Dear Mr. Mery,

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request 1010-11

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(â the Actâ ) for the following information:

 

 

    

    â Can you please provide:

    

     a) all codes of practice, guidances, and other existing documents

     describing the criteria used to determine whether the CCTV

     recording of a strip search is necessary and proportionate, and

    

     b) the training material used to train BTP officers to enable
them

     to determine whether the CCTV recording of a strip search is

     necessary and proportionate, what elements they must base their

     decision on, when they must make such decision and what kind of

     reporting of their decision they must make.â

 

Your request was received on 5^th December and will be processed in
accordance with the Act.

 

Please quote the above reference number on any correspondence.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Claire Rogers

Data Protection & Freedom of Information Researcher

British Transport Police
' Telephone/Teliffon: 02920 236772
6  Fax/Ffacs:  02920 667300
:  E-Mail/E-Bost: [email address]
+ Mail/Bost: 

Disclosure Unit,
British Transport Police/Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig
3 Callaghan Square/3 Sgŵar Callaghan
Cardiff/Caerdydd
CF10 5BT
DX 153042 CARDIFF 36

 

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Dear Mr Leahy, 

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request 1010-11

 

The Disclosure Unit has received a request under the Freedom of
Information (â FOIâ ) Act for the following:

 

â In a response to a previous FoI request, Ms Osborne stated: 'Nor are
BTP in breach of the

[Home Office Guidance on the Safer Detention & Handling of Persons in
Police

 Custody] SDH Guidelines which states that strip/ searches can be

 carried out in a room with CCTV as long as the recording of the

 search is necessary and proportionate'

     

 Can you please provide:

    

 a) all codes of practice, guidances, and other existing documents

     describing the criteria used to determine whether the CCTV

     recording of a strip search is necessary and proportionate, and

    

b) the training material used to train BTP officers to enable them

     to determine whether the CCTV recording of a strip search is

     necessary and proportionate, what elements they must base their

     decision on, when they must make such decision and what kind of

     reporting of their decision they must make.â

 

Please be advised that the Force has 20 working days to respond to such
requests.

 

In response to the request, please forward all relevant information to the
Freedom of Information mailbox (not my personal mailbox), no later than
19^th December allowing FOI staff to review and redact any necessary
information prior to the completed package being sent to the requestor.

 

If the information is only available in hard copy, you do not hold the
information, or you believe there will be difficulty in retrieving the
information please contact the FOI Office on 02920 236772, or through the
Freedom of Information Mailbox. If you do not understand the request, or
you feel clarification is required before you can begin to collate the
information, please contact us as soon as possible.

 

Please quote the above reference number on all correspondence.

 

 

 

FOI Request Ref. No. 1010-11

 
FOI only relates to recorded information. 

 

If you believe:

 

-         the question needs to be clarified

-         this information is not held
Considerations
-         it will take more than 18 hours (Time
Re: Recovering the limit set under Freedom of Information and Data
recorded information Protection Appropriate Limits & Fees Regulation
2004)  to recover this data;
 
-         this information does not relate to your
area of concern;

-         there will be adverse impact to the
release of this data (exemptions can only be applied
within the limits of the FOI Act);

 

please advise ASAP

 
â In a response to a previous FoI request, Ms
Osborne stated: 'Nor are BTP in breach of the

[Home Office Guidance on the Safer Detention &
Handling of Persons in Police

 Custody] SDH Guidelines which states that strip/
searches can be

 carried out in a room with CCTV as long as the
recording of the

 search is necessary and proportionate'

     

 Can you please provide:

    

 a) all codes of practice, guidances, and other
  existing documents

Request      describing the criteria used to determine
whether the CCTV
 
     recording of a strip search is necessary
and proportionate, and

    

b) the training material used to train BTP officers
to enable them

     to determine whether the CCTV recording of
a strip search is

     necessary and proportionate, what elements
they must base their

     decision on, when they must make such
decision and what kind of

     reporting of their decision they must
make.â

 
 

ACPO Advice N/A

 
 

Deadline Monday 19^th December 2011

 

 

 

Please be advised that it is a criminal offence to alter, erase or
deliberately withhold information in order to prevent its full or partial
release.

 

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

Claire Rogers

Data Protection & Freedom of Information Researcher

British Transport Police
' Telephone/Teliffon: 02920 236772
6  Fax/Ffacs:  02920 667300
:  E-Mail/E-Bost: [email address]
+ Mail/Bost: 

Disclosure Unit,
British Transport Police/Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig
3 Callaghan Square/3 Sgŵar Callaghan
Cardiff/Caerdydd
CF10 5BT
DX 153042 CARDIFF 36

 

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Apologies, please disregard this email.

 

We will be in touch in due course.

 

Regards

 

Claire Rogers

Data Protection & Freedom of Information Researcher

British Transport Police
' Telephone/Teliffon: 02920 236772
6  Fax/Ffacs:  02920 667300
:  E-Mail/E-Bost: [email address]
+ Mail/Bost: 

Disclosure Unit,
British Transport Police/Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig
3 Callaghan Square/3 Sgŵar Callaghan
Cardiff/Caerdydd
CF10 5BT
DX 153042 CARDIFF 36

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Mery,

 

Freedom of Information request ref 1010-11

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA) for the following information:

 

 

“Can you please provide:

    

  a) all codes of practice, guidances, and other existing documents

     describing the criteria used to determine whether the CCTV

     recording of a strip search is necessary and proportionate, and

    

  b) the training material used to train BTP officers to enable them

     to determine whether the CCTV recording of a strip search is

     necessary and proportionate, what elements they must base their

     decision on, when they must make such decision and what kind of

     reporting of their decision they must make.”

 

 

 

RESPONSE

 

(a) The decision of whether to CCTV record strip searches is taken on a
case by case basis. It is a decision that is taken by the individual
Custody Sergeant and British Transport Police do not have a specific set
of local guidelines that are followed. However, all decisions are carried
out in accordance with PACE Code C and with the Safer Detention & Handling
Guidelines.

 

Both the Safer Detention & Handling Guidelines and Code C of PACE are
available in the public domain. This information is exempt under Section
21 of the FOIA because the information is already accessible to you. The
links to these are below:

 

PACE Code C

 

[1]http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication...

 

Safer Detention & Handling Guidelines

 

[2]http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication...

 

 

 

(b) Information not held

 

 

 

Requesting an internal review

If you are dissatisfied with the how your request has been handled then
you have the right to ask for an internal review.  Internal review request
should be addressed to Information Standards Manager, British Transport
Police, 25 Camden Road, London,  NW1 9LN, Tel:  020 7830 6751 or email
[3][BTP request email]  

 

You should state the reason for your request, i.e. you should state why
you believe your request warrants a review.  Your original request will be
considered completely afresh by someone who was not involved in the
original decision making. 

 

If you are still dissatisfied with the results of the review you have the
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner (ICO).   The ICO can be
contacted at: The Office of the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 

More information is available from the Information Commissioner's website
[4]http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

 

Regards

 

 

Claire Rogers

Data Protection & Freedom of Information Researcher

British Transport Police
' Telephone/Teliffon: 02920 236772
6  Fax/Ffacs:  02920 667300
:  E-Mail/E-Bost: [email address]
+ Mail/Bost: 

Disclosure Unit,
British Transport Police/Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig
3 Callaghan Square/3 Sgŵar Callaghan
Cardiff/Caerdydd
CF10 5BT
DX 153042 CARDIFF 36

 

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