Gatso Calibration and Training

The request was successful.

Dear West Midlands Police,
I would like to request a FOI disclosure which is basically to understand the annual money payments to Serco and Gatso for the calibration and maintenance of cameras, staff training, and how the speed is calculated as part of the secondary check.
Q1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light(GRL) cameras were in use, on an annual basis, by your partnership in the past three financial years?
Q2.For these cameras, for the past three financial years, what were the total cost amounts paid(TCAP) for the annual calibration of these cameras, identifying the TCAP to intermediate agents such as Serco and the company Gatsometer B.V, and the additional amounts of V.A.T added ?
Q3.Please confirm if the partnership have ownership of these cameras, paid in full, or any other arrangement.
Q4.Please confirm if the calibration contracts (CC) have been agreed for a fixed term with break penalty clauses or negotiated annually, if the CC are inclusive of a greater contract regarding maintenance, and who signed the contracts on behalf of the partnership.
Q5.After the cameras have been returned following calibration please confirm if, apart from the calibration certificate, Gatsometer B.V provide a report on any faults detected and items replaced and, if so, please identify the items, including batteries, that have required replacement.
Q6 After calibration, please confirm if the cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your Camera Enforcement Officers make any adjustments to the shutter speed or flash setting prior to reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting adjustments?.
Q7.Regarding the secondary check viewing, please advise how the viewing staff are trained for their task, who does the training, are certificates of completion provided, and are the staff given post training assessments or hard copy reference documentation. Is the work of the viewing staff audited or reviewed at intervals?
Q8.For FPG please confirm the distance between the calibration lines on the road which are part of the secondary check, so that one can calculate the speed if five lines are passed.

Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Dear Mr Fallon

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 26th August 2011

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit. In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Unit

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1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fallon

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Further to your email, received 25 August 2011 concerning safety cameras I
am pleased to enclose the following information.  Please note that these
data are the closest we hold to your request. They should not be
interpreted as representing anything other than as described in this
response.

 

Please find attached our response (5031_ans_01.pdf).

 

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and
complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been
extracted from large disparate administrative data systems used by forces
for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your
request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale
recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data
collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into
account when interpreting those data.

 

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of
data to your request but you should be aware that the collation of figures
for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into
account when those data are used.

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you
to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as
to not mislead members of the public or official bodies or misrepresent
the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.

 

Your attention is drawn to your right to request a re-examination of your
case under West Midlands Police review procedure, which can be found at:

 

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/pdf/F...

 

Please note that such an appeal must be received within six months of the
date of this correspondence.

 

If you require any further information, then please do not hesitate to
contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

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Dear Mr Bird,
Thank you for your recent reply, but there are clarifications required regarding Q6,Q1,andQ2.

Regarding Q6 the answer does not address the question, and I would like edit and rephrase it and receive an answer which identifies the settings.

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE
"After calibration, please confirm if the Gatsometer BV Type 24AUS Speed detection cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your Camera Enforcement Officers
make any adjustments to the shutter speed or flash setting prior to reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting adjustments?".

The intention behind Q1 and Q2 was to calculate the individual costs of calibrating each type of camera but unfortunately the data is pooled with additional data and so I will have to re-request this data more specifically.

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO.
"Please confirm the cost of single calibration of one Gatso Speed Camera for each of the past three years, with the same data for one Gatso Red Light Camera, so that comparisons and trends may be
appreciated".

The final clarification relates to the Q and A regarding Q1.
"Q1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light(GRL) cameras were in use,
on an annual basis, by your partnership in the past three financial years?
2008/2009: 56 Gatso speed, 7 Gatso red light
2009/2010: 55 Gatso speed, 11 Gatso red light
2010/2011: 53 Gatso speed, 9 Gatso red light
This is the number of cameras used during the year, not the number of cameras owned, and
may include cameras loaned from Serco".

I do have some confusion as there is a discrepancy with a recent FOI response provided on 18 July 2011, ref 4797/11,quote
"How many fixed speed cameras are there in the West Midlands Police force
area and how many have been turned off since the start of the financial year
2011/12?
There are a total of 55 safety cameras which can be rotated around 305 fixed safety
camera sites in the West Midlands Police force area. No cameras have been turned
off since the start of the financial year 2011/12.
How many fixed speed cameras have no film in them at present?
Of the 55 safety cameras, 33 cameras are currently calibrated and available for use".

CLARIFICATION POINT THREE.
Please provide an explanation for the different answers regarding `cameras in use`given to me and that provided in response to FOI 4797/11, and confirm which is correct.
If I have been told that 53 Gatso speed cameras are currently in use but FOI 4797/11, from 2 months ago, indicates only 33 are calibrated.
Please confirm if 20 cameras are in use without having up to date calibration or if they have been calibrated subsequently.
Please confirm how many Gatso speed cameras are currently `on loan` from Serco and,if so, what are the financial terms for the loan.

Although this clarification request relates mainly to my current FOI I accept that there are significant changes, and accept it being treated as a new FOI if appropriate.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

Dear West Midlands Police,
Please may I add an additional query to my last request.

CLARIFICATION POINT FOUR.
Reference reply to Q2, why are WM Police exempt from VAT on the calibration charges?

Yours faithfully,

dennis fallon

Mr Fallon

Thank you for your email. For ease of processing I will class this and your subsequent email (regarding VAT) as a new request.

You will get a formal acknowledgement shortly.

Carl

________________________________________
From: dennis fallon [[FOI #84048 email]]
Sent: 26 September 2011 19:02
To: b foi
Subject: Re: 5031_11- Freedom Of Information request.

Dear Mr Bird,
Thank you for your recent reply, but there are clarifications
required regarding Q6,Q1,andQ2.

Regarding Q6 the answer does not address the question, and I would
like edit and rephrase it and receive an answer which identifies
the settings.

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE
"After calibration, please confirm if the Gatsometer BV Type 24AUS
Speed detection cameras are returned with a shutter speed of two
photographs at intervals of 0.5 seconds, and if your Camera
Enforcement Officers
make any adjustments to the shutter speed or flash setting prior to
reinstallation and, if so, what are the setting adjustments?".

The intention behind Q1 and Q2 was to calculate the individual
costs of calibrating each type of camera but unfortunately the data
is pooled with additional data and so I will have to re-request
this data more specifically.

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO.
"Please confirm the cost of single calibration of one Gatso Speed
Camera for each of the past three years, with the same data for one
Gatso Red Light Camera, so that comparisons and trends may be
appreciated".

The final clarification relates to the Q and A regarding Q1.
"Q1. How many fixed post Gatso (FPG) and Gatso Red Light(GRL)
cameras were in use,
on an annual basis, by your partnership in the past three financial
years?
2008/2009: 56 Gatso speed, 7 Gatso red light
2009/2010: 55 Gatso speed, 11 Gatso red light
2010/2011: 53 Gatso speed, 9 Gatso red light
This is the number of cameras used during the year, not the number
of cameras owned, and
may include cameras loaned from Serco".

I do have some confusion as there is a discrepancy with a recent
FOI response provided on 18 July 2011, ref 4797/11,quote
"How many fixed speed cameras are there in the West Midlands Police
force
area and how many have been turned off since the start of the
financial year
2011/12?
There are a total of 55 safety cameras which can be rotated around
305 fixed safety
camera sites in the West Midlands Police force area. No cameras
have been turned
off since the start of the financial year 2011/12.
How many fixed speed cameras have no film in them at present?
Of the 55 safety cameras, 33 cameras are currently calibrated and
available for use".

CLARIFICATION POINT THREE.
Please provide an explanation for the different answers regarding
`cameras in use`given to me and that provided in response to FOI
4797/11, and confirm which is correct.
If I have been told that 53 Gatso speed cameras are currently in
use but FOI 4797/11, from 2 months ago, indicates only 33 are
calibrated.
Please confirm if 20 cameras are in use without having up to date
calibration or if they have been calibrated subsequently.
Please confirm how many Gatso speed cameras are currently `on loan`
from Serco and,if so, what are the financial terms for the loan.

Although this clarification request relates mainly to my current
FOI I accept that there are significant changes, and accept it
being treated as a new FOI if appropriate.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon

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Dear Mr Fallon

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 

 

Thank you for your request for information, received 27/09/2011
concerning Gatso Calibration and Training - Re 5031_11.

 

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject
to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is
being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day
timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period
considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your
request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised
time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with
your request at the earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit.
In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day
timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your
request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment
or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

 

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Freedom of Information Unit

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1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fallon

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

 

Your request for information, received 26 September 2011 (with an
additional question on 27 September 2011) concerning safety cameras has
now been considered.

 

Please find attached our response (5158_ans_01.pdf), which I hope
clarifies your points.

 

Your attention is drawn to your right to request a re-examination of your
case under West Midlands Police review procedure, which can be found at:

 

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/pdf/F...

 

Please note that such an appeal must be received within six months of the
date of this correspondence.

 

If you require any further information, then please do not hesitate to
contact me.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Carl Bird

Freedom of Information Unit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West Midlands 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
ownerÂ’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Midlands
Police Headquarters, Lloyd House, Colmore Circus Queensway, Birmingham, B4
6NQ.

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Dear Mr Bird,

I accept this particular FOI to be complete.

I have posted it on a public website so that it may be known widely how the calibration costs have escalated despite the testing equipment not changing, and how police costs are exempt from VAT.

For convenience I have reposted a summary of your reply below, but I do consider it to be complete now.

CLARIFICATION POINT ONE
Response “There does appear to be some misunderstanding, so I will try to phrase the response as clearly as possible.

Shutter speed is the length of time a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph.

According to the manufacturer's instruction manual this is fixed at 1/1000 seconds.

The camera takes two photographs with a specified time interval between them.

According to the instruction manual, it is possible to set this time interval between the two
exposures to 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 or 1.0 seconds.

Before they are used all Gatsometer BV Type 24AUS cameras used in the West Midlands are
set by the Enforcement Officer to take photographs at an interval of 0.5 seconds.
We do not have any recorded information on what time interval this is set to when the
cameras are returned from calibration.

CLARIFICATION POINT TWO.
"Please confirm the cost of single calibration…”
Response summary
ref. Speed Cameras 2008/09 £553,2009/2010 £609,2010/2011 £658,2011/2012 £ 684
ref.Red Light Cameras 08/09 £430, 09/10 £ 452, 2010/2011 £527,2011/2012 No data

CLARIFICATION POINT THREE.
Please provide an explanation for the different answers regarding `cameras in
use`given to me and that provided in response to FOI 4797/11, and confirm
which is correct. If I have been told that 53 Gatso speed cameras are currently
in use but FOI 4797/11, from 2 months ago, indicates only 33 are calibrated”.
Response “There is no discrepancy as the requests were referring to different time periods.

FOI 4797/11 asked how many were in use at that point (during the 2011/12 financial year) to
which the answer was 33.

FOI 5031/11 asked how many were in use during the previous three financial years, i.e.
2008/09 to 2010/11. In 2010/11 there were 53 in use.

No Gatso speed cameras are currently on loan from Serco.

CLARIFICATION POINT FOUR.
Reference reply to Q2, why are WM Police exempt from VAT on the calibration
charges?
Under section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a
request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. See Section 33 of the Value Added Tax
Act 1994:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994....

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

dennis fallon