Our Ref:
004767/19
Your Ref:
Address Correspondence to:
Linda Dempsey, Information Management
Date
11 February 2020
Dear Ella Hill
I write in connection with your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA), received on 30/12/2019 in which you requested the
following information: -
I am writing to request information regarding your force’s process for the collection
and analysis of digital information from devices belonging to complainants of sexual
offences, specifically rape.
I am asking for the following information:
- In cases of alleged rape over the past 12 months years, how many times has your
police force collected the complainant’s mobile phone and associated digital evidence
with the intention to examine its data for the case?
- At the present time, how many mobile phones belonging to complainants of rape are
your police force analysing, or in the process of analysing?
- When analysing a device, which specific social media platforms, apps, or
communications are analysed?
- Do you have a policy for determining what data and social media apps to analyse?
- Do members of your police force receive specialised training for analysing mobile
phone and digital communications data?
If yes:
i) Please describe/explain the content of the training
ii) Is the training provided by a third party organisation?
- Does you force work with any third party companies to analyse mobile phones and
associated digital communications data?
If yes:
i) What are the names of those companies?
ii) What hardware and software do those companies use to analyse mobile phones and
associated digital communications data?
I can confirm, pursuant to s1(1)(a) of FOIA that this Force does hold the information
you have requested.
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Leicestershire Police,
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 exemption(s) applicable to the information are as follows.
Section 12 – Cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit.
For Leicestershire Police to provide all the details of your request would take over
the time specified under the legislation. Under section 16 (Duty to assist) we have
provided the information that is possible in the time.
In order to retrieve some of the information you have requested would therefore be
in excess of the 18 hours specified by the Home Office as the time period for which a
police force should allocate to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
In the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, the
current regulatory limit which has been set by the Secretary of State for public
authorities, which includes the police service, is £450 for the marginal costs which
are the costs of finding, sorting, editing or redacting information and disbursements
(printing, photocopying etc). The Association of Chief Police Officers have agreed a
national standard of an hourly rate of £25 is to be charged for the time taken. In
essence therefore, the costs equate to 18 hours work per request. It will be
apparent therefore that within the time frame of 18 hours it will not be possible to
extract the information to answer any of your questions.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal
Notice under s12(1) as 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 cases of alleged rape over the past 12 months years, how many times has your
police force collected the complainant’s mobile phone and associated digital
evidence with the intention to examine its data for the case?
This cannot be ascertained in the specified time at Tier 1- Logical read level.
Devices are not saved/flagged in relation to type of offence at a Kiosk level currently.
In relation to Tier 2 downloads so a Physical download of the complainants phone
we have completed 4 in 2019.
- At the present time, how many mobile phones belonging to complainants of rape
are your police force analysing, or in the process of analysing?
This cannot be ascertained in the specified time at Tier 1 – Logical Read level. There
are currently 0 phones awaiting analytical work at a Tier 2 – Physical read level.
- When analysing a device, which specific social media platforms, apps, or
communications are analysed?
There are no specific platforms etc that are analysed. It depends upon the context of
the case. The account of the complainant and the intelligence generated. All
complainants’ devices are examined with consent.
- Do you have a policy for determining what data and social media apps to analyse?
Consent based and dependent upon case context.
- Do members of your police force receive specialised training for analysing mobile
phone and digital communications data?
If yes:
i)
Please describe/explain the content of the training
Approximately 280 officers/staff are trained to extract and analyse mobile phone
data at a Tier 1 – Logical level. They receive a single day input around the Cellebrite
Infield Software use. Physical Analyser analytical tool and internal storage process.
Approximately 20 are trained at a Tier 2 – Physical Level. They receive Core Skills in
Mobile Data Forensics (College of Policing Training) – Details at College of Policing
site. They then receive training from one of the core software providers.
Cellebrite/XRY/Oxygen.
ii)
Is the training provided by a third party organisation?
Tier 2 training as listed above is by a third party organisation be it College of
Policing or one of the Digital Forensics Software Providers.
- Does you force work with any third party companies to analyse mobile phones and
associated digital communications data?
If yes:
i)
What are the names of those companies?
None
ii) What hardware and software do those companies use to analyse mobile phones
and associated digital communications data?
None
Leicestershire Police provides you the right to ask for a re-examination of your
request under its review procedure. Letters should be addressed to the Information
Manager, Corporate Services Department at the above address. If you decide to
request such a review and having followed the Force’s full process you are still
dissatisfied, then you have the right to direct your comments to the Information
Commissioner who will give it consideration.
Yours sincerely
Linda Dempsey
Linda Dempsey
Freedom of Information Officer
Leicestershire Police