Dear Mr. Parnell

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2015090000358

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 04/09/2015.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

"1. What is the current policy for MPS in relation to employing
ex-offenders?

2. In the last three years how many ex-offenders have been employed by
MPS, What offences were concerned and what posts were they placed into?

3. What factors are taken into consideration when considering an
ex-offender for a position within MPS. "

Your request will now be allocated to the relevant unit within the MPS and
will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(the Act).  

You will receive your response directly from the relevant unit within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act.  

In some circumstances the MPS may be unable to achieve this deadline.  If
this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the
earliest opportunity.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet, which details your right of
complaint.

If you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please contact
us at [email address] or on the phone at 0207 161 3500, quoting the
reference number above.  Should your enquiry relate to the logging or
allocations process we will be able to assist you directly and where your
enquiry relates to other matters (such as the status of the request) we
will be able to pass on a message and/or advise you of the relevant
contact details.

Yours sincerely

R. Loizou
Support Officer - Freedom of Information Triage Team

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.

The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, phone or
write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 745

Total Policing is the Met's commitment to be on the streets and in your
communities to catch offenders, prevent crime and support victims. We are
here for London, working with you to make our capital safer.

 

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

Find us at:

Facebook: Facebook.com/metpoliceuk

Twitter: @metpoliceuk

Dear Mr. Parnell

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2015090000358

I write in connection with your request for information which was
received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 04/09/2015.  I note
you seek access to the following information:

1. What is the current policy for MPS in relation to employing
ex-offenders?
2. In the last three years how many ex-offenders have been employed by
MPS, What offences were concerned and what posts were they placed into?
3. What factors are taken into consideration when considering an
ex-offender for a position within MPS. .

Decision
This letter is to inform you that it will not be possible to respond to
your request within the cost threshold by virtue of section 12 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA). In accordance with section 17(5)
FoIA, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice. Please see the legal annex for
the sections of the Act that are referred to in this letter.

Costs estimation
I hope the following explanation will clarify why it will not be possible
to respond to your request within the 18 hour cost threshold stipulated by
the FoIA. In order to assess whether the information that you have
requested was held and could be located, retrieved and extracted within
the cost limit, I have made some initial enquiries and would advise that
for question 2 it would exceed 18 hours to locate and extract the
information. This is because the level of information required is not
captured on a central database and a member of staff would need to
manually search through each vetting application for the relevant
information.  I have outlined below the number of applications for each
calendar year:

2013: 1808
2014: 4501
2015: 1690 to date  

If each application took 5 minutes to search through and gather this
relevant information this would take a member of staff in excess of 666
hours.

We estimate that the cost of complying with this request would exceed the
appropriate limit. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations
and for agencies outside central Government; this is set at £450.00. This
represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours (at a rate
of £25 per hour) in determining whether the MPS holds the information, and
locating, retrieving and extracting the information.

Section 16 - Advice and Assistance
Section 16 of the Act places a duty upon a public authority to provide
advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the
authority to do so.
Although excess cost removes the forces obligations under the Freedom of
Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information to
question 1 which is already in the public domain.  

1. The MPS follow the ACPO Vetting Policy. Please see below link.

http://www.northants.police.uk/files/doc...

I have also supplied information to question 3 which was retrieved before
it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded.  Please see below.

3.  We take into account the age of an applicant at time of conviction,
the passage of time since the incident and the seriousness of the offence
in line with policy.
 

I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on
the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet which details your right of
complaint.

Yours sincerely

Jennifer Powell
Freedom of Information Manager

Legal Annex

Section 17(5) of the Act provides:
(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information,
is relying on a claim that section 12 or 14 applies must, within the time
for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that
fact.

Section 12(1) of the Act provides:
(1) Section 1 does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request
for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with
the request would exceed the appropriate limit.

Section 16 of the Act provides:
(1) It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice and
assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do
so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information
to it.
(2) Any public authority which, in relation to the provision of advice or
assistance in any case, conforms with the code of practice under section
45 is to be taken to comply with the duty imposed by subsection (1) in
relation to that case.

COMPLAINT RIGHTS

Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?

You have the right to require the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to
review their decision.

Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome to discuss the
response with the case officer who dealt with your request.  

Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
the MPS made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information you can lodge a complaint with the MPS to have the
decision reviewed.

Complaints should be made in writing, within forty (40) working days from
the date of the refusal notice, and addressed to:

FOI Complaint
Information Rights Unit
PO Box 57192
London
SW6 1SF
[email address]

In all possible circumstances the MPS will aim to respond to your
complaint within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner

After lodging a complaint with the MPS if you are still dissatisfied with
the decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for
a decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.

For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at www.ico.org.uk.  Alternatively, phone or
write to:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  01625 545 745

Total Policing is the Met's commitment to be on the streets and in your
communities to catch offenders, prevent crime and support victims. We are
here for London, working with you to make our capital safer.

 

Consider our environment - please do not print this email unless
absolutely necessary.

NOTICE - This email and any attachments may be confidential, subject to
copyright and/or legal privilege and are intended solely for the use of
the intended recipient. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and delete it from your system.  To avoid incurring
legal liabilities, you must not distribute or copy the information in this
email without the permission of the sender. MPS communication systems are
monitored to the extent permitted by law.  Consequently, any email and/or
attachments may be read by monitoring staff. Only specified personnel are
authorised to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of the MPS by
email. The MPS accepts no responsibility for unauthorised agreements
reached with other employees or agents.  The security of this email and
any attachments cannot be guaranteed. Email messages are routinely scanned
but malicious software infection and corruption of content can still occur
during transmission over the Internet. Any views or opinions expressed in
this communication are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

 

Find us at:

Facebook: Facebook.com/metpoliceuk

Twitter: @metpoliceuk