Motoring Offences Notices

Stephanie Mottershead made this Freedom of Information request to Essex Police This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

Stephanie Mottershead

Dear Essex Police,

this request is addressed to your Central Ticket Office:

1. Please indicate how many motoring offences notices were issued in 2010?
2. Once the notice form has been completed by the offender and sent back, please explain how their data is processed? by data entry?
3. how many people are employed to process these forms?
4. are the forms scanned?

Yours faithfully,

Stephanie Mottershead

data foi, Essex Police

Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Thank you for your enquiry which has been logged under the above
reference.

Under the Freedom of Information Act we are required to reply within 20
working days but given the current very high number of requests being
received this may not be possible.

We will reply as soon as possible and please accept our apologies for the
inconvenience any delay may cause.

Steve Grayton
Information Officer
Data Protection & Freedom of Information
Information Management
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police Headquarters
PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA
' :Within Essex dial 101 then ext. 54551
Outside Essex: 0300 333 4444 Ext 54551
Fax: 01245 452256
Email : data[Essex Police request email]
Personal email: [email address]
Website: www.essex.police.uk
Hours of work : Mon - Thurs 7:30 to 15:30
Fri 7:30 to 15:00

Please note: 101 is replacing 0300 333 4444 as the way to contact Essex
Police - but always dial 999 if it is an emergency

show quoted sections

Shirley Elderfield, Essex Police

Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Thank you for your enquiry which has been logged under the above
reference.

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at
Sec1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a
request is held. The second duty at Sec1(1)(b) is to disclose information
that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon
s17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a)
states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states
(if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I have contacted the Central Ticket Office who have provided me with
answers to questions 3 and 4 as below. However, I need to seek
clarification from you with regard to what is meant by 'motoring offences'
in question 1. Does this refer to offences for which Notices of Intended
Prosecution are issued, for example speeding, vehicle defects, camera
offences? If you would kindly clarify this, I will be able to provide
answers to questions 1 and 2.

For your information, the Safety Camera Partnership has started publishing
data on its Driving Casualties Down website. This can be accessed from the
following link:

[1]http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...

In respect of your enquiry:

This request is addressed to your Central Ticket Office:

 

1. Please indicate how many motoring offences notices were issued in 2010?

    

2. Once the notice form has been completed by the offender and sent back,
please explain how their data is processed? by data entry?

 

3. How many people are employed to process these forms?

 

The Camera/ Central Ticket Office employs 16 administrators to carry out
all required admin functions which includes answering telephone queries
from the public, query solutions and other admin functions as part of the
the general role of the office, no individuals are employed solely for
data inputting.

    

4. Are the forms scanned?

 

Forms are not scanned although Camera enforcement activity uses digital
storage, and production of the documentation is also automated.
 

Shirley Elderfield
Information Officer
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police HQ
Internal extension 52038
Direct Dial 01245 452647
Essex Police Non emergency Telephone Number (within Essex) 101 (Outside
Essex) 0300 333 4444
Fax: Internal 54142 External 01245 452256
Website: [2]www.essex.police.uk

Information Management, Strategic Change Management Department, Essex
Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your FOI request, you have
the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should
be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to
your original request and should be addressed to the Senior Information
Officer at the above address.

If you complaint refers to a decision to apply an exemption it would
assist the review if you would outline the reasons why you feel the
exemption does not apply.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
2. http://www.essex.police.uk/
3. mailto:[FOI #86069 email]
4. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...

Shirley Elderfield, Essex Police

Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Thank you for your enquiry which has been logged under the above
reference.

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at
Sec1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a
request is held. The second duty at Sec1(1)(b) is to disclose information
that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon
s17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a)
states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states
(if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I have contacted the Central Ticket Office who have provided me with
answers to questions 3 and 4 as below. However, I need to seek
clarification from you with regard to what is meant by 'motoring offences'
in question 1. Does this refer to offences for which Notices of Intended
Prosecution are issued, for example speeding, vehicle defects, camera
offences? If you would kindly clarify this, I will be able to provide
answers to questions 1 and 2.

For your information, the Safety Camera Partnership has started publishing
data on its Driving Casualties Down website. This can be accessed from the
following link:

[1]http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...

In respect of your enquiry:

This request is addressed to your Central Ticket Office:

 

1. Please indicate how many motoring offences notices were issued in 2010?

    

2. Once the notice form has been completed by the offender and sent back,
please explain how their data is processed? by data entry?

 

3. How many people are employed to process these forms?

 

The Camera/ Central Ticket Office employs 16 administrators to carry out
all required admin functions which includes answering telephone queries
from the public, query solutions and other admin functions as part of the
the general role of the office, no individuals are employed solely for
data inputting.

    

4. Are the forms scanned?

 

Forms are not scanned although Camera enforcement activity uses digital
storage, and production of the documentation is also automated.
 

Shirley Elderfield
Information Officer
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police HQ
Internal extension 52038
Direct Dial 01245 452647
Essex Police Non emergency Telephone Number (within Essex) 101 (Outside
Essex) 0300 333 4444
Fax: Internal 54142 External 01245 452256
Website: [2]www.essex.police.uk

Information Management, Strategic Change Management Department, Essex
Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your FOI request, you have
the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should
be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to
your original request and should be addressed to the Senior Information
Officer at the above address.

If you complaint refers to a decision to apply an exemption it would
assist the review if you would outline the reasons why you feel the
exemption does not apply.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
2. http://www.essex.police.uk/
3. mailto:[FOI #86069 email]
4. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...

Stephanie Mottershead

Dear Shirley Elderfield,

Does this refer to offences for which Notices of IntendedProsecution are issued, for example speeding, vehicle defects, camera offences? YES!

Yours sincerely,

Stephanie Mottershead

Shirley Elderfield, Essex Police

I am now out of the office until Tuesday 1st November. For any urgent matters, please email the datafoi mailbox. (data[Essex Police request email]).

Shirley Elderfield
Information Officer
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police
Internal extension 52038
Direct Dial 01245 452647
Essex Police Number 0300 333 4444
Fax: Internal 54142 External 01245 452256
Website: www.essex.police.uk
Information Management, Corporate Development, Essex Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA

show quoted sections

Shirley Elderfield, Essex Police

Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Thank you for the clarification of your request. This will enable me to
re-contact the Central Ticket Office for answers to your other questions. 

Shirley Elderfield
Information Officer
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police HQ
Internal extension 150025
Direct Dial 01245 452647
Essex Police Non emergency Telephone Number (within Essex) 101 (Outside
Essex) 0300 333 4444
Fax: Internal 54142 External 01245 452256
Website: www.essex.police.uk

Information Management, Strategic Change Management Department, Essex
Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA

show quoted sections

Shirley Elderfield, Essex Police

Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

In relation to your clarified request, I advise I have completed my
enquiries and I am able to respond as follows:

 
1. Please indicate how many motoring offences notices were issued in 2010?
 
For the purpose of section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA), this part of my response serves as a formal notification of
refusal of this part of your request on the basis that the exemption given
at section 21 of the FOIA applies (Information accessible by other means).

21 Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant
otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even
though it is accessible only on payment, and

(b) information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the
applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other
person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise
than by making the information available for inspection) to members of
the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a
public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be
regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the
information is available from the public authority itself on request,
unless the information is made available in accordance with the
authority’s publication

Section 21 of the Act (Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means)
states that information is exempt information if it is reasonably
accessible to the applicant otherwise than under Section 1 of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. Section 21 is an absolute exemption and where
information falls within the scope of an absolute exemption, a public
authority is not obliged to communicate it to an applicant and is also not
obliged to comply with the duty to confirm or deny the existence of the
information requested.

These figures are published by the Home Office and are avaiable via the
following link:

[1]http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication...

These figures are published annually and therefore the exemption
at section 22, Information intended for future publication, applies for
the later figures.

22. Information intended for future publication

(1)Information is exempt information if—

(a)the information is held by the public authority with a view to its
publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date
(whether determined or not),

(b)the information was already held with a view to such publication at
the time when the request for information was made, and

(c)it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should
be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a).

(2)The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that,
compliance with section 1(1)(a) would involve the disclosure of any
information (whether or not already recorded) which falls within
subsection (1).

    
2. Once the notice form has been completed by the offender and sent back,
please explain how their data is processed? by data entry?

Camera offences are dealt with through a semi-automated process, with
manual checks being made for correct vehicle identification and registered
keeper details extracted automatically via PNC. The data from Fixed
Penalty Notices issued by police officers are initially input manually and
then subject to an automated ongoing process.
 
Clarification:
 
Does this refer to offences for which Notices of IntendedProsecution are
issued, for example speeding, vehicle defects, camera offences? YES!
 
I trust this is of assistance.

Shirley Elderfield
Information Officer
Strategic Change Management Department
Essex Police HQ
Internal extension 150025
Direct Dial 01245 452647
Essex Police Non emergency Telephone Number (within Essex) 101 (Outside
Essex) 0300 333 4444
Fax: Internal 54142 External 01245 452256
Website: [2]www.essex.police.uk

Information Management, Strategic Change Management Department, Essex
Police Headquarters, PO Box 2, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6DA

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication...
2. http://www.essex.police.uk/
3. mailto:[FOI #86069 email]
4. http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
5. http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
6. http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pag...
7. http://www.essex.police.uk/
8. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...
9. http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offic...