Discharge of Sexual Harm Prevention Order / Indefinite SOR

The request was successful.

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear West Mercia Police,

Please provide the following request for information.

1) Amount of WMP approved discharges of ANY Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

2) Amount of WMP approved discharges of Indefinite SOR notifications in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

3) Amount of NONE approved discharges of any Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

4) Amount of NONE approved discharges of Indefinite SOR notifications in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

5) Amount of WMP approved discharges of 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

6) Amount of WMP approved discharges of 5 year Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

7) Amount of NONE approved discharges of 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

8) Amount of NONE approved discharges of 5 year Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

Yours faithfully,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO:  11681

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
on 6^th April 2020.  Your request will now be considered in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”).

 

We will aim to provide a response to your request within 20 working days
as stipulated by the Act.  We are currently receiving an unprecedented
number of subject access and FOI requests and for the foreseeable future
we are triaging and addressing requests in the following order:  Subject
access and then FOI requests.   Every effort will be made to meet our
statutory timescales for responding.  Thank you for your understanding.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request.  If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you.  If you chose not to make payment then your request will be
withdrawn.

 

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.

 

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

Sue Cale

Information Compliance Administrator

Information Compliance Unit

 

Internal ext:  7772545

Direct Line 01905 331545

 

 

Dear WMP Information Compliance,

I wish to remind you that by law you should provide the following request for information no later than the 5 May 2020.

The Freedom of Information Act says:

A public authority must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt.

It is important for you to acknowledge that the law says authorities must respond PROMPTLY.

I politely request you update me as to whether this matter will be a complex matter to deal with as I believe this isn't the case at all and as a consequence I am surprised this has already been dealt with.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear West Mercia Police Information Compliance,

I contacted you 4 working days ago on the 28 April 2020 below but you have failed to respond to this polite request!!

Dear WMP Information Compliance,

I wish to remind you that by law you should provide the following request for information no later than the 5 May 2020.

The Freedom of Information Act says:

A public authority must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt.

It is important for you to acknowledge that the law says authorities must respond PROMPTLY.

I politely request you update me as to whether this matter will be a complex matter to deal with as I believe this isn't the case at all and as a consequence I am surprised this has already been dealt with.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 11681

With reference to your request for information which was received on 6th April 2020.

I apologise for the delay in responding to your FOI request and for any inconvenience caused. Every effort is being made to process requests within statutory deadlines but due to current circumstances delays have on occasion been unavoidable. We will provide you with a response to your request as soon as is practicable.

Please advise us if you no longer require this information.

Your complaint rights are outlined below should you be unsatisfied.

If you have any further queries concerning this matter, please contact the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number above.

Kind regards

Sue Cale
Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.

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 West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to discuss the decision with the person 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 person named 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 WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed to:

Information Compliance Unit
West Mercia Police Headquarters
PO Box 55
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip
Worcester
WR3 8SP

Alternatively, you can email [West Mercia Police request email]

In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

If after lodging a complaint with WMP you are still dissatisfied with the decision, you may make application to the Information Commissioner (ICO) 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. Alternatively, you can contact the ICO in writing or via phone:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 (national rate)
Fax: 01625 524 510

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Thank you for your update.

Yes I still wish for you to provide this FIO request at your earliest convenience please.

This is of great importance to me.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 11681

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
on 6^th April 2020. Please find below the response to your request:

 

Please provide the following request for information.

 

1) Amount of WMP approved discharges of ANY Sexual Harm Prevention Orders
in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

2) Amount of WMP approved discharges of Indefinite SOR notifications in
the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

3) Amount of NONE approved discharges of any Sexual Harm Prevention Orders
in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

4) Amount of NONE approved discharges of Indefinite SOR notifications in
the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

5) Amount of WMP approved discharges of 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention
Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

6) Amount of WMP approved discharges of 5 year Sexual Harm Prevention
Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

7) Amount of NONE approved discharges of 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention
Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

 

8) Amount of NONE approved discharges of 5 year Sexual Harm Prevention
Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.

             

Reply:-

Please be advised that the information that you have requested is not
available in a readily retrievable format. The information regarding
Sexual Harm Prevention Orders is not held centrally or in an
electronically retrievable format.

 

There are in excess of 1000 records which would have to be reviewed in
order for us to identify the relevant information for your request. Should
it take approximately 5 minutes per record this would equate to in excess
of 83 hours of work. Therefore the cost of providing you with the
information is above the amount to which we are legally required to
respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds
the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and
Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

 

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts
as a Refusal Notice for this part of the request and if one part of a
request exceeds the fees limit then S12 of the Act applies to the whole
request

 

In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice
and assistance in relation to your request, however due to the volume of
records that would need to be reviewed I have been unable to identify
information that could be supplied within the fees limit.

 

 

Please accept my apology for the late reply.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as
accurate as possible

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

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Compliance Unit
West Mercia Police

PO Box 55

Hindlip

Worcester

WR3 8SP

01905 331545 / 331565

 

 

West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1
and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright
owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.

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 West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their
decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the person 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
contact the person named 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
WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the
decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain
within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of
Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed
to:

West Mercia Police Headquarters

Information Compliance Unit

Hindlip Hall

Hindlip

PO Box 55

Worcester

WR3 8SP

or

Email:  [West Mercia Police request email]

In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint
within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with WMP 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 https://ico.org.uk/ Alternatively phone or
write to:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 if you prefer to use a
national rate number

Fax:    01625 524 510

 

 

 

 

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

I understand that you can't provide the full request from your explanation so can you please provide the information for 2018 & 2019.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Can you please confirm how many hours would be within legislation for you to complete my revised request ?
This being for years 2018 and 2019.

Should you spend 5 minutes on each record (200 records) for a year that would be 17 hours so to complete 2018 and 2019 this would mean 34 hours work.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

Thank you for your emails of 5th May.

I have contacted the original source for the information and I am awaiting whether the data can be collected within the 18 hours' time limit.

Yours sincerely

Ms V Lewis

Information Compliance Officer
Information Compliance Unit

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Thank you for your response today.

Can you please assess the information on a yearly basis (for 2019 initially) as far as data being collected within the 18 hours' time limit.

Once we both know a timescale to fulfil a year we can assess what can be provided within your legal obligation.

I will then if necessary make new FIO Requests for further back in time.

I ask that you address the above in a timely manner as you have waited more that the 20 working days to refuse the FIO request when it appears to me that it should not have taken long to assess the information I initially requested wasn't possible.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

Thank you for your email.

I have spoken with the relevant department for your FOI and confirm that this matter is exempt under s12. The information required to answer your FOI question is not available in a readily retrievable format and would require a manual review of the same number of records in order to retrieve the data which as stated in my first response equates to over 83 hours of work. This still applies if you break down your question by year. The data is not stored in a way that can be highlighted by year alone.

Yours sincerely

Ms V Lewis
Information Compliance Unit
West Mercia Police
PO Box 55
Hindlip
Worcester
WR3 8SP
01905 331545 / 331565

West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.
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 West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their decision.
Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to discuss the decision with the person 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 contact the person named 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 WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed to:
West Mercia Police Headquarters
Information Compliance Unit
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip
PO Box 55
Worcester
WR3 8SP
or
Email: [West Mercia Police request email]
In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner
After lodging a complaint with WMP 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 https://ico.org.uk/ Alternatively phone or write to:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 if you prefer to use a national rate number
Fax: 01625 524 510

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear West Mercia Police Information Complianc,

I understand your response but you don't appear to give me an indication as to what is a reasonable request for this information.

I accept my original request was to time consuming and wish to agree with you what is reasonable.

I don't accept that asking you for 2019's numbers will take 83 hours when 5 years was the same. This doesn't even make logical sense!! You will not have to view all the individual records in relation to 2015-18 just a single year meaning whether its in a recorded format or not it will take far less time.

Can you please advise me.

Please provide the following REVISED request for information.

1) Amount of WMP approved discharges of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2019.

2) Amount of WMP approved discharges of Indefinite SOR notifications in the West Mercia Police area 2019.

3) Amount of NONE approved discharges of any Sexual Harm Prevention Orders in the West Mercia Police area 2019.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Chambers,

 

Thank you for your email of 7^th May.

 

Please note the reason we cannot complete your original request in the
required 18 hours is because the records are not kept in a yearly filing
system and only kept by individual records.

The time to go through each record is still the same (over 83 hours’ work)
as each record would need to be manually reviewed in order to locate the
year any Sexual Harm Prevention Orders were granted etc., if any, for each
record.

 

I understand your further FOI requests have been logged on our system.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Ms V Lewis

 

Information Compliance Officer

Information Compliance Unit

 

[1]cid:image001.png@01D60805.E3394BD0

 

 

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Could you please advise me on how we can come to some kind of solution for all concerned.

I am reasonably sure you are fully aware of the reason for my FIO request in this regard after speaking to the relevant department from my details.

I must say I find it hard to accept that the various MOSOVO departments within West Mercia Police will have no idea who has requested discharges of SHPO and SOR during the last year. And whether they were successful or not or were not challenged by the chief constable.

This would then not mean every file would require looking at.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers

I write further to your email below. I have now reviewed your request again and as previously advised we are not able to answer this request because to do so would exceed the required 18 hours as the records are not kept in a yearly filing system. The only way to establish the information you have requested would be to manually review each record which would take approximately 83 hours as there are in excess of 1000 records.

The cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

Therefore, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 your request was refused.

I am aware that we have a duty under the Act to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request, however due to the volume of records that would need to be reviewed I have been unable to identify any information that could be supplied within the fees limit.

Yours sincerely

Ms V Lewis
Information Compliance Officer
Information Compliance Unit

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear West Mercia Police Information Compliance,

You have ignored as always my polite request for you too take on board the following:

.............................................................................................................................................................

Could you please advise me on how we can come to some kind of solution for all concerned.

I am reasonably sure you are fully aware of the reason for my FIO request in this regard after speaking to the relevant department from my details.

I must say I find it hard to accept that the various MOSOVO departments within West Mercia Police will have no idea who has requested discharges of SHPO and SOR during the last year. And whether they were successful or not or were not challenged by the chief constable.

This would then not mean every file would require looking at.

.............................................................................................................................................................

It appears you are not prepared to be accommodating in the slightest and are set on providing no information.

I don't believe that WMP have no accessible records (or have no idea around discharges) on such information as my Offender Manager has provided limited reference to this request.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO:  11681 – Internal review

 

Further to previous correspondence following your FOI response being
issued, I am treating your request as an internal review.

 

You will receive a response within 20 working days unless there are
exceptional circumstances.

 

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.

 

Kind regards,

 

David

 

David COLE (C60405), Supervisor – Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police

Tel 101 x7772785

Email [1][West Mercia Police request email]

Post Information Compliance Unit, PO Box 55, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, Hindlip Hall, Worcester, WR3 8SP

[2]www.westmercia.police.uk

 

 

West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1
and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. 
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law.  Applications for the copyright
owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.

 

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 West Mercia Police
(WMP) to review their decision.

 

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the person 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 person named 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
WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the
decision reviewed.  WMP must be notified of your intention to complain
within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of
Information request.  Complaints should be made in writing and addressed
to:

 

Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police Headquarters

PO Box 55

Hindlip Hall

Hindlip

Worcester

WR3 8SP

 

Alternatively, you can email [3][West Mercia Police request email]

 

In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint
within 20 working days.

 

The Information Commissioner

 

If after lodging a complaint with WMP you are still dissatisfied with the
decision, you may make application to the Information Commissioner (ICO)
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 [4]website.  Alternatively, you can contact the ICO in
writing or via phone:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Tel:  0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 (national rate)

Fax:  01625 524 510

 

 

David COLE (C60405), Supervisor – Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police

Tel 101 x7772785

Email [5][West Mercia Police request email]

Post Information Compliance Unit, PO Box 55, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, Hindlip Hall, Worcester, WR3 8SP

[6]www.westmercia.police.uk

 

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear David COLE (C60405), Supervisor – Information Compliance Unit,

Although I welcome you looking into this request via an internal review I really had hoped we could both find an acceptable solution to this FIO Request. This could be by me being more specific etc (I have made further smaller requests) with your advice and knowledge of the system etc.

I understand your concerns around timescales but you have failed blankly to assist me in finding a solution.
This is most disappointing to say the least and shows an unwillingness to try and accommodate the request under any circumstances.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers,

 

With reference to your internal review.

 

After reviewing your FOI requests, the primary reasons why your request
exceeds the fees limit is because the system used to record SORs/SHPOs is
not designed in such a way as to be able to retrieve the information you
are requesting easily and a manual trawl of records has to be undertaken
to ascertain whether the information is held.

 

By way of offering you some assistance, you may wish to consider narrowing
down your request to only include the year 2019 and also exclude the 5 and
10 year SHPO discharges (i.e. questions 5-8).  I am hopeful that we can
then retrieve the information for your questions 1-4, albeit for 2019
only.

 

If you are content with narrowing down your request in that way then
please let me know.  If any issues arise once searches are undertaken I
will get in touch with yourself.

 

Kind regards,

 

David

 

David COLE (C60405), Supervisor – Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police

Tel 101 x7772785

Email [1][West Mercia Police request email]

Post Information Compliance Unit, PO Box 55, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, Hindlip Hall, Worcester, WR3 8SP

[2]www.westmercia.police.uk

 

show quoted sections

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Thank you for your update.

If you view my other pending FIO requests you may note that I have already taken your advice that you have given today and requested solely 2019.

That will be extremely helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

Dear Mr Chambers,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO:  11681 – Internal review

 

I write further to your email of 14 May 2020 which was treated as an
internal review of your FOI request.

 

Scope of internal review

 

An internal review of the decision made in relation to your request for
information.

 

Decision of internal review

 

Having reviewed your original FOI request, the reasons for refusal and
your submissions I have decided to partially uphold your request for an
internal review.

 

In reaching that decision, I have determined that the exemption used in
refusing your request for information and the reasoning given by the
original Decision Maker were correct but that further advice and
assistance could have been given to you in order to help you refine your
request.

 

The system used by West Mercia Police that records SORs and SHPOs is not
designed to extract statistical information; moreover it is used to manage
individuals and it is not differentiated by year.  This results in
requests for information having to be undertaken manually which can take
many hours and, as is the case with your FOI request, can result in
requests exceeding the “appropriate limit” under s.12(1) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  A public authority is not obliged to comply with a
request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed this limit.  For police forces in
England and Wales, the "appropriate limit" is £450 or 18 hours of work as
set by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations
2004.

 

As part of this internal review, I proposed that you may wish to consider
narrowing down your request to only include the year 2019 and also exclude
the 5 and 10 year SHPO discharges (i.e. questions 5-8).  I note that you
have subsequently submitted new refined FOI requests to ascertain this
information and have now been provided with responses to those requests.

 

 

Should you have any further queries concerning this matter, please contact
the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number above.

 

If you remain unsatisfied with the outcome of this internal review you
have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner.  Their contact
details are outlined below.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

David

 

David COLE (C60405), Supervisor – Information Compliance Unit

West Mercia Police

Tel 101 x7772785

Email [1][West Mercia Police request email]

Post Information Compliance Unit, PO Box 55, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, Hindlip Hall, Worcester, WR3 8SP

[2]www.westmercia.police.uk

 

 

The Information Commissioner

 

If after lodging a complaint with WMP you are still dissatisfied with the
decision, you may make application to the Information Commissioner (ICO)
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 [3]website.  Alternatively, you can contact the ICO in
writing or via phone:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Tel:  0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 (national rate)

Fax:  01625 524 510

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[West Mercia Police request email]
2. http://www.westmercia.police.uk/
3. https://ico.org.uk/

Mr MCJ Chambers

Dear Information Compliance,

Mr Cole I thank you for your considerable effort in accommodating this request.

Yours sincerely,

Mr MCJ Chambers