Birmingham Airport Incidents

Dear Sir/Madam

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 08 February 2013.

Your request is being considered and we will endeavour to provide 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

Dear R Gray

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Your request for information, received 07 February 2013 has now been
considered. I apologise for the delay in providing this response, which
was caused by an increase in the volume of requests and staff
abstractions. Your attention is drawn to your right to ask for an internal
review (below) or to pursue the matter with the Information Commissioners
Office at [1]www.ico.gov.uk

REQUEST

Please could you supply details for Birmingham airport ground relating to
incidents such as (but not limited to) thefts, assaults, criminal damage,
panic alarm activation, sexual offences motor vehicle offences, fraud,
drug offences, violent disorder, suicide attempts and psychiatric,
firearms, aircraft emergencies etc?

Could this be provided for the last 5 years?

Could the details be broken down into date, time, nature of incident (i.e.
assault), descriptive of the incident or extract from the call input (i.e.
male assaulted in customs, attacker detained by security), location (i.e.
car park, customs etc), and call grading (i.e. immediate).

RESPONSE

Please note that researching each individual case would exceed the
appropriate limit (FOIA, s.12 (1)).  In order to see where at Birmingham
Airport the ‘incident’ occurred this would take manual search of all
reports from the given location in order to separate them out.

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 or section 14 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.

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,

Tom Hornshaw

Freedom of Information Unit (Acting)

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.

References

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Dear R Gray

I can confirm that we received a request on 22/09/2014 regarding incidents at Birmingham Airport, this has been given the reference number 5488_14.

Your request is being considered and we will endeavour to provide 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

Andrea Mobberley
Freedom of Information Unit
Corporate Communications
To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response, please call 101. In an emergency, dial 999

Ext. 7630 6667
[email address]

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice
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View all our social network links

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

show quoted sections

Dear R Gray

FOI Request Reference: 5488/14

Thank you for your request for information received 22/09/2014. This
request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

REQUEST

ORIGINAL REQUEST

Please could you supply details for Birmingham airport ground relating to
incidents such as (but not limited to) thefts, assaults, criminal damage,
panic alarm activation, sexual offences motor vehicle offences, fraud,
drug offences, violent disorder, suicide attempts and psychiatric,

firearms, aircraft emergencies etc?

Could the details be broken down into date, time, nature of incident (i.e.
assault), descriptive of the incident or extract from the call input (i.e.
male assaulted in customs, attacker detained by security), location (i.e.
car park, customs etc), and call grading (i.e. immediate).

AMENDED REQUEST

Could I request my FOI is amended, perhaps as a new request but with the
timescale of Jan 2012 - End March 2012. This should ensure any legal
proceedings have been dealt with and the cost limit should not be an
issue.

RESPONSE

Your request asks for detailed information regarding incidents.  The
closest data we could provide to the ‘descriptive of the incident or
extract from the call input’ would be the ‘Initial Brief Incident Detail’
variable on our crime systems.  This is a free-text box within our
database which often contains fine detail, including personal data.

As we have nearly 800 incidents for the requested time period it would be
extremely burdensome to review each entry to remove personal or other
operational sensitive or harmful material.

Therefore, before considering the application of Section 14 (1) of the FOI
Act, I thought I would let you know what data could be easily provided. We
could supply the following data:

Incidents by date, graded response (e.g. routine, early response etc)
incident result (e.g. completed task/plan/enquiry, advice given etc) and
final classification (Public Safety/welfare suspicious circumstances,
recorded crime etc)

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.
Alternatively if you wish to refine your request in some other way please
let me know.

Please note that any located information might still be subject to the
application of exemptions under the Act.

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.

For further information and data on West Midlands Police see our
publication scheme and disclosure log

[1]http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/

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:

[2]http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/revie...

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

Yours sincerely,

Andrea Mobberley

Freedom of Information Unit

Corporate Communications

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response, please call 101. In an emergency, dial 999

Ext. 7630 6667

[3][email address]

Website: [4]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [5]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [6]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [7]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [8]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

[9]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.

References

Visible links
1. http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/
2. http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/revie...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
5. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
6. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
7. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
8. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
9. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...

Dear Sir / Madam

Andrea is out of the office today, therefore I have picked up your email
in her absence.

I note the following paragraph from Andrea's response below:

"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. Alternatively if you wish to refine your request in some other way
please  let me know."

I cannot see that we have received a response to this question, therefore
could I kindly ask you to confirm whether or not the alternative detailed
below would satisfy your request? (i.e. Incidents by date, graded response
(e.g. routine, early response etc)  incident result (e.g. completed
task/plan/enquiry, advice given etc) and  final classification (Public
Safety/welfare suspicious circumstances,  recorded crime etc).

Kind regards,

David Notley

Freedom of Information Unit

Corporate Communications

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response, please call 101. In an emergency, dial 999.

Ext: 7630 6110

[email address]

Website:    http://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 Sir / Madam

Please accept my apologies. A further search of our systems shows that we
did receive a response from you on 18 November 2014 accepting the
alternative solution.

We will deal with this as a matter of priority and provide a response as
soon as possible.

If you are dissatisfied with the way West Midlands Police has handled your
request, you are entitled to pursue the matter with the Information
Commissioners Office at [1]www.ico.gov.uk or in writing to:

The Information Commissioners Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Kind regards,

David Notley

Freedom of Information Unit

Corporate Communications

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response, please call 101. In an emergency, dial 999.

Ext: 7630 6110

[2][email address]

Website:    [3]http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/ 

Twitter:       [4]www.twitter.com/wmpolice 

Facebook:  [5]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice

YouTube:    [6]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr:         [7]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

- [8]View all our social network links

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Gray

FOI Request Reference:

Further to your email, received 18 November 2014 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.

REQUEST

Incidents for Birmingham airport by date, graded response (e.g. routine,
early response etc) incident result (e.g. completed task/plan/enquiry,
advice given etc) and final classification (Public Safety/welfare
suspicious circumstances, recorded crime etc) - with the timescale of  Jan
2012 - End March 2012.

RESPONSE

Please find attached our response.

Please note that these data should be interpreted with caution. Comparing
numbers of crimes can be misleading and does not necessarily indicate the
likelihood of someone being a victim of crime. In addition, the number of
incidents/crimes recorded in an area over a period of time can be
influenced by a number of factors. Consequently statistics on
incidents/crimes for one period may not necessarily be a good indicator of
future incidents in that area.

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.

In addition to the attached response West Midlands Police neither confirms
nor denies that any other information is held, relevant to the request, by
virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 23(5) Information supplied by or concerning certain Security
Bodies

Section 24(2) National Security

Section 30(3) Investigations

Section 31(3) Law Enforcement

Section 38(2) Health and Safety

Section 40(5) Personal Information

Section 23 is a class based absolute exemption and there is no requirement
to consider the public interest test in this area.

With Sections 24, 30, 31 and 38 being prejudice based qualified exemptions
there is a requirement to articulate the harm that would be caused in
confirming or nor that the information is held as well as carrying out a
public interest test. 

Overall Harm with regard to Confirming or Denying that any other
information relevant to the request is held

Airport Security has to be sophisticated in order to adapt to any
perceived threat.  In the UK, this could include the threat of terrorism
from violent terrorists and extremists.

Since 2006, the UK Government have published the threat level, based upon
current intelligence and that threat has remained at the second highest
level, ‘severe’, except for two short periods during August 2006 and June
and July 2007, when it was raised to the highest threat, ‘critical’, and
in July 2009, when it was reduced to ‘substantial’. The current threat
level to the UK is ‘substantial’.

Modern-day policing is intelligence led, and intelligence changes on a
day-by-day basis. To confirm or deny whether any other information is held
regarding any incidents that are terrorism related would disclose the
levels of police activity and confirm that ongoing investigations are or
are not taking place. This would consequently be detrimental to the
ability to be able deal with the on-going terrorist threat across the
country.  To confirm or deny that this level of policing interest has or
has not occurred in any specific area, such as airports, would also enable
those engaged in criminal activity to identify the focus of policing
targets. Any information identifying the focus of policing activity could
be used to the advantage of terrorists or criminal organisations. 
Information that undermines the operational integrity of these activities
will adversely affect public safety and have a negative impact on both
national security and law enforcement.

Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing
operations, and in this case in providing assurance that the police
service are appropriately and effectively engaging with airports on any
crime committed within their jurisdiction, there is a very strong public
interest in safeguarding both national security and the integrity of
police investigations and operations in these highly sensitive areas.  To
confirm or deny that this level of policing activity has or has not
occurred in any airport would enable those engaged in criminal or
terrorist activity to identify the focus of policing activity across the
UK. For example, to state that no information is held in one area and then
exempt information held in another would itself provide acknowledgment
that domestic extremism activity has possibly been investigated at that
second location.

This would have the likelihood of identifying location-specific
operations, enabling individuals becoming aware of whether or not their
activities have been detected, and ultimately compromising police tactics,
operations and future prosecutions. Any information identifying the focus
of domestic extremism policing activity could be used to the advantage of
terrorists or criminal organisations, thus undermining the operational
integrity of these activities, adversely affecting public safety, and
having a negative impact on both national security and law enforcement.

Factors favouring confirmation or denial for S24

The public are entitled to know how public funds are spent and by
disclosing whether the police are aware of any terrorist incidents or
threat at airports would enable them to be better informed.

Factors against confirmation or denial for S24

By confirming or denying whether the police are aware of any terrorist
incident or threat would render security measures less effective. This
would lead to the compromise of ongoing or future operations to protect
the security or infra-structure of the UK and increase the risk of harm to
the public.

Factors favouring conformation or denial for Section 30

The issue of high security incidents is a highly emotive subject area
often attracting high profile media and public interest connotations. 
Confirmation or denial that information exists could provide reassurance
to the general public that the monitoring of these criminals is conducted
appropriately and that the investigations are thorough. The release of
such information would provide an insight into the police service and
enable the public to have better understanding of the effectiveness of the
police. The release of information could allow the public to make informed
decisions about police procedures and the money spent in this business
area.

Factors against confirmation or denial for Section 30

By confirming or denying whether any other information is held in respect
of high security incidents such as bomb threats, would hinder the
prevention or detection of crime. This would impact on police resources
and more crime would be committed, placing individuals at risk.

Factors favouring confirmation or denial for S31

By confirming or denying whether any information is held regarding any
security threats or terrorist incidents the public would see where public
funds are being spent and would be able to take steps to protect
themselves and their families. Better public awareness may reduce crime or
lead to more information from the public as they would be more observant
in reporting suspicious activity.

Factors against confirmation or denial for S31

By confirming or denying whether any information is held in respect to any
security threats or terrorist incidents, law enforcement tactics would be
compromised which would hinder the prevention and detection of crime. More
crime would be committed and individuals would be placed at risk, which
would impact on police resources.

Factors favouring confirmation or denial for S38

The public are entitled to know if airports are aware of, or dealing with
any high profile criminal threats, therefore by confirming or denying that
they hold any other information relevant to the request, would lead to
better informed public awareness and debate.

Factors against confirmation or denial for S38

By confirming or denying whether any information is held regarding any
terrorist or security threats, it could cause a loss of confidence in the
police service to protect the well-being of the community. If criminals
were aware that their activity was being monitored, they would move their
operations. This would increase the risk of the terrorists or extremists
remaining undiscovered and there would be substantial harm to the public
if their criminal activities were allowed to continue undetected.

Balance test

The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and
detecting crime and protecting the communities they serve, and will not
confirm or deny whether any other information is held, if it might
jeopardise these important functions. The security of the country is of
paramount importance and no information will be divulged if to do so would
place the safety of an individual at risk or undermine National Security.
Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing
operations and providing assurance that the police service is
appropriately and effectively engaging with the threat posed by
terrorists, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding both
national security and the integrity of police investigations and
operations in this highly sensitive area. As much as there is public
interest in knowing that the police are engaged with airports and that
policing activity is appropriate and balanced in matters of national
security, this will only be overridden in exceptional circumstances.

It is therefore our opinion that for these issues the balancing test for
confirming or denying that any further information is held, is not made
out.

No inference can be taken from this refusal that the information you have
requested does or does not exist.

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.

As recommended as good practice by the Information Commissioner’s Office a
version of this response may be published on the West Midlands Police
website.

For further information and data on West Midlands Police see our
publication scheme and disclosure log

[1]http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/

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:

[2]http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/revie...

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

Yours sincerely,

Andrea Mobberley

Freedom of Information Unit

Corporate Communications

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response, please call 101. In an emergency, dial 999

Ext. 7630 6667

[3][email address]

Website: [4]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [5]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [6]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [7]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [8]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

[9]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.

References

Visible links
1. http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/
2. http://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/revie...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
5. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
6. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
7. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
8. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
9. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...

Dear Mr Gray 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REFERENCE No: 131 / 14

Thank you for your email received 6^th January 2015 where you requested
West Midlands Police to review its response to your request for
information concerning Birmingham Airports Incidents.

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

A response was not provided to you within the 20 working day timescales. I
apologise for the delay. The delay was caused by an increase in the volume
of requests received by the department.

I have reviewed the response that was sent on 06/01/2015 and I believe
that what was provided is the closest data that we can provide to your
request.

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,

Michelle Richardson 

Freedom of Information Unit

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.