Denise Aubrey -v- Northumbria Police legal action

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Thank you for your email received today in which you make a request for
information that Northumbria Police may hold in accordance with the
Freedom Of Information Act 2000

We are in the process of dealing with your request and a response should
be provided to you by 09/02/15 which is in accordance with the
legislation.

Yours sincerely

Peter Storey
Disclosure Section

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is
confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation
or individual to whom it is addressed.  The message may contain
information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege.  No
mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such
privilege.  This message has been sent over public networks and the sender
cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information
contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions
of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection
Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically
stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a
result of software viruses.  It is your responsibility to carry out such
virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by
e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website -
[1]http://www.northumbria.police.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.northumbria.police.uk/

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')

Thank you for your e mail dated 9 January 2015 in which you made a request
for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.

As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of
access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police),
subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
 
You asked:

Under the FOIA 2000 can you please supply me with all recorded information
you hold concerning the following;

1.  What is the total costs to date to the taxpayer in the  Denise Aubrey
-v- Northumbria Police legal action?

2.  Regards 1 above, how much of those costs have been, will be, met by
Northumbria police's insurers?

3.  If any, what damages, compensation and or legal costs have been paid
to Denise Aubrey (here legal team) to date concerning this case?

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide a response for your attention.

The Disclosure Section has received a large number of requests from you
previously and 17 since February 2014 to date.   Many of your requests
concern operations involving the specific case of your shooting and other
requests have covered subjects including complaints, discipline policies,
procedures, statistics and incidents involving similar circumstances.
 Some of which have been correctly been classed as vexatious.   It is
relevant to take into account the volume and frequency of submissions when
considering whether requests can fairly be regarded as obsessive in
nature.  Most of the responses supplied by this department have
subsequently been followed up by further requests for information,
requests for clarification and requests for internal reviews.

Section 14 (1)- Freedom of Information Act 2000

Section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act does not oblige a public
authority to comply with a request for information if the request is
deemed as Vexatious.

There is no definition of ‘vexatious’ within the Act but it is to be given
its ordinary meaning.  The aim of this provision is to reduce the burden
of compliance with requests that are unreasonable or aimed to cause
annoyance, harassment or disruption and to prevent abuse of the right to
know.

An authority is not obliged to deal with requests that are manifestly
unreasonable or obsessive.  The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
guidance on vexatious requests states “there is a risk that some
individuals and some organisations may seek to abuse these new rights with
requests which are manifestly unreasonable".  Such cases may well arise in
connection with a grievance or complaint which an individual is pursuing
against an authority.  While giving maximum support to individuals
genuinely seeking to exercise the right to know, the ICO’s general
approach will be sympathetic towards authorities where a request, which
may be the latest in a series of requests, would impose a significant
burden and can otherwise be characterised as obsessive or manifestly
unreasonable".  It is clear that a Freedom of Information request is not
the appropriate arena within which to air a grievance or progress a
campaign against Northumbria Police.

Further to this, ICO guidance states “A request may not be vexatious in
isolation, but when considered in context (for example if it is the latest
in a long series of overlapping requests or other correspondence) it may
form part of a wider pattern of behaviour that makes it vexatious”.
 Clearly your requests when taken in context with others received on these
subjects form part of an ongoing campaign that can be fairly called
vexatious in nature.

Whilst not at first apparent, when considered in context, it is clear that
your subsequent requests stem from the initial ongoing issue you have with
Northumbria Police. Your requests show a pattern of behaviour and each
request you have made has perpetuated the behaviour of your campaign
group.

I have considered the guidance provided by the Information Commissioner (a
link to which is below) and have further considered the guidance in the
First-Tier Tribunal decision (Independent Police Complaints Commission v
The Information Commissioner (EA/2011/0222)) (again a link is provided
below) and I am of the view that your requests are similar in nature to
those dealt with by this case.  In particular, I have taken account of the
number of requests, the variety of subjects, the context in which requests
have been submitted and the background to your requests.

It is my view that this request is vexatious and I am refusing your
request under section 14 (1) Freedom of Information Act 2000.

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DB...
You should note that following this correspondence, we are not obliged to,
nor do we intend to, take any further steps in relation to this matter or
any further requests that you submit that are deemed to fall into the
remit of vexatious.  

I must advise that any future requests on this subject will be treated as
vexatious under this part of the Act.

Due to the different methods of recording information across 43 forces, a
specific response from one constabulary should not be seen as an
indication of what information could be supplied (within cost) by another.
 Systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the
procedures used locally in capturing the data.  For this reason responses
between forces may differ, and should not be used for comparative
purposes.

You may be interested to know that Northumbria Police routinely publish
information via the Disclosure Log.  The aim of the Disclosure Log is to
promote openness and transparency by voluntarily placing information into
the public arena.

The Disclosure Log contains copies of some of the information that has
been disclosed by Northumbria Police in response to requests made under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Whilst it is not possible to publish all responses we will endeavour to
publish those where we feel that the information disclosed is in the
public interest.

The Disclosure Log will be updated once responses have been sent to the
requester.
I have provided the relevant link below.

[1]http://www.northumbria.police.uk/foi/dis...

The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police.  Your use of the information must
be strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988
(as amended) or such other applicable legislation.  In particular, you
must not re-use this information for any commercial purpose.

How to complain

If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.

If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.

Yours sincerely

Michael Cleugh
Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial:  0191 2956941
[NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed.  The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege.  No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege.  This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses.  It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.northumbria.police.uk/foi/dis...