Alleged Legal Professional Crime

The request was partially successful.

Dear West Midlands Police,

Under the Freedom of Information Act, will you please disclose, for the years 2007 to 2011 inclusive:

(a) How many allegations of fraud, financial, white collar, or indeed any type of crime implicating, either directly or indirectly, a member of the legal profession have been reported to the force?

(b) How many of these allegations were logged in police records, and assigned a crime report number?

(c) How many of these allegations were referred to the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, Law Society, or any other regulatory body, in lieu of a police investigation?

(d) How many were considered “civil matters”?

(e) How many investigations did the force complete as a result of these allegations?

(f) How many of these allegations were not investigated by the force?

(g) How many of these investigations were completed as paid services under the private hire of the police for the performance of special services under the 1996 Police Act provision?

(h) How many of these investigations resulted in charges being laid i) under the normal course of police duties and ii) under private company hire for the performance of special services?

(i) How many resulted in convictions i) under the normal course of police duties and ii) under private company hire for the performance of special services?

(j) Please detail the type of crime, the year in which the allegation was made, and the year in which the investigation was completed.

(k) Please advise how many police staff have qualifications in forensic accounting, and what those qualifications are.

(l) Please advise how many times private contractors have been hired by the force for the purpose of forensic accounting work during a fraud/white collar crime investigation.

(m) How many of these allegations have culminated in charges being laid against the complainant as a vexatious litigant?

(n) How many of these allegations have resulted in arrest warrants being issued against the complainant?

Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

Dear Ms James

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 

 

Thank you for your request for information, received 20/03/2012 concerning
Alleged Legal Profession Crime

 

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject
to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is
being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day
timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period
considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your
request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised
time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with
your request at the earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit.
In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day
timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your
request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment
or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

 

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

 

 

Kind Regards

 

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

exts:

7630 6781

7630 6260

7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
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Dear West Midlands Police,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of West Midlands Police's handling of my FOI request 'Alleged Legal Professional Crime'.

[ Response to March 20, 2012 request is long overdue and has exceeded the legal limits. ]

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/al...

Yours faithfully,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

Dear Jean

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REFERENCE No:

 

I acknowledge receipt of your email, received 19 May 2012, requesting West
Midlands Police to review its response to your request for information
concerning alleged legal professional crime.

 

My understanding is that the issue you have raised is that a reply has not
been sent within the legal timeframe.

 

The review will be conducted by a person independent of the original
decision in accordance with the West Midlands Police review procedure.
Every effort will be made to have a response to you by 19 July 2012.
However, if it becomes clear that the review will not be completed by this
date you will be advised.

 

If you wish to discuss this matter prior to West Midlands Police’s
response, please contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

exts:

7630 6781

7630 6260

7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
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This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

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Freedom of Information,

Dear Jean James

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REFERENCE No:

 

Thank you for your email received 19 May 2012 where you requested West
Midlands Police to review its response to your request for information
concerning 'Alleged Legal Professional Crime'.

 

A review has been conducted and I have found the following.

 

The FOI Unit did not respond to your request within the legal 20-working
day timeframe.  I apologise for this.

 

However, to locate and extract the requested information would require a
search of all correspondence received by West Midlands Police along with a
number of identified crime files. Such a search would exceed the
appropriate limit and therefore the correct response would be to refuse
the request (FOIA, s.12 (1)).

 

This means that the cost of compliance with your request is above the
amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e. the cost of
locating and retrieving the information would exceed the appropriate costs
limit under section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000. For West
Midlands Police, the appropriate limit is set at £450, as prescribed by
the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and
Fees) Regulations 2004, S.I. 3244. A public authority which, in relation
to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12
applies must, within the time for complying with Section 1(1), give the
applicant a notice stating that fact. In accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a refusal notice.

 

However rather than refusing your request outright at this stage, I would
like to explore with you how West Midlands Police may best assist you to
request relevant information which we hold. We could provide, within the
cost limit, the following information

 

We can provide the number of RECORDED offences with an Offender Role type
(Defe, Resp, Prob, Susp) where the occupation is recorded as Solicitor
(this is the only legal role type listed). This data can be broken down by
providing the date recorded, date detected (if detected) and the outcome
e.g. Charged and Offence.

 

Data from our Economic Crime Unit on the number of private contractors
they have hired for forensic accounting work during a fraud/white collar
crime investigation.

 

The number of WMP staff recorded on our central HR database as having
qualifications in any specified forensic accounting subject.  In order for
us to extract the information you would need to specify the
Course/qualification title.

 

To enable us to proceed with your request I would be grateful if you could
confirm whether you wish us to provide the information outlined above.
After receiving your reply, your request will be considered and you will
receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as
defined by the Act, subject to the application of any statutory
exemptions. If you chose not to respond then your request will remain
unanswered.

 

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

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

  

 

Carl Bird

FOI Unit Manager

 

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

exts:

7630 6781

7630 6260

7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [4]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [5]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

[6]View all our social network links

This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

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Dear Freedom of Information,

Yes please. I would like the information you are offering.

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

Dear Ms James

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 23 October 2012.

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit. In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Unit
Information Services
Tel: 0345 113 5000

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113 5000

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk
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Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information,

Dear Ms James,

 

Thank you for email.

 

Before we start processing this request, could you please provide a list
of the qualification/course titles that you want us to search on please?

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Carl.

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

 

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/wmpolice

Facebook: www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice

YouTube: www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

View all our social network links

 

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

 

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom of Information,

I am afraid that I don't understand your question in relation to my Freedom of Information request.

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

Dear Freedom of Information,

Perhaps this will assist you. When I asked about qualifications in Forensic Accountancy, you will see here the qualifications required.

http://www.port.ac.uk/courses/coursetype...

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

1 Attachment

Dear Ms James

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Further to your email, received 23 October 2012 concerning 'Alleged Legal
Professional Crime' I am pleased to enclose the following information.  I
apologise for the delay in providing this response.

 

Please note that these data are the closest we hold to your request. They
should not be interpreted as representing anything other than as described
in this response.

 

Please find attached our response (2685_ans-01.pdf).

 

Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide
crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria are set
nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not
generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data.
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.

 

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and
complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been
extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police
purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is
subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes
and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting
those data.

 

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of
data to your request but you should be aware that the collation of figures
for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into
account when those data are used.

 

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you
to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as
to not mislead members of the public or official bodies or misrepresent
the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.

 

Your attention is drawn to your right to request a re-examination of your
case under West Midlands Police review procedure, which can be found at:

 

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/pdf/F...

 

Please note that such an appeal must be received within 40 working days of
the date of this correspondence.

 

If you require any further information, then please do not hesitate to
contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

exts:

7630 6781

7630 6260

7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [4]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [5]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

[6]View all our social network links

 

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

 

This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

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Dear Freedom of Information,

Thank you for your response to my request made eight months ago.

From your response regarding staff qualified in forensic accounting, wherein you stated that you could not find anyone with appropriate qualifications, I conclude that you have nobody on your force qualified to investigate serious fraud and that these types of investigations, therefore, cannot be done.

If this is not the case, then would you please explain how it could be done without proper qualifications in forensic accounting?

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

Dear Ms James

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 03 December 2012.

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit. In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Unit
Information Services
Tel: 0345 113 5000

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113 5000

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk
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View all our social network links

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information,

Dear Ms James

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your email, received 03 December 2012 concerning our
previous response.

 

This is not a valid Freedom of Information request, as it is asking for an
explanation of an assumption you have made regarding the information
provided.  The Freedom of Information Act applies to recorded information
and therefore we are unable to supply opinions or to comment on events
through the Act unless those opinions or comments are already recorded.

 

However, while this is not a FOI request I will try to get a reply to your
question from the department in question and then get back to you.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

exts:

7630 6781

7630 6260

7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [4]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [5]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

[6]View all our social network links

 

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

 

This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

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Dear Freedom of Information,

This is a valid request for you to clarify your response to my Freedom of Information request and is perfectly legitimate.

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

Freedom of Information,

Jean

It does not ask for recorded information.

You are asking for me to comment regarding an assumption you have made. As I said I can provide a response, or clarification if you prefer, outside of the FOI Act.

Do you still want me to reply outside of the Act?

Carl

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom of Information,

You have stated that no officers have the qualifications indicated, which qualifications would be required for anyone to adquately investigate high level white collar crime.

If you like, we can just leave it at that.

Yours sincerely,

Jean James

dennis fallon left an annotation ()

This response was from the top man in the FOI department, amazingly appeal reviewing a reply that never actually happened without any explanation. Thank you for accepting that this is the best he can do under the rules that control him, other people could be less understanding.