Dear P Swift,

Freedom of Information: 004904/23

I write to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Request
(FOI).

The Act requires us to respond to FOI requests within 20 working days of
receiving the request. Although every effort will be made to ensure a
response is provided within statutory deadlines, due to current
circumstances delays may be unavoidable. We apologise for any
inconvenience and will endeavour to process your request as quickly as is
practicable.

Yours Sincerely,

Information Access Team
Surrey Police
Telephone 01483 630007

Dear P Swift,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST REFERENCE: 004904/23

I write in connection with your request for information received on
received 11/10/2023. I apologise for the late response to your request and
hope that this has not caused you too much inconvenience. 

You had asked:

Please provide a copy of the 'Routine Orders circulated on 1st February
2023: SURREY - Circulation of Stolen Vehicles on PNC =IMPORTANT Reminder
for Investigating Officers and Staff'

Response:

Section 1 of the Freedom of information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at s1(1)(a)
is to confirm or deny whether the information specified within a request
is held. The second duty at s1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has
been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17
of the FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a)
states that fact, b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) state
(if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

The information that you have requested is held by Surrey Police. Please
find our response below.

Investigating officers and staff are reminded please of the need to
confirm stolen vehicles on PNC so they are retained beyond the initial
period implemented via FCR fast-time updates via ICAD.  Failure to do this
can result in the 'unconfirmed' PNC circulation being deleted from the
system after a 6-week period and opportunities to recover the vehicle
being lost.

When a vehicle is reported Lost or Stolen, the investigating officer has
the responsibility for updating PNC and the subsequent references on
NICHE.  This must be done by the submission of a Lost/Stolen Vehicle
Message Switch (MSS) to Data Bureau.  During the current indisposition of
MSS on Windows 10, the contingency of sending an email to !Data Bureau
with the necessary details applies. 

I bring to your attention that police forces in the United Kingdom are
routinely required to provide statistics to government bodies and the
recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for
recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used
locally in capturing the data. The data warehouse is a "live" system and
is subject to change as incidents are finalised. In other words, incidents
may be initially recorded under a specific category but change with new
information. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's
response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with
any other response you may receive.

Surrey Police provides you the right to request a re-examination of your
case under its review procedure. How to do this is set out in the attached
Appeals Notice. Having followed the full procedure, if you are still
dissatisfied, then you have the right to direct your comments to the
Information Commissioner who will give your case consideration.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Surrey Police. Should you have any further enquiries concerning this
matter, please write or contact us at [1][email address] quoting the
reference number above.

Yours Sincerely,

Alan Bayless
Information Access Team
Surrey Police

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]