations. We
estimate that it will take an additional 20 days to take a decision on
where this balance lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by
5th September 2012.

The specific qualified exemptions which may apply in relation to your
request are:

s24 National security
s30 Investigations and proceedings conducted by the public authority
s31 Law enforcement
s38 Health and safety

In addition to the above, the following absolute exemptions may apply:

s23 Information supplied by, or relating to bodies dealing with security
matters
s41 Information provided in confidence.
s44 Prohibitions on disclosure.

I can assure you that every effort will be made to ensure an appropriate
response will be made within this new timescale.

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

(See attached file: Complaint Rights May-11.pdf)

May I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Should you wish to discuss
this matter please write or contact the Information Access Office on
telephone number 01480 456 111 Ext 2036 quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely
David Price
Information Access Office
Cambridgeshire Constabulary

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Cambridgeshire Constabulary

1 Attachment

Dear Richard

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 0393/2012

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Cambridgeshire Constabulary dated 10th July 2012.

I regret to inform you that Cambridgeshire Constabulary have not been able
to complete its response to your request by the date originally stated.
This is due to difficulties being experienced in redacting the documents
which you have requested as they require to be considered on a
line-by-line basis.

I would anticipate that the final redactions will be completed within the
next 10 working days and a final response should be available not later
than 21st September. As I appreciate that this means that the response
will be given outside the time limits imposed by the Act, I apologise for
the delay and assure you that I will endeavour to complete all processes
by this amended date.

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

(See attached file: Complaint Rights May-11.pdf)

May I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Should you wish to discuss
this matter please write or contact the Information Access Office on
telephone number 01480 456 111 Extn 2036 quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely

David Price
Information Access Office
Cambridgeshire Constabulary

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Cambridgeshire Constabulary

16 Attachments

Dear Richard

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 0393/2012

In reply to your request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000, dated 10th July 2012 and received in the constabulary as the
following:

Could you please release:

1. The upcoming dates, times and locations for Cambridgeshire Criminal
Justice Board meetings.

2. The papers for the last, and in so far as available, the next, meetings
of the board.

3. Any current information relating to attendance at board meetings by the
public.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (The Act) requires us to handle all
requests in a manner that is blind to the identity of the requestor. Any
information released in response to a request is regarded as being
published, and therefore in the public domain without caveat.

We have completed all searches within Cambridgeshire Constabulary and
hereby enclose your response.

In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the FOI Act I can confirm that
Cambridgeshire Constabulary do hold information about the papers submitted
to the last meeting of the CCJB and the dates and locations of future
meetings.

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Cambridgeshire
Constabulary, when refusing to provide such information (because the
information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c)
states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

The exemptions applicable to the information are:

s22(1)(a)(b) Information which is intended for future publication.
Information is exempt if it is held by the public authority with a view to
its publication at some future date (whether determined or not) by that
public authority or any other person. In respect of (b) that future
publication strategy must have been in place at the time the request was
made.

In the context of your request this exemption applies to one document, as
indicated below, for which a publication strategy was already in place by
another public body ahead of the receipt of your request on 10th July.

This is a qualified, class-based exemption for which a public interest
test must be applied and this is set out in the following paragraphs.

s31(1)(a)(b)(c) Law Enforcement. This exemption applied in respect of
information if its disclosure under this Act would or would be likely to
prejudice the following:
a. the prevention or detection of crime
b. the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
c. the administration of justice

This is a qualified prejudice-based exemption for which an assessment of
the harm and public interest test are required; these are set out below.

s40(2)(a)(i)(ii) Personal Data of a Third Party. This exemption applies to
personal data which if disclosed would contravene any of the data
protection principles or section 10 of that Act

This is an absolute and class based exemption for which there is no
requirement to demonstrate harm or conduct a public interest test.

I have anotated on the redacted documents where each of these exemptions
applies.

PUBLIC INTEREST TESTS

1. Section 22:

s22 Factors to the favour of early disclosure

Early publication may allow better informed public debate on the ongoing
performance of the courts services to which these performance figures
relate.

s22 Factors which do not favour early disclosure

The publication date for performance figures has been established by the
constabulary and other partners. In the case of constabulary data, this
information is presented to the Police Authority and to the Home Office
and is published as part of the constabulary's Publication Scheme
annually.

Publication of this information attracts some expense to each of the
agencies and is designed to align with similar publication strategies of
other forces and agencies in order to further informed discussion and
debate. To bring forward publication would cause a high degree of
disruption to planned workloads, increase costs without significant
benefirs and reduce the potential for a properly informed debate.

s22 Balancing argument. The most compelling argument in favour of bringing
the publication schedule forward for this document is that of the
furtherance of public debate and set against this, the most compelling
counter argument is that of discruption and additional costs which would
be involved in bringing the publication date forward. My view is that the
disruption and cost at this time makes this the prevailing argument and
there being no other argument in favour of bringing disclosure forward,
the balance falls against early disclosure.

In drawing my conclusion I am also mindful that the early release of the
figures contained here would not be viewable in the context of the
performance of similar organisations in other parts of the country and
this would not be to the benefit of properly informed public debate.

I would remind the requestor that the application of this exemption
applies only to the timing of the release of the information and not to
the information itself.

2. Section 31:

S31 Expression of potential harm

The release of information held within these documents forms the basic for
discussion on a number of areas of law enforcement and contains
information which, if released, would indicate to criminals or potential
criminals, aspects of our tactical thinking and approach towards
detection. In addition to this, due to the make-up of the Board with
representatives from all parts of the criminal justice system there is the
further potential for impacting on the administration of justice in
bringing offenders to justice and ensuring fair trial.

s31 Factors favouring non-disclosure

- Tactics would be compromised. Discussion documents contained herein show
present and potential tacticl options which would be of use to those
persons planning criminal activity
- A fear of crime would be realised. Documents discussed conain
information which may cause concern to members of the public unused to the
processes of formulating tactics or strategies to promote more effective
law enforcement.
- More crime may be committed. Weaknesses in the system may be disclosed
by the release of this information which could be exploited by those with
criminal intent and therefore create the likelihood that more crimes would
be committed. Those weaknesses would also offer the opportunity for
offenders to evade detection and subsequent justice.
- Undermine the partnership approach to law enforcement. Some of the
details shared in these documents has been done so solely to improve
partnership working and may reveal information which would have the
expectation of confidence. Were it to be publicly revealed, there may be a
reluctance to share similar information in the future, to the detriment of
law enforcement.

s31 Factors which favour disclosure

- Greater awareness. The general public would benefit from a better
understanding of how the criminal justice systems work in conjunction with
each other and build the confidence in that system.
- The public could take appropriate actions to better protect themselves
against the threat of crime.

s31 Balancing argument.

In looking to balance or assess these arguments against each other, I
would consider that the most compelling argument in favour of disclosure
is that of greater awareness and would consider the strongest
counter-argument to be that of there being that of tactics being
compromised. The public have a wholly reasonable expectation that the
workings of the criminal justice systems are being properly and fully
utilised with an appropriate level of transparancy and accountability. For
this reason, I consider this argument to be the more compelling.

The remaining argument in favour of disclosure is that of providing the
public with the opportunity to better protect themselves against the
threat of crime. Set against this, in my view, the second strongest
argument against disclosure is the potential for more crime to be
committed were this information disclosed. This is a finely balanced
argument but since the more crimes committed would, by extension, lead to
more fear it is my view that the more compelling argument is that
favouring non disclosure at this time.

With no further arguments favouring disclosure and there remaining two
arguments against disclosure I must consider whether the argument for
disclosure outweighs those two arguments in addition to the first. It is
my view that it lacks sufficient weight to achieve this and therefore the
balance of arguments favours non-disclosure of the information covered by
this exemption. In redacting or providing the following documents I have
conducted a line-by-line assessment of each.

1. In respect of the dates, locations and timings of the forthcoming
meetings of the Board, the information current at the time of your request
is as follows

4 September
30 October
11 December

These dates are subject to change.

As at the date of your request, location information was not held for
these meetings; this is normally set at the same time as the Agenda is
distributed.

2. The papers made available to the last meeting of the CCJB are listed as
follows, the relevant document follows each item and redactions have been
made in accordance with the above exemptions and are indicated within
each:

I. Actions Summary

(See attached file: Item3 Action Summary.pdf)

II. Performance Report

The performance report contains information which is intended for future
publication and has been exempted from disclosure at this time in
accordance with s22, as outlined above. This exemption applies to the
timing of the disclosure and not the content of the report.

III PCC Update

(See attached file: PCC UPDATE.pdf)(See attached file: Policing Protocol
Order.pdf)(See attached file: Got What it Takes.pdf)(See attached file:
What Partners Need to Know.pdf)(See attached file: PCC UPDATE PtII.pdf)

IV Finance Update

(See attached file: Item 7 Finance.xlsx)

V CJS Effficiency Programme Timeline

(See attached file: Item 8 Cambs Timeline.xlsx)

VI. Flexible Courts

a. CJS Nominations
b. Framework Document

(See attached file: CJS Nominations.pdf)(See attached file: Annex A.pdf)

VII Listening and Learning

(See attached file: Listening and Learning.pdf)

VII Effective Community Sentences Consultation response.

This document is scheduled for publication in Autumn 2012
(www.justice.gov.uk) and has been exempted from disclosure at this time.
The consultation paper is provided here:

(See attached file: Punishment and Reform - Effective Community Sentences
Consultation.pdf)

VIII Effective Probation Services

This document is scheduled for publication in Autumn 2012
(www.justice.gov.uk) and has been exempted from disclosure at this time.
The consultation paper is provided here:

(See attached file: probation-review-consultation[1].pdf)

IX Activity Plan

(See attached file: Item 14 Activity Plan.xlsx)

X. Lessons from Local Change Projects

(See attached file: Improve the Criminal Justice System = lessons.pdf)

Finally, in respect of the papers for the next CCJB meeting, at the time
of your request these papers had not been collated and are thus not within
the scope of your request. It is the "work in process" nature of many of
the above documents that they will be updated and presented to subsequent
meetings. Until Agendas are promulgated, papers are not collated.

3. No information held. This is because the meeting is deemed to be
'closed' to the public due to the nature of the information which may be
discussed and papers presented to the CCJB at these meetings are not
required to be part of the Constabulary's Publication Scheme in accordance
with the Information Commissioners guidelines. These papers do remain
disclosable in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information
Act.

If you are unhappy with this response, please see the attachment below,
which sets out your rights to appeal.
(See attached file: Complaint Rights May-11.pdf)

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact the Information Access Office via email, or on telephone number
01480 456 111 extension 2036.

Regards

David

David Price
Information Access Office
Cambridgeshire Constabulary

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