Seized currency from visitor/s at Maghaberry Prison ...

Martin McGartland made this Freedom of Information request to Police Service of Northern Ireland This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

I am requesting all information under FOIA and all other rights of access regards Seized currency from visitor/s at Maghaberry Prison.

The following relates to this request: http://www.tuv.org.uk/press-releases/vie...

1. On how many occasions have there been currency seizures from visitors at Maghaberry prison during following;

(a) Between 1st January 2009 and 1st January 2010?
(b) Between 1st January 2010 and 1st January 2011?
(c) Between 1st January 2011 and up until the date this request has been answered?

2. Please supply full details of amounts that have been seized during above period, (a), (b) and (c). Please also include breakdown of all amounts.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

October 4, 2011

Dear Mr. McGartland,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated October 3, 2011 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on October 3, 2011. I note you seek access to the following information:

Seized Currency from Visitors at Maghaberry Prison

This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. A response should be sent to you within 20 working days. The Freedom of Information team will advise you in writing if there are any delays in responding to your request and will keep you advised of progress.

In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the "appropriate level", which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.

If your request requires either full or partial transference to another public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be notified.
If you have any queries regarding your request please write or contact the Freedom of Information Team on 028 9070 0164. Please remember to quote the reference number listed above in any future communications with the Freedom of Information Team.

If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you have the right to request a review.You should do this as soon as possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this letter.In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can do so by writing to the Head of Freedom of Information, PSNI Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing [email address].

If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the request you may make a complaint,under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act, to the Information Commissioner's Office and ask that they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at his discretion.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gordon Reid
Head of Data Protection and Freedom of Information

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Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

Can you please confirm when I you will be sending your reply for this request?

Thank you

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

October 31, 2011

Dear Mr. McGartland,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated October 3, 2011 which we received on October 3, 2011 concerning:

Seized Currency from Visitors at Maghaberry Prison

I am writing to advise you that the time limit for responding to your request for information needs to be extended.

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 whether or not 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 the 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 test is undetermined.

In this case we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of public interest lies in respect of either of the above obligations. We estimate that it will take an additional 20 working days to take a decision on where the balance lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 25 November 2011. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, you will be kept informed.

The specific exemption(s) which apply in relation to your request are:

Section 30 Police Investigations
Section 31 Law Enforcement
Section 38 Health and Safety

If you have any queries regarding your request please do not hesitate to contact me on 028 9070 0164. When contacting the Freedom of Information Team, please quote the reference number listed at the beginning of this email.

If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can do so by writing to the Head of Freedom of Information, PSNI Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing [email address]

If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the request you may make a complaint, under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act, to the Information Commissioner's Office and ask that they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at his discretion.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gordon Reid
Head of Data Protection and Freedom of Information

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Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

This requested should have been dealt with by today (31/10/2011). You have written to me today stating:

"I am writing to advise you that the time limit for responding to your request for information needs to be extended." You have supplied me with no good reason for why the time limit should be extended. If fact, you have supplied no explanation at all.

You also claim;

"In this case we have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of public interest lies in respect of either of the above obligations. We estimate that it will take an additional 20 working days to take a decision on where the balance lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 25 November 2011. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, you will be kept informed."

The FOIA is very clear i.e. it states; “The first edition of the Section 45 Code of Practice encouraged public authorities to make all decisions within the statutory 20 working day period “including in cases where a public authority needs to consider where the public interest lies in respect of an application for exempt information.”

And;

"It also makes clear that: “Whilst the current version of the Section 45 Code of Practice makes no reference to consideration of the public interest, our view is that public authorities should aim to respond fully to all requests within 20 working days.
In cases where the public interest considerations are exceptionally complex it may be reasonable to take longer but, in our view, in no case should the total
time exceed 40 working days.”

This request is in no way 'exceptionally complex'.
I am not agreeing to any time extension on this request.

If I have not had the PSNI's reply to this request by close of business on Thursday 3rd November 2011, then I can confirm that I will be making a complaint to the ICO.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Subject: F-2011-03314

November 3, 2011

Dear Mr. McGartland,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated October 3, 2011 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on October 3, 2011 concerning:

Seized Currency from Visitors at Maghaberry Prison

Please accept my apologises for the delay in responding to your request. Please find attached response to your request.

Yours sincerely

Mr Gordon Reid
Head of Data Protection and Freedom of Information

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Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

I am not requesting an internal review at this stage, however, I would like a detailed explanation to following;

1. Why was this requested information not released to me on the 02/11/2011, i.e. at the same time as the PSNI released it to the press/public?

2. Why did the PSNI ask me for further 20 days to deal with my request when they knew (or must have known) that the requested information was about to be released?

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

Can I please have a reply to my 10th of November 2011 correspondence.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

November 22, 2011

Dear Mr. McGartland,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your e-mail dated 10 November 2011 and have attached a reponse to your queries.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gordon Reid
Head of Data Protection and Freedom of Information

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Martin McGartland (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

PSNI REPLY OF 23 NOVEMBER 2011

Dear Mr McGartland,

Our reference: F-2011-03314

I refer to your email dated 10th November 2011, in which you raised two further queries. I am responding to your email under Business as Usual as you are seeking comment rather than recorded information.

Query 1
Why was this requested information not released to me on the 02/11/2011, i.e. at the same time as the PSNI released it to the press/public ?

Answer
Your Freedom of Information request was released to you first at 10.57 am on 3 November 2011, and then subsequently placed on the PSNI publication
scheme at a later date.

Further enquiries have been carried out and there were two Press Releases, not related to your FOI request, but on the same subject, which were issued on 2 November 2011.

Press release 1
This was issued in response to a number of media outlets asking if police were intending on arresting a Human Rights solicitor on money laundering
charges?

02 November 2011
AGAINST INQUIRY: Police have a legal responsibility to follow all lines of enquiry as part of their investigations into organised criminality. No inference should be drawn from this.

GUIDANCE: Police continue to make a number of enquiries into money laundering.

Press release 2
This was issued at 10pm on 02/11/11:

In relation to a statement issued by CAJ earlier today referring to a proposed "arrest" of a Solicitor, Police have received additional information which would make it inappropriate to progress with what was intended to be a planned voluntary interview of a solicitor at this time
________________________________________

The interview will be rescheduled for a suitable date in the future. While they both relate to the Cash Seizure investigation, they do not relate to
your FOI request.

Query 2
Why did the PSNI ask me for further 20 days to deal with my request when they knew (or must have known) that the requested information was about to be released?

Answer
Your second question relates to the public interest extension and while we initially requested 20 days, a reply was able to be formulated well before that
time. The extension was necessary because further consultation was required in assessing the sensitivities in disclosing the information and giving due consideration to the Public Interest Test. The extension allowed time to achieve that and clearly the response was completed as soon as we were satisfied. There was no connection with the press releases on 2 November 2011.

I trust this is of assistance to you.

Please note that no further correspondence will be entered into in respect of this matter.

LINK: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/87...

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

It is noted that none of the detail that you claim was released to the press includes the amount seized, but yet the PSNI did in fact release same the day before the information was released to me. My request, as above, was nothing at all to do with a Solicitor nor any possible arrest.

The information I requested should have been released to me by PSNI at same time as it was released to press/public.

I am now requesting an Internal Review. I take it that the PSNI's internal review (and findings) will also include full details of all of the information that was released by them to the press/public, that which the PSNI released the day before.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

The above is a request for an Internal review.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Subject: F-2011-03314
November 24, 2011

Dear Mr. McGartland,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated requesting that Police Service of Northern Ireland review its response to your request for information concerning:

Seized Currency from Visitors at Maghaberry Prison

An internal review will be conducted in accordance with Police Service of Northern Ireland's review procedure. It is envisaged that the review process will take no longer than 20 working days from date of receipt of your email/letter, however we will endeavour to respond earlier.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 an independent decision maker will carry out a review of this case and advise you in writing of the outcome.

If you wish to discuss this matter prior to receiving a response please contact me on 028 9070 0164. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If following an internal review you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the request you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office and ask that they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at his discretion.

Yours sincerely

Mr Gordon Reid
Head of Data Protection and Freedom of Information

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Martin McGartland (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Martin McGartland (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

The State cover-up in the Martin McGartland cases:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/74435928/The-P...

www.martinmcgartland.co.uk

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

Can you please dealt me this matter and stop causing me further delay.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Martin McGartland

Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,

Can you please let me have a reply.

Yours faithfully,

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Dear Mr McGartland

I acknowledge your emails sent 3rd January and can confirm that I am completing the internal review of your FOI request and will provide you with a response on or before the 6th January.

Regards

Paul Cleland

PSNI Data Protection Officer

PSNI Headquarters

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Martin McGartland

Dear Mr Cleland,

Glad to hear from you again. I read your comments (and Karen Baxters) which were included within the long letter sent to the ICO concerning my cases.

I would like to place on the record that I have never read so many lies as those told by you and Karen Baxter (PSNI) in that letter. You, Karen Baxter and the PSNI will say anything to continue with the RUC/PSNI cover-up in my case/s.

My records show that both you and Karen Baxter (PSNI) are two liars when it comes to both of your dealings with me, my case/s.

Thanks for the update I will await your reply, however, I don't have any faith in you nor the PSNI, neither can be trusted.

Before you go off on one, as you are likely to do, you should know that I recorded each and every telephone conversation I had with you and also Karen Baxter (PSNI), why? Simple, because I knew I could never trust either of you.

Happy New Year.

Martin McGartland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

1 Attachment

Dear Mr McGartland

I write in connection with your request for an internal review regarding seized currency from visitor/s at Maghaberry Prison.. The review has been completed and please find attached response.

Paul Cleland
PSNI Data Protection Officer
PSNI HQ
Brooklyn

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