Firearms in Merseyside

The request was successful.

Dear Merseyside Police,

I am writing to request the following information:

1. How many seizures and recoveries of firearms covered by sections 1, 2
and 5 of the Firearms Act were made in each of the financial years
2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 in Merseyside?

2. How many firearms covered by sections 1, 2 and 5 of the Firearms Act
were seized in each of the financial years 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015
and 2015/2016 in Merseyside?

3. How many firearms discharges reported to the police were recorded in each of the financial years 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 in Merseyside?

4. How many registered firearms covered by sections 1, 2 and 5 of the
Firearms Act were reported as lost or stolen in each of the financial
years 2011/2012, 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 in
Merseyside?

Yours faithfully,

Paul Holtom

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
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If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
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This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
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The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

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and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Dear Mr. Holtom,

 

I write in connection with your request for information, dated 30/04/2017,
concerning:

 

(Summary of request)  Information in respect of seized firearms.

 

The public interest in providing a response to you is currently under
consideration.

 

The FOI Act obliges us the Force to respond to requests promptly and in
any case no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. The
Force must consider firstly whether it can comply with section 1(1) (a) of
the Act, which is the duty to confirm whether or not the information
requested is held and secondly the Force must comply with section 1
(1)(b), which is the provision of such information. However, when a
qualified exemption applies to either to the confirmation or denial of
whether the information is held or the provision of the information and
the public interest is engaged, the act allows the time for response to be
longer than 20 working days, if the balance of such public interest is
undetermined.

 

In this case the Force has not yet reached a decision on where the balance
of the public interest lies in respect of the above obligations.  As per
current ICO guidance, cases that involve qualified exemptions are
permitted additional time to consider the public interest in disclosure.
The Act allows a maximum period of up to 20 days to take a decision on
where this balance lies. Therefore the Force plan to let you have a
response by 28/06/2017 at the very latest. However, it is intended that
the information will be sent to you well within that deadline.

 

The specific exemption(s) which apply in relation to your request is/are:

 

Section 30 Investigations and proceedings

Section 31 Law Enforcement

 

The exemption(s) above require public interest tests. This is what is
currently taking place. Taking that into account this email acts as a
refusal notice under Section 17* in that it informs you that it;

 

•       confirms that a response will not be provided within 20 working
days,

•       provides the exemptions presently under consideration and

•       states (if that would otherwise be apparent) why the exemptions
may apply following public interest considerations.

 

*(non-provision of a response within the 20 working days as prescribed by
the Act constitutes a refusal).

 

As stated above it is the intention of the Force to respond by the date
provided. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

D. Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Data Access Unit (CJJ)

Merseyside Police

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL

L69 1JD

Fax: 0151 777 1674

E-mail: [Merseyside Police request email]

 

 

 

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

1 Attachment

Dear Mr., Holtom, 

 

Response Letter - FOI Application DJ 2017 - 492 MERPOL (please quote in
all correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on 30/04/2017. I note that you seek access to the
following information:

 

(Paraphrased) Information in respect of seizure of firearms and associated
information.

 

Following receipt for your request searches were conducted within the
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that the information that you requested is held by Merseyside
Police.

 

To locate the information relevant to your request, searches were
conducted in the Force Crime Registrar’s and Force records Management
records.

The searches located the records relevant to your request which are on the
attached schedule.

 

I have today been authorized by the Data Access Supervisor, senior
decision maker in this case, to disclose the located information to you,
as attached. Please find attached above, the response table with
information. On behalf of the Force I offer apologies for the delay in
being able to respond to this application.

 

Complaint Rights

 

Your attention is drawn to the information following this response, which
details your rights review and of complaint.           

 

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or e-mail me, at the below address, quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit (FOI)

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL L69 1JD

Fax: 0151 777 1677

E-mail:  [Merseyside Police request email]

 

Schedule(s) of disclosed information:   Please see attachment at the top
of the e-mail.

 

 

show quoted sections

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Holtom,

 

I refer to the below response. I have now been advised that the data for
application four has erroneously been supplied as calendar year data and
not financial year data as stated in your request.  I apologise for this
oversight and attach an amended response table which shows the financial
year data at application four as financial year data as requested. All
other data remains the same.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D. Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Data Access Unit

Merseyside Police

PO Box 59

LIVERPOOL

L69 1JD

Fax 0151 777 1677

 

From: Jackson Dennis On Behalf Of Freedom Of Information
Sent: 08 June 2017 17:55
To: '[FOI #404158 email]'
Subject: Response e-mail FOI DJ 2017 - 492 MERPOL - [Not Protectively
Marked]

 

Dear Mr., Holtom, 

 

Response Letter - FOI Application DJ 2017 - 492 MERPOL (please quote in
all correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on 30/04/2017. I note that you seek access to the
following information:

 

(Paraphrased) Information in respect of seizure of firearms and associated
information.

 

Following receipt for your request searches were conducted within the
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that the information that you requested is held by Merseyside
Police.

 

To locate the information relevant to your request, searches were
conducted in the Force Crime Registrar’s and Force records Management
records.

The searches located the records relevant to your request which are on the
attached schedule.

 

I have today been authorized by the Data Access Supervisor, senior
decision maker in this case, to disclose the located information to you,
as attached. Please find attached above, the response table with
information. On behalf of the Force I offer apologies for the delay in
being able to respond to this application.

 

Complaint Rights

 

Your attention is drawn to the information following this response, which
details your rights review and of complaint.           

 

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or e-mail me, at the below address, quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours faithfully

 

D Jackson

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit (FOI)

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL L69 1JD

Fax: 0151 777 1677

E-mail:  [1][Merseyside Police request email]

 

Schedule(s) of disclosed information:   Please see attachment at the top
of the e-mail.

 

 

show quoted sections

T Harrison left an annotation ()

According to the Firearm Discharge data supplied, there were no reported discharges in Wirral for March 2014, nor July 2014.
However, according to the Wirral Globe, there was a discharge in each of those months.

March 2014
http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/110687...

July 2014
http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/113412...