Gun Crime and Unsolved Shootings

The request was refused by Northumbria Police.

Dear Northumbria Police,
Could you please supply me with the relevant information about the following ...

1)How many unsolved shootings have taken place within your force area from 2010 to 2011 where person\persons have been wounded or killed by 9mm handguns\Pistols

Yours faithfully,

Jeff Hayward

Northumbria Police

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Thank you for your email received today in which you make a request for
information that Northumbria Police may hold.

We are in the process of dealing with your request and expect to revert to
you shortly. A response should be provided by 10/08/11.

Yours sincerely

Jan Mcewan

Disclosure Section

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

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Northumbria Police

1 Attachment

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')

Thank you for your email dated 13th July 2011 in which you made a request
for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.

As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of
access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police),
subject to certain limitations and exemptions.

You asked:

How many unsolved shootings have taken place within your force area from
2010 to 2011 where person\persons have been wounded or killed by 9mm
handguns\Pistols.

In response:

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide a response for your attention.

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at S1(1)(a)
is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is
held. The second duty at S1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been
confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of
FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states
that fact, b) specifies the exemption(s) in question, and c) state (if that
would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Northumbria Police neither confirms nor denies that it holds any of the
information requested by virtue of S30(3) Investigations.

This should not be taken as an inference that the information you have
requested, does or does not exist.

The Police Service will not disclose specific details about an
investigation, unless that information has already been placed in the
public domain, through channels such as the media or the court process.

The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.

How to complain

If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.

(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)

If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.

Yours sincerely

Michael Cleugh
Data Protection and Disclosure Advisor
Direct Dial: 01661 868347

[NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation or individual to whom it is addressed. The message may contain information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. No mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such privilege. This message has been sent over public networks and the sender cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. It is your responsibility to carry out such virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website - http://www.northumbria.police.uk

Dear Northumbria Police,
With respect this is not good enough and 'unsolved shootings' ARE in the public's interest.You stated...The Police Service will not disclose specific details about an
investigation, unless that information has already been placed in the
public domain, through channels such as the media or the court process.

I am NOT asking for 'specific' details i am asking for how many unsolved shootings that have occurred within your force area where 9mm handguns have been used from 2010 to 2011 and to suggest i am asking for 'specific' details is weak at best.

I can only conclude you will not release this information due to embarrassment on Northumbria Police's part indicating that your force has a high number of unsolved 'Handgun crimes'.Quite disturbing really !

Yours faithfully,

Jeff Hayward

Dear Northumbria Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Northumbria Police's handling of my FOI request 'Gun Crime and Unsolved Shootings'.

Northumbria Police are claiming i am asking for 'specific' information as regards 'unsolved shootings and gun crime

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

Yours faithfully,

Jeff Hayward

Northumbria Police

We acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of the
response you received in relation to the above mentioned Freedom Of
Information request.

We aim to provide a response to you within 20 working days of this
acknowledgement.

Yours sincerely

Jan Mcewan
Disclosure Section

From: Jeff Hayward <[FOI #79748 email]> on
30/07/2011 20:28 CET

To: [Northumbria Police request email]
cc:
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Request 509/11 -
Unsolved Shootings [NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]

Dear Northumbria Police,
With respect this is not good enough and 'unsolved shootings' ARE
in the public's interest.You stated...The Police Service will not
disclose specific details about an
investigation, unless that information has already been placed in
the
public domain, through channels such as the media or the court
process.

I am NOT asking for 'specific' details i am asking for how many
unsolved shootings that have occurred within your force area where
9mm handguns have been used from 2010 to 2011 and to suggest i am
asking for 'specific' details is weak at best.

I can only conclude you will not release this information due to
embarrassment on Northumbria Police's part indicating that your
force has a high number of unsolved 'Handgun crimes'.Quite
disturbing really !

Yours faithfully,

Jeff Hayward

show quoted sections

Northumbria Police

Dear Mr Hayward

In response to your request for internal review I regret that the review
has not been completed within 20 working days as per the guidelines set
out by the Information Commissioner's Office. The Information Commissioner
further recommends that no review take more than 40 working days at the
most.

I apologise for this situation, however please be assured that we are
continuing to work on the review and a response will be sent to you as
soon as possible and we will certainly not exceed the 40 working days as
explained above.

Should you have any queries regarding the above, please contact me by
reply.

Yours sincerely

Michael Cleugh
Data Protection & Disclosure Advisor

show quoted sections

Martin McGartland (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

The Home Office, HMG, Northumbria Police, The PPS, The PSNI, IPCC, CPS, ACPO, MI5, NIO, Strathclyde Police and many other are up to their eye-balls in it, the lies, the cover-up and the law-breaking is going on almost daily. They are doing this to protect IRA terrorists and also to cover-up their own wrong-doing. The following are just a few;

The Liars within the NIO are at it too. They are covering-up their own swrong-doing and also protecting IRA terrorists; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/79...

Home Office Lies and Cover-Up to protect IRA terrorists; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/79... security' what Poppycock.

Home Office, HMG covering-up information relating to gun used in Martin McGartland shooting, 'national security' again; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/at...

I'm dizzy, these HMG lies of 'national security', all to cover-up their own wrong-doing and to protect IRA terrorists; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/58...

Not again, yet more 'National Security', this time from Strathclyde Police. they too are involved in the cover-up; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/77...

Brass Necks. Read more on HMG cover-up of an IRA kidnapping and also an IRA shooting. Read the FOI requests here; http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/marti...

The 1999 IRA Shooting of Martin McGartland is being covered-up by HMG; https://www.facebook.com/MartinMcGartland

The 1991 IRA kidnapping of Martin McGartland is also being covered up, read more here: https://www.facebook.com/MartinMcGartlan...

Long Runs The Fox. Support Marty here; http://www.causes.com/causes/548596

www.martinmcgartland.co.uk

Northumbria Police

Dear Mr Hayward,

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the "Act")

Thank you for your email dated the 30th July 2011 in which you requested a
review of the response to your request for access to information which may
be held by Northumbria Police. May I take this opportunity to apologise
sincerely for the delay in our responding to you.  The delay has been due
to an inordinately high level of work in my department.

You asked:

How many unsolved shootings have taken place within your force area from
2010 to 2011.  Where person/persons have been wounded or killed by 9mm
handguns/pistols.

In response:

Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
   
Thank you for your email dated 13th July 2011 in which you made a request
for access to certain information which    may be held by Northumbria
Police.
   
As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of
access to information held by a Public Authority (including the Police),
subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
   
You asked:
   
How many unsolved shootings have taken place within your force area from
2010 to 2011 where person\persons have been wounded or killed by 9mm
handguns\Pistols.
   
In response:
   
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide a response for your attention.
   
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at
S1(1)(a)is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a
request is held. The second duty at S1(1)(b) is to disclose information
that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon
Section 17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice
which: a)states that fact, b) specifies the exemption(s) in question, and
c) state(if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.
   
Northumbria Police neither confirms nor denies that it holds any of the
information requested by virtue of S30(3) Investigations.
   
This should not be taken as an inference that the information you have
requested, does or does not exist.
   
The Police Service will not disclose specific details about an
investigation, unless that information has already been placed in the
public domain, through channels such as the media or the court process.
   
The information we have supplied to you is likely to contain intellectual
property rights of Northumbria Police. Your use of the information must be
strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as
amended) or such other applicable legislation. In particular, you must not
re-use this information for any commercial purpose.
   
How to complain
   
If you are unhappy with our decision or do not consider that we have
handled your request properly and we are unable to resolve this issue
informally, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to us under our
complaints procedure which is attached.
   
(See attached file: FOI Complaint Rights.doc)
   
If you are still unhappy after we have investigated your complaint and
reported to you the outcome, you may complain directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office and request that they investigate to ascertain
whether we have dealt with your request in accordance with the Act.

Your request for review asked:

Dear Northumbria Police,

With respect this is not good enough and 'unsolved shootings' ARE in the
public's interest.You stated...The Police Service will not
disclose specific details about an investigation, unless that information
has already been placed in the public domain, through channels such as the
media or the court process.
     
I am NOT asking for 'specific' details i am asking for how many unsolved
shootings that have occurred within your force area where
9mm handguns have been used from 2010 to 2011 and to suggest i am asking
for 'specific' details is weak at best.
     
I can only conclude you will not release this information due to
embarrassment on Northumbria Police's part indicating that your
force has a high number of unsolved 'Handgun crimes'.Quite disturbing
really !

Your response to your request for review is as follows:
The original response from the Force advised that the Force could neither
confirm nor deny whether such information is held. This was applied using
the exemption as outlined in the Act Section 30(3) Criminal Investigations
by virtue of Section 30(2).

By the very nature of your request, the information requested (if held)
clearly relates to ongoing investigations and falls clearly into the
Section 30 exemption. This exemption is for information which is or has
been held for the purposes of conducting a criminal investigation.

This exemption covers information held at any time for the purposes of an
investigation, whether the case is ongoing, closed or abandoned. In this
case however, a major issue is the nature of this request. Factors
favouring disclosure are much weaker while investigations are being
carried out (if any are ongoing). Factors favouring disclosure may be made
out more strongly were the request to be on the subject of closed cases
rather than cases that remain live.

Further to the above, to confirm or deny if this information does or does
not exist could render investigations (if any are ongoing) ineffective by
tipping off offenders that the Force is aware (or not aware) of the use of
that kind of weapon in a crime.

As an example, if there had been one such incident and we disclosed that
there was such an incident then the offender would be tipped off that the
Force is aware of the weapon used and he/she could take steps to evade
detection.

Alternatively were there such an incident and the Force was not aware of
what weapon had been used, the disclosure would be a zero response, this
again would effectively tip off the offender and he may feel more inclined
to use the weapon again.

Where disclosure of facts in a case (such as weapons used) is deemed
necessary to help in the detection of a crime, the assessment of such a
release is done by the appropriate department and the release is made via
the Media Department. The Freedom of Information Act is not the correct
discipline to use for such matters.

You have argued that it is in the public interest to reveal information on
the number of unsolved shootings involving 9mm handguns. The Police
Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime
and protecting the communities we serve. There is a public interest in the
transparency of policing operations to ensure investigations are conducted
appropriately. However it must be acknowledged that it is never in the
public interest to potentially harm ongoing investigations.  To confirm or
not whether any other information is held relating to the number of
unsolved crimes where such a weapon was used would hinder the prevention
and detection of crime. Please note that what interests the public is not
necessarily in the public interest. This is argued to be the case in this
instance.

Confirmation or denial of whether information is held would undoubtedly
compromise both law enforcement and any ongoing investigations.
 Therefore, at this moment in time, it is our opinion that for these
issues the balancing test for confirming whether or not any other
information relating to the number of such unsolved crimes is not made
out.

Again no inference can be taken from this refusal that any further
information, in addition to that provided to you, does or does not exist.

Separately you have stated that you believe that the Force has not
released this information in order to avoid embarrassment. I must advise
you that potential embarrassment can not be used as an exemption from
disclosure of information under the Act.

In conclusion, in this case, it is the decision of this review that the
correct exemption has been applied and the response given was appropriate.

This concludes my internal review into your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. I believe that Northumbria Police responded
accurately as per your instructions and have fulfilled our requirements as
per your Freedom of Information request.  If you remain dissatisfied with
the outcome of this review then it remains open to you to refer this
matter to the Information Commissioner at the following address:

Information Commissioners Officer
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Hayley Morrison
Disclosure Manager
Legal Department
Northumbria Police
Direct Dial:  01661 868715
Email:  hayley[email address]

NORTHUMBRIA POLICE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

The information contained in this message and any attachment(s) is
confidential and intended only for the attention of the named organisation
or individual to whom it is addressed.  The message may contain
information that is covered by legal, professional or other privilege.  No
mistake in transmission is intended to waive or compromise any such
privilege.  This message has been sent over public networks and the sender
cannot be held responsible for its integrity.

If you are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken in reliance of the information
contained herein is strictly prohibited, and is contrary to the provisions
of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and of the Data Protection
Act, 1998.

Any views expressed are those of the sender and, unless specifically
stated, do not necessarily represent the view of Northumbria Police.

We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage sustained as a
result of software viruses.  It is your responsibility to carry out such
virus checking as is necessary.

If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by
e-mail at once and delete the message immediately.

For more information about Northumbria Police please visit our website -
[1]http://www.northumbria.police.uk

References

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James Newman left an annotation ()

"Again no inference can be taken from this refusal that any further information, in addition to that provided to you, does or does not exist."

Police need to stop covering up their failures. As far as I am concerned the response by the police indicates that unsolved gun crime is a big problem and they don't want people to know that there are gun crimes out there that are not getting solved.

Its is of Public Interest to know if there are high gun crime occuring which the police are unable to solve. The internal review must have been conducted by the police because I note that they say its not in the Public Interest to know.

If that is the case then its not in the public interest to know of any crimes that are commited, solved or unsolved. But I guess the majority of the population would dissagree and so do I.

We pay for the police so we have a right to know if they are unable to do their job and solve crime. It appears the Police are not able to solve gun crimes with their weak response.