Details of "L.D Macfarlane"

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, West Yorkshire Police should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

Please provide us with further information of "L.D Macfarlane", whose name appears on various prosecution notices and who appears to authorise charges against people in West Yorkshire.

Their address is given as "Calderdale Prosecution Team, Halifax Police Station, Richmond Close, Halifax HX1 5TW".

We require L.D Macfarlane's:

1) Title and full name;

2) Gender;

3) Position and Job Title in West Yorkshire Police;

4) Collar number, or other identifying number assigned to them;

5) Any other information which can be used to positively identify the person referred to above.

We also require a recent photograph of this person for identification purposes and to ensure that the correct person is identified for purposes of crime prevention and identification for serving court paperwork.

Yours faithfully,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good morning,

In order for us to log a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, it must meet Section 8 of the Act, which is outlined below;

8 Request for information.

(1)In this Act any reference to a “request for information” is a reference to such a request which—
(a)is in writing,
(b)states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and
(c)describes the information requested.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a request is to be treated as made in writing where the text of the request—
(a)is transmitted by electronic means,
(b)is received in legible form, and
(c)is capable of being used for subsequent reference.

In order for us to formerly log your request for information, could you kindly provide us with your name.

Kind regards
Emily Dawson
Disclosure Officer
Information Management
Digital Policing
West Yorkshire Police, Admin 4, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS
Telephone: 01924 296006

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Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

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

We write to request an internal review of West Yorkshire Police's handling of our FOI request 'Details of "L.D Macfarlane"'.

Your "Disclosure Officer", Emily Dawson, appears to be unfamiliar with the Act she attempts to quote to us, namely that she appears to be unaware that an organisation, such as ourselves, can make a legal request under that Act using the name of the organisation.

To quote verbatim the Information Commissioner's Office guidance as to who can make a valid request:

"Remember that a request can be made in the name of an organisation, or by one person on behalf of another, such as a solicitor on behalf of a client;"

Source - https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...

As such, we would like our legally valid request processing in the relevant time frame and without further delay.

We also suggest a refresher course on the Freedom of Information Act and its principles for Ms Dawson because her error is completely unacceptable, and in breach of the Act, and has potentially adversely affected other FOI requests which she has unlawfully declined to process due to the gaps in her knowledge.

In light of the above, we strongly recommend reviewing cases Ms Dawson has handled, just to ensure that the requests have been handled lawfully and in accordance with the Act.

A full history of our FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

Yours faithfully,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please accept our apologies in the confusion upon initial receipt of your request.

I can confirm this has been logged with our team and will now be considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to the information not being exempt.

If you no longer require the information, please inform us at your earliest convenience.

Please advise if you wish to also proceed with an internal review at this time?

Kind regards
Emily Dawson
Disclosure Officer
Information Management
Digital Policing
West Yorkshire Police, Admin 4, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS
Telephone: 01924 296006

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Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear Ms Dawson,

Thank you for your response and apology.

We do wish to proceed with the Internal Review as we feel there are training issues which need addressing in order to restore public confidence in West Yorkshire Police's ability to handle lawful requests pertaining to the Freedom of Information Act because if we cannot trust the police to uphold the law correctly, then who can we trust?

Yours sincerely,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Please see the attached document in relation to your information request.

 

Kind regards

Emily Dawson

Disclosure Officer

Information Management

Digital Policing

West Yorkshire Police, Admin 4, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS

Telephone: 01924 296006

 

[1]IM-Web-head

 

Read about the West Yorkshire Police Positive Action Recruitment Campaign
- click to find out more:
http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/recru...
This email transmission may contain confidential or legally privileged
information and is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, retention or
reliance upon the contents of this e-mail and any attachment(s) is
strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this in
error, please use the reply function to notify us immediately and
permanently delete the email and any attachment(s) from your computer or
electronic device. West Yorkshire Police reserves the rights to routinely
monitor incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and cannot accept liability
or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content and, as
internet communications should not be considered as secure, for changes
made to this message after it was sent. Any views or opinions expressed in
this message may not be those of the West Yorkshire Police. This email was
scanned for viruses by the West Yorkshire Polices' anti-virus services and
on leaving the Force was found to be virus and malware free. You must take
full responsibility for any subsequent virus or malware checking.

References

Visible links

Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good afternoon

 

Please see the attached document in relation to your Internal Review.

 

 

 

Kind regards

Gemma Burton

Disclosure Officer

Information Management

Digital Policing

West Yorkshire Police, Admin 4, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS

Telephone: 01924 296006

 

[1]IM-Web-head

 

Read about the West Yorkshire Police Positive Action Recruitment Campaign
- click to find out more:
http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/recru...
This email transmission may contain confidential or legally privileged
information and is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, retention or
reliance upon the contents of this e-mail and any attachment(s) is
strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this in
error, please use the reply function to notify us immediately and
permanently delete the email and any attachment(s) from your computer or
electronic device. West Yorkshire Police reserves the rights to routinely
monitor incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and cannot accept liability
or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content and, as
internet communications should not be considered as secure, for changes
made to this message after it was sent. Any views or opinions expressed in
this message may not be those of the West Yorkshire Police. This email was
scanned for viruses by the West Yorkshire Polices' anti-virus services and
on leaving the Force was found to be virus and malware free. You must take
full responsibility for any subsequent virus or malware checking.

References

Visible links

Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

We are extremely concerned by your failure to disclose the requested information.

It is a matter of public record that L.D Macfarlane works for West Yorkshire Police as this person is documented as having authorised various criminal charges against people, as well as documented in court paperwork.

So, it matters not whether you wish to confirm or deny whether you hold the information requested because we know that you do hold that information, beyond any doubt.

As L.D Macfarlane has issued various charges to individuals, and is a serving officer, we believe they have to provide at least a collar number in order to be positively identified in relation to any criminal or civil lawsuits against them.

As such, we reiterate our request for the original information, and we expect, at very least, a collar number and which station this person works at as we intend to formally press charges against them, and West Yorkshire Police, for fraud and malicious prosecutions.

Failure to provide this information will result in further action, including us seeking a Court Order to obtain that information, along with recovering costs for having to apply for such an order.

Yours sincerely,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of West Yorkshire Police's handling of my FOI request 'Details of "L.D Macfarlane"'.

We reject Gemma Burton's assertions in the Internal Review document that was sent, and insist that you were wrong in the first instance to reject our request as we provided you with the name of our organisation, which fulfils the requirements set in legislation, namely the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Ms Burton is wrong in her interpretation of the legislation, and we request an Internal Review to understand how this has happened, and to prevent such incidents happening in future.

If the review is not upheld then we will refer this matter to the ICO, with whom we have identical complaints upheld. We will seek costs if we have to go down the ICO route, so we trust you won't further waste public money, and do the right thing.

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

Yours faithfully,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Dear Calderdale Against Corruption

An internal Review has already been conducted on this matter (IR 4907/20 refers) therefore the next step would be to contact the ICO.

www.ico.gov.uk

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
FOI Help Line: 0303 1231113

Kind regards
Gemma Burton
Disclosure Officer
Information Management
Digital Policing
West Yorkshire Police, PO Box 9, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS
Telephone: 01924 296006

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Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good afternoon

I acknowledge your request for a Internal Review on the exemption applied in your response.

New reference number above.

Kind regards
Gemma Burton
Disclosure Officer
Information Management
Digital Policing
West Yorkshire Police, PO Box 9, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QS
Telephone: 01924 296006

show quoted sections

Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of West Yorkshire Police's handling of my FOI request 'Details of "L.D Macfarlane"'.

We are extremely concerned about Gemma Burton's handling of this case and we request a separate Internal Review of Ms Burton's handling of the case as it is clear she is incapable of understanding the legislation pertaining to FOI requests and has made numerous errors in her handling of this matter.

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

Yours faithfully,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good Morning,

Your request has been logged for an internal review. You will be contacted once the outcome has been established. Please note the new number above.

Thank you

Kind Regards
Nicole Smith
Disclosure Assistant
Information Management
Digital Policing
Due to significant demand in high risk areas, and the impact of Covid 19, there is likely to be a delay in responding to your request within usual timeframes. Please be assured that we are working hard to prioritise and training additional staff to respond as promptly as possible. If there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request for which it may need to be prioritised, please contact us via email ([email address]) with further details. Whilst you may not receive an immediate response, we will do our best to meet your requirements.

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good Afternoon,

 

Please find attached a response in relation to your request:

 

Rebecca Fawcett

Disclosure Officer

Disclosure Unit

Tel: 01924 296006

 

[1]IM-Web-head

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, resources might have to be diverted away
from business as usual, and there may be a need to prioritise other areas
of work across the organisation.   We ask for your understanding if delays
are experienced when making information requests. Although every effort
will be made to ensure a response is provided as soon as possible, due to
current circumstances delays may be unavoidable.  We apologise for any
inconvenience and will endeavour to process your request as quickly as is
practicable”

 

The ICO have made a related statement, which can be accessed here:

 

[2]https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-an...

 

 

 

This email transmission may contain confidential or legally privileged
information and is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the
intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, retention or
reliance upon the contents of this e-mail and any attachment(s) is
strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this in
error, please use the reply function to notify us immediately and
permanently delete the email and any attachment(s) from your computer or
electronic device. West Yorkshire Police reserves the rights to routinely
monitor incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and cannot accept liability
or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content and, as
internet communications should not be considered as secure, for changes
made to this message after it was sent. Any views or opinions expressed in
this message may not be those of the West Yorkshire Police. This email was
scanned for viruses by the West Yorkshire Polices' anti-virus services and
on leaving the Force was found to be virus and malware free. You must take
full responsibility for any subsequent virus or malware checking.

References

Visible links
2. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Calderdale Against Corruption

Dear West Yorkshire Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of West Yorkshire Police's handling of my FOI request 'Details of "L.D Macfarlane"'.

Your refusal to provide the information requested is rejected as it is already public knowledge that "L.D Macfarlane" exists on official public record as West Yorkshire Police have already revealed this information in the various forms of public prosecutions in which "L.D Macfarlane" is named as the person who has authorised various charges to be pursued in a public court.

There are also other public confirmations from other people that "L.D Macfarlane" of West Yorkshire Police exists, as confirmed by a quick search on Google - https://www.google.com/search?q=charges+...

So, your refusal to release information about, and neither confirm nor deny whether you hold information about "L.D Macfarlane" is rejected as it is publicly known this person works for, or authorises charges on behalf of West Yorkshire Police, and is based at Halifax Police Station, Richmond Close, Halifax, West Yorkshire.

So, we reiterate our request for you to release the information requested. We feel it is lawful to request that at very least the person's collar number and position within West Yorkshire Police is appropriate because we believe it is in the public interest to know this information due to the fact they authorise charges for a public body against the public.

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

Yours faithfully,

Calderdale Against Corruption

Freedom of Information,

Classification: OFFICIAL

Good morning,

If you remain unsatisfied with the response provided after your internal review you need to follow the complaints procedure as highlighted within your response letter.

Thank you

Kind Regards
Nicole Smith
Disclosure Assistant
Information Management
Digital Policing
Due to significant demand in high risk areas, and the impact of Covid 19, there is likely to be a delay in responding to your request within usual timeframes. Please be assured that we are working hard to prioritise and training additional staff to respond as promptly as possible. If there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request for which it may need to be prioritised, please contact us via email ([email address]) with further details. Whilst you may not receive an immediate response, we will do our best to meet your requirements.

show quoted sections

James Jameson left an annotation ()

From public information - "LD Macfarlane" is Lillian Macfarlane - Unit Supervisor for the Central Prosecution and Casualty Prevention Partnership at West Yorkshire Police.