Met Police Sites

The request was refused by Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Francis Bernstein

Dear Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

Please can you inform me of the operational Met Police sites where response officers start & end their shifts for the area around Crystal Palace, and, please indicate if these sites are presently being used by or Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

This area encompasses Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Bromley. With regard to:

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/hou...

This site does not make clear if the Met asset locations satisfy answering this inquiry.

To further clarify this inquiry, please find a list of MET assets in the area overall area being considered from the Land and asset portfolio information:

Address: 31 SEELEY DRIVE . . .
Address: GROUND FLOOR 19 CENTRAL HILL .
Address: GIPSY HILL POLICE STATION 66 CENTRAL HILL
Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK
Address: FOREST HILL WIRELESS
Address: 186 NORWOOD ROAD . . .
Address: 128 CATFORD HILL . .
Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK . .
Address: COPPERFIELD HOUSE CHARLES
Address: UNIT GO3C, LAIT HOUSE 1
Address: 80 CROYDON ROAD
Address: GROUND FLOOR 1342-1344 LONDON ROAD
Address: GROUND FLOOR 2-4 PARCHMORE ROAD THORNTON HEATH CROYDON

Yours faithfully,

Francis Bernstein

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Bernstein

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2017080000655

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 18/08/2017.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

"Please can you inform me of the operational Met Police sites where
response officers start & end their shifts for the area around Crystal
Palace, and, please indicate if these sites are presently being used by or
Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

This area encompasses Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Bromley.
 With regard to:

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/hou...

This site does not make clear if the Met asset locations satisfy answering
this inquiry.

To further clarify this inquiry, please find a list of MET assets in the
area overall area being considered from the Land and asset portfolio
information:

Address: 31 SEELEY DRIVE . . .
Address: GROUND FLOOR 19 CENTRAL HILL .
Address: GIPSY HILL POLICE STATION 66 CENTRAL HILL
Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK
Address: FOREST HILL WIRELESS
Address: 186 NORWOOD ROAD . . .
Address: 128 CATFORD HILL . .
Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK . .
Address: COPPERFIELD HOUSE CHARLES
Address: UNIT GO3C, LAIT HOUSE 1
Address: 80 CROYDON ROAD
Address: GROUND FLOOR 1342-1344 LONDON ROAD
Address: GROUND FLOOR 2-4 PARCHMORE ROAD THORNTON HEATH CROYDON"

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act.  

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, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113

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 Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),

Regarding Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2017080000655, which was acknowledge on 18/08/2017. I presume as the request is cross borough, it may take longer than normal to reply to. I would be grateful for an update to confirm the status of this request.

Yours faithfully,

Francis Bernstein

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Bernstein,

Thank you for your e-mail. I am sorry that the MPS has not been able to provide you with a response within the 20 working day timeframe. I can confirm that the request is still currently in progress. The person dealing with your request is Maureen McGuire.

Maureen: I would be grateful if you could please provide Mr Bernstein with an update on his request.

Thank you.

Regards,

Kolsuma Sultana
Administrative Assistant | Freedom Of Information Triage Team | 
Strategy & Insight | Strategy & Governance | Met HQ | Metropolitan Police Service
Telephone: 0207 161 3500 (10am – 2pm) | Internal: 703510 | Email: [email address]
Address: Information Rights Unit, 3rd Floor, PO Box 57192, London, SW6 1SF

Protective Marking: RESTRICTED
Not Suitable for Publication:
Recipients of this email should be aware that all communications within and to and from the Metropolitan Police Service are subject to consideration for release under the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations. The MPS will consider all information suitable for release unless there are valid and proportionate public interest reasons not to, therefore, sensitive information not for public disclosure must be highlighted as such. Further advice can be obtained from the Information Rights Unit - 020 7161 3500.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Dear Mr Bernstein

Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2017080000655

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 18/08/2017.  I note you seek
access to the following information:

* Please can you inform me of the operational Met Police sites where
response officers start & end their shifts for the area around Crystal
Palace, and, please indicate if these sites are presently being used
by or Safer Neighbourhood Teams. This area encompasses Southwark,
Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Bromley.  With regard to:
https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/hou...
This site does not make clear if the Met asset locations satisfy
answering this inquiry. To further clarify this inquiry, please find a
list of MET assets in the area overall area being considered from the
Land and asset portfolio information: Address: 31 SEELEY DRIVE . . .
Address: GROUND FLOOR 19 CENTRAL HILL . Address: GIPSY HILL POLICE
STATION 66 CENTRAL HILL Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK Address: FOREST
HILL WIRELESS Address: 186 NORWOOD ROAD . . . Address: 128 CATFORD
HILL . . Address: 40-42 NEWLANDS PARK . . Address: COPPERFIELD HOUSE
CHARLES Address: UNIT GO3C, LAIT HOUSE 1 Address: 80 CROYDON ROAD
Address: GROUND FLOOR 1342-1344 LONDON ROAD Address: GROUND FLOOR 2-4
PARCHMORE ROAD THORNTON HEATH CROYDON.

SEARCHES TO LOCATE INFORMATION

To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted
within the MPS.  The searches located information relevant to your
request.

DECISION
Having located and considered the relevant information, I am afraid that I
am not required by statute to release the information requested. This
response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  Please see the legal annex for further
information on the exemptions applied in respect of your request.

Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to
your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the
parameters set out by the Act within which a request for information can
be answered.

The Act creates a statutory right of access to information held by public
authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if
permitted, confirm if the requested information is held by that public
authority and, if so, then communicate that information to the applicant.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject
to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities
to withhold information that is not suitable for release. Importantly, the
Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once
access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then
considered public information and must be communicated to any individual
should a request be received.  

To inform you of the operational Met Police sites where response officers
start & end their shifts for the area's specified  is exempt by the virtue
of Section 31(1)(a)(b) of the Act.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Section 31(1) of the Act is applied to information, that if it was
disclosed, would or would be likely to cause significant harm to the
functions of a public authority (in this instance the MPS).

Section 31(1) is a prejudice based qualified exemption and there is a
requirement to articulate the harm that would be caused in confirming or
not that the information is held as well as carrying out a public interest
test (PIT).  

The purpose of the PIT is to establish whether the 'Public Interest' lies
in disclosing or withholding the requested information.  

Section 31 - Law Enforcement

Evidence of Harm
You have asked for the operational Met Police sites where response
officers start & end their shifts.

Detailed information about the the operational Met Police sites where
response officers start & end their shifts may be of use to persons intent
in criminal and terrorist activities.  The prevention and detection of
crime and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders is a core function
of the MPS.  Disclosure of this information into the public domain would
enable criminals and terrorists to identify police resources, thereby
avoiding detection and interfering with the tactics deployed to apprehend
offenders.

Public Interest Test (PIT)

Section 31 Public interest considerations favouring disclosure
Disclosing the operational Met Police sites where response officers start
& end their shifts could promote public trust in providing transparency
and demonstrating openness and accountability into where and for what
reasons the MPS spends public funds.  This transparency would provide a
better awareness to the general public regarding where officers are
deployed.  Disclosure can aid accurate debate around police officer
resources within the MPS.  This could empower individuals to make more
effective decisions about their own activities regarding criminal or
terrorist activities.  Disclosure may also inspire public confidence in
the knowledge the MPS has the ability to provide covert capabilities to
identify and apprehend criminals and terrorists, thereby apprehending the
offender so less crime can be committed.

Section 31 Public interest considerations favouring non-disclosure
A  Freedom of Information Act request is not a private transaction. Both
the request itself, and any information disclosed, are considered suitable
for open publication. This is because under Freedom of Information any
information disclosed is released into the wider public domain,
effectively to the world not just to an individual.

Those individuals with the inclination, persistence and determination
could use any named operational Met Police sites where response officers
start & end their shifts to identify police officers and vehicles who
provide a covert role, then target them undermining their usefulness to
detect crime and apprehend offenders.

Providing staffing details may enable a criminal to evade detection and
obtain an operational advantage over MPS capabilities and resources. This
may lead to the MPS having to further stretch resources due to disclosure
under the Act. It would not be in the public interest for the MPS to have
to continually change procedure and protocol, due to a FOIA disclosure..

Balancing Test
The MPS is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime
and protecting the communities we serve.  Whilst there is a public
interest in the transparency of policing functions, there is a strong
public interest in safeguarding the integrity of the MPS.  

The strongest consideration favouring non-disclosure is the operational
risk disclosure of this information  would have on the capabilities and
efficient functioning of the police, to conduct their role without fear of
sabotage by criminals aware of the operational Met Police sites where
response officers start & end their shifts.

It is therefore in our opinion that the balancing test for disclosure of
the requested information is not made out.

May I apologise for the delay in responding to your request and any
inconvenience caused.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please
contact me via email at [email address], quoting the
reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Maureen McGuire
Information Manager
Information Rights Unit

LEGAL ANNEX

Section 17(1) of the Act provides:

(1)        A public authority which, in relation to any request for
information, is to any extent relying on a claim that any provision in
part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to the request
or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time
for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which-

(a) states the fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question, and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

Section 31(1)(a)(b) of the Act provides:
Law enforcement
(1)Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is
exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to, prejudice—
(a)the prevention or detection of crime,
(b)the apprehension or prosecution of offenders;

In complying with their statutory duty under sections 1 and 11 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed information, the
Metropolitan Police Service 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 MPS Directorate of Legal
Services, 10 Lambs Conduit Street, London, WC1N 3NR.
 
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, write to or
phone:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone:  0303 123 1113

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