Emails sent and received.

The request was successful.

Dear South Yorkshire Police,

Please provide the subject line of all emails received by the Chief Constable between 14th Jul 2015 and 31 Jul 2015
Please provide the subject line of all emails sent by the Chief Constable between 14th Jul 2015 and 31 Jul 2015.

Yours faithfully,

Martyn Howsam

Dear South Yorkshire Police,

This request has not been finalised within the statutory 20 working day period under the FOI.

Yours faithfully,

Martyn Howsam

Dear South Yorkshire Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of South Yorkshire Police's handling of my FOI request 'Emails sent and received.'.

The request reached the statutory 20 day limit on the 15th Oct, I did send a follow up but this has not generated any form of response from you.

Yours faithfully,

Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Howsam

 

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards

 

 

Lucy Moore

 

South Yorkshire Police

Information Compliance Unit

Professional Standards Department

Unit 20 Sheffield 35A Business Park

Churchill Way

Sheffield

S35 2PY

 

Email - [South Yorkshire Police request email]

Tackling child sexual exploitation is a priority for the Force and it is
the responsibility of everyone to help spot the signs and say something.

For more information visit www.southyorkshire.police.uk/spotthesigns

Dear FOI,

Thank you for the information, would it be possible to include the date of each email in the attachments at all ?

I also believe that the list provided is not complete. It is my understanding the South Yorkshire Police have software installed that performs email archiving - I would recommend using this to retrieve the list of emails rather than relying on the chiefs secretary manually retrieving the data from the current mailbox as the email archiving software will contain emails that have since been deleted.

Yours sincerely,

Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

Dear Mr Howsam

Your additional request for the date of the emails has been logged as a new request and a response will be sent in due course.

Could you please clarify whether your additional comments regarding the list of emails being incomplete are intended to be taken as a request for an internal review?

Many thanks

Lucy Moore

South Yorkshire Police
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards Department
Unit 20
Churchill Way
Sheffield
S35 2PY

T: 0114 2921788 (ext: 711788)

Website address - southyorks.police.uk

show quoted sections

Dear Lucy

I had already requested an internal review for this request a few days ago so the clock is already ticking on that!

Yours faithfully,
Martyn Howsam

Dear FOI,
For the purposes of clarification :-

This request was made on the 17th September and should have been completed by the 14th October. I did send a chaser on the 15th October and as no response was made by SYP so I submitted an internal review request.

The subject line of emails was disclosed late on the 24th October, albeit not the complete list and missing the datestamp of each email. Whilst the date wasn't explicitly requested to be disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that this information would have been included in the disclosure.

On the 24th October, I highlighted that the list appears to be missing some of the emails sent/received by the Chief Constables account and suggested a more accurate alternative method of SYP retrieving this information rather than relying on the manual effort of an individual.

It is clear from Lucys response on the 26th October that my request for an internal review has been overlooked so I will submit all points that I wish to be considered under Internal Review and will start the 20 days from today.

1) why the initial disclosure was not made within the statutory 20 days
2) why the datestamps of the emails were not included in the disclosure.
3) why the original request for Internal Review appears to have been overlooked
4) why there is missing data from the late disclosure.

In relation to point 2, by providing the missing data under point 4 using the method I have suggested (email archiving system extract) the datestamps will be available by default thus negating the requirement for a new FOI request to be processed.

Yours sincerely,

Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

Mr M Howsam

 

[1][FOI #359522 email]

 

Dear Mr Howsam

 

Freedom of Information Internal Review - Reference No: 20161101

 

 

Following your emails of 19 October and 26 October, I accept that the
contents of these emails constitute an appeal following an expression of
dissatisfaction following the response that was sent to you on the 24
October.  In my position as the Force Information Compliance Officer, I am
independent of the original decision making process.

 

An FOI request was submitted on Saturday 17 September, and was logged as
being received on 19 September 2016.  Under the Freedom of Information
Act, any request received outside of normal hours is considered as being
received on the first working day after it has been received in force. 
This request was for the following information: -

 

Please provide the subject line of all emails received by the Chief
Constable between 14th Jul 2015 and 31 Jul 2015.

Please provide the subject line of all emails sent by the Chief Constable
between 14th Jul 2015 and 31 Jul 2015.

 

A further email was then received on 19 October 2016 requesting an
internal review as no response had been received in respect of the
original request.

 

The response was provided on 24 October, providing two lists containing
the subject lines of the emails sent and received by the Chief Constable
to his named email account for the period requested.

 

A further internal review request was received on 26 October, which asked
for the datestamps of the emails to be disclosed, and stated that the
requestor was aware that the list was not complete.  The email also
requested an internal review, asking the following questions: -

 

1) why the initial disclosure was not made within the statutory 20 days

2) why the datestamps of the emails were not included in the disclosure.

3) why the original request for Internal Review appears to have been
overlooked

4) why there is missing data from the late disclosure.

 

As the two internal review requests included the same point of the
response not being provided within the statutory 20 days, this internal
review response covers both internal review requests.

 

Review of the Original Decision

 

I will address each of the questions you have asked in turn. 

 

1)    Why the initial disclosure was not within the statutory 20 days?

South Yorkshire Police have faced an increase in both the number and
complexity of FOI requests being received.  This increase is compounded by
the loss of two experienced decision makers, which has reduced the number
of resources available to respond to FOI requests.  New staff have been
appointed and have, in the last two weeks, attended the NPCC Decision
Maker Training Course, providing additional capacity.

 

2)    Why the datestamps of the emails were not included in the
disclosure?

The original request was for the subject of each of the emails sent and
received by the Chief Constable.  This is a standalone field on the
system, and the datestamp does not appear in this field, and your request
was specific that you wanted the subject line.

 

3)    Why the original request for Internal Review appears to have been
overlooked?

As outlined above, both Internal Reviews are being dealt with by means of
this correspondence.

 

4)    Why there is data missing from the late disclosure?

Your request was for emails sent and received by the Chief Constable.  A
search was undertaken of all emails sent and received by the named email
account of the Chief Constable, over which he had full control.

 

There is a separate generic email account, “Chief”.  This account is not
under the full control of the Chief Constable and is managed by staff
within his office.  There is no means of advising which of the emails that
are sent from, or received into that inbox have been dealt with by the
Chief Constable.

 

As advised in our email of 26 October, a further FOI request has been
logged that will widen the scope of the search to provide both the
datestamp for all emails, and also any email that was sent from, or
received into the “Chief” inbox.

 

It is fully acknowledged that your response was not provided within the
statutory 20 days, but I am satisfied that the original decision did
provide the specific information you had requested.

 

A further response will be sent to you in relation to the new request to
provide the additional data.

 

If you are still dissatisfied with how your request has been handled, you
can raise this with the Information Commissioner.  Contact details below:
-

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Water Lane

Wilmslow,

Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Telephone: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745

Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk

 

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Gillian Bower-Lissaman

Information Compliance Officer

South Yorkshire Police

Information Compliance Unit

Professional Standards Department

Unit 20 Sheffield 35A Business Park

Churchill Way

Sheffield

S35 2PY

 

Email – [email address]

 

 

Please note that police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely
required to provide information and statistics to government bodies and
the recording criteria is set nationally.  However, the systems used for
recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used
locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted that for these reasons
this forces response to your questions should not be used for the
comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.

 

South Yorkshire Police provides you the right to request a re-examination
of your case under its review procedure (copy enclosed). If you decide to
request such a review and having followed the Constabulary’s full process
you are still dissatisfied, then you have the right to direct your
comments to the Information Commissioner who will give it consideration.

 

The South Yorkshire Police in complying with their statutory duty under
sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the
enclosed information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed
information will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the
copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, South Yorkshire
Police, Police Headquarters, Snig Hill, Sheffield, S3 8LY.

 

 

Tackling child sexual exploitation is a priority for the Force and it is
the responsibility of everyone to help spot the signs and say something.

For more information visit www.southyorkshire.police.uk/spotthesigns

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #359522 email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear FOI,

As per the Internal review and the update prior to this, the additional request was logged on the 26th October.
As of now, the statutory 20 days period has passed and I have not been provided with either a reference number, the information requested or a courtesy communication advising of the delay.

I hereby request another internal review for the subsequent request.

Yours sincerely,
Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Howsam

 

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards

 

 

Lucy Moore

South Yorkshire Police

Information Compliance Unit

Professional Standards Department

Unit 20 Sheffield 35A Business Park

Churchill Way

Sheffield

S35 2PY

 

Email - [South Yorkshire Police request email]

Tackling child sexual exploitation is a priority for the Force and it is
the responsibility of everyone to help spot the signs and say something.

For more information visit www.southyorkshire.police.uk/spotthesigns

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

Martyn Howsam

[1][FOI #359522 email]

 

Dear Mr Howsam

 

Freedom of Information Internal Review - Reference No: 20161286

 

Following your email of 25 November 2016, I accept that the contents of
the email constitute an appeal.  The internal review relates to a request
that was logged on 26 October 2016 as an additional request following a
previous internal review.  The 20 statutory working day response for this
request has not been met.

 

As outlined in your previous internal review, the number of FOI requests
has increased in both number and complexity.  The unit has also had a
number of staff changes which have resulted in a delay in some requests.

 

In addition, a number of technical issues have been encountered with the
system used to retrieve the information you had requested, which also
impacted on the delayed response.

 

I understand that you have now been provided with a response to your
request.

 

After taking all the above into consideration, your internal review is
upheld.

 

If you are still dissatisfied with how your request has been handled, you
can raise this with the Information Commissioner.  Contact details below:
-

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Water Lane

Wilmslow,

Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Telephone: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745

Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk

 

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Gillian Bower-Lissaman

Information Compliance Officer

South Yorkshire Police

Information Compliance Unit

Professional Standards Department

Unit 20 Sheffield 35A Business Park

Churchill Way

Sheffield

S35 2PY

 

Email – [email address]

 

 

Please note that police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely
required to provide information and statistics to government bodies and
the recording criteria is set nationally.  However, the systems used for
recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used
locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted that for these reasons
this forces response to your questions should not be used for the
comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.

 

South Yorkshire Police provides you the right to request a re-examination
of your case under its review procedure (copy enclosed). If you decide to
request such a review and having followed the Constabulary’s full process
you are still dissatisfied, then you have the right to direct your
comments to the Information Commissioner who will give it consideration.

 

The South Yorkshire Police in complying with their statutory duty under
sections 1 and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the
enclosed information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988. However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed
information will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the
copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, South Yorkshire
Police, Police Headquarters, Snig Hill, Sheffield, S3 8LY.

 

 

 

 

Tackling child sexual exploitation is a priority for the Force and it is
the responsibility of everyone to help spot the signs and say something.

For more information visit www.southyorkshire.police.uk/spotthesigns

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #359522 email]
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/

Dear FOI,

The response to this FOI is farcical!

The original response, according to SYP, contained just the emails from ex-CC David Cromptons email account. In that response the Sent items contained in excess of 130 emails.

The amended response, according to SYP, contains emails from both ex-CC David Cromptons email account AND the generic Chief email account yet the sent items on this response only total 86, a reduction of around 50 items.

Ms Bower-Lissaman - as the latest PDF attachments bear your name as the creator and as head of the ICU department, can you explain how such a simple request can be so mis-managed - please treat this as yet another internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Martyn Howsam

Dear FOI,

Still waiting on the correct email list and also for the internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

Dear Mr Howsam

I am advised that this issue is still being investigated and a response will be sent as soon as possible.

Regards

Lucy Moore

South Yorkshire Police
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards Department
Unit 20
Churchill Way
Sheffield
S35 2PY

T: 0114 2921788 (ext: 711788)

Website address - southyorks.police.uk

show quoted sections

Dear FOI,

Do you have a revised estimate of when the information requested under FOI will be supplied and also when the Internal review will be completed as this is also out of time.

Yours sincerely,

Martyn Howsam

Dear FOI,

It is now 3 weeks since your last communication to me which in itself is as long as any request should take under FOI. This simple request was first submitted 17th Sep 2016 some 4.5 months ago.

The Internal Review requested on the 9th Dec 2016 remains unacknowledged.

Can you by return explain
- what the delay is in providing the information
- why the request for internal review dated 9th Dec 2016 has not been acknowledged or responded to
- when I can expect to get the information I have requested.

Yours sincerely,
Martyn Howsam

FOI, South Yorkshire Police

Mr Howsam

With reference to the below email, as requested this has been considered as an internal review.

Following receipt of your request, enquiries have been made with the Senior Leadership Group Secretariat and also the IT department to identify the reason for the anomalies.

A number of emails that are automated messages will be included on the archive search but not within the sent box that was searched. And also, emails that were sent by another user on behalf of the named account holder, whilst appearing in the sent box of that account, were not returned via the archive search. Whilst this has not fully answered your queries, I can advise that the two combined lists do contain all relevant emails.

If you are still dissatisfied with how your request has been handled, you can raise this with the Information Commissioner. Contact details below: -

Information Commissioner’s Office
Water Lane
Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 08456 306060 or 01625 545745
Website: www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely

Gillian Bower-Lissaman
Information Compliance Officer
South Yorkshire Police
Information Compliance Unit
Professional Standards Department
Unit 20 Sheffield 35A Business Park
Churchill Way
Sheffield
S35 2PY

show quoted sections