Number of Complaints Reported Against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and other Chief Officers of GMP

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Greater Manchester Combined Authority should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

Please confirm the number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and other chief officers of GMP, specifically identifying the number of complaints of serious corruption, or what amounts to serious corruption within the meaning of 'serious corruption' as defined within the IOPC's Statutory Guidance.

Together with the number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and other chief officers of GMP that were referred to the IOPC in accordance with the mandatory criteria prescribed within the IOPC's Statutory Guidance

Yours faithfully,

David Tomlinson

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

[1]GMCA logo
 
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Your request for information was received by us on 10 December 2020,
regarding :
Please confirm the number of complaints reported against Chief Constable
Ian Hopkins and other chief officers of GMP, specifically identifying the
number of complaints of serious corruption, or what amounts to serious
corruption within the meaning of 'serious corruption' as defined within
the IOPC's Statutory Guidance.
Together with the number of complaints reported against Chief Constable
Ian Hopkins and other chief officers of GMP that were referred to the IOPC
in accordance with the mandatory criteria prescribed within the IOPC's
Statutory Guidance

 
We are processing it in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act
2000. 
 
We aim to respond as soon as possible and no later than 20 working days
(12 January 2021) following the date of receipt. If the timescale needs to
be extended you will be notified of this.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal review and
to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
us, quoting your reference number.
 
Yours sincerely,
Paul Riley
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Greater Manchester Combined Authority

[1]GMCA logo
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
I am writing to ask you to clarify your request.

Can you please advise on what the date range should be for the complaints
reported against the Cheif Constable?

I will not be able to take this matter further without this extra
information from you. Please let me know by 29 January 2021.
 
If I do not hear from you within the timeframe provided, I shall take it
that you do not wish to pursue this request and will consider the request
closed. 
 
Yours sincerely,
Zach White
Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

My apologies, the date range for the FoI Request is between the time Mr Hopkins was appointed as Chief Constable of GMP in October 2015 through to the most recent complaints received by Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The FoI request is specifically in respect of the number of complaints of serious corruption, as defined in Chapter 9.15 of the Stautory Guidance on the Police Complaints System, reported to Greater Manchester Combined Authority, or any part thereof, against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in that period.

Together with the number of complaints of serious corruption reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority referred to the IOPC in accordance with the mandatory criteria as prescribed in Chapter 9.4 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police Complaints System.

The number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in that period that were referred to the IOPC in accordance with the complaints and conduct matters concerning chief officers pursuant to Chapter 9.29 and 9.30 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police Complaints System.

We trust that this is now sufficient information for you to now fulfill the FoI request

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

Apologies if you've already received this clarification but the system is telling me that you are awaiting a clarification, so at the risk of repetition

My apologies, the date range for the FoI Request is between the time Mr Hopkins was appointed as Chief Constable of GMP in October 2015 through to the most recent complaints received by Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The FoI request is specifically in respect of the number of complaints of serious corruption, as defined in Chapter 9.15 of the Stautory Guidance on the Police Complaints System, reported to Greater Manchester Combined Authority, or any part thereof, against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in that period.

Together with the number of complaints of serious corruption reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority referred to the IOPC in accordance with the mandatory criteria as prescribed in Chapter 9.4 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police Complaints System.

The number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in that period that were referred to the IOPC in accordance with the complaints and conduct matters concerning chief officers pursuant to Chapter 9.29 and 9.30 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police Complaints System.

We trust that this is now sufficient information for you to now fulfill the FoI request

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Dear David Tomlinson,
 
Thank you for your email below.
 
I can confirm that we received your clarification email on the 16th
December 2020 at which point your information request was progressed.
 
We are working towards providing you with a response by the 22nd January
2021.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Amy Higginson
Senior Information Governance Officer

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Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

Apologies if you've already received this clarification but the system is
telling me that you are awaiting a clarification, so at the risk of
repetition

My apologies, the date range for the FoI Request is between the time Mr
Hopkins was appointed as Chief Constable of GMP in October 2015 through to
the most recent complaints received by Greater Manchester Combined
Authority.

The FoI request is specifically in respect of the number of complaints of
serious corruption, as defined in Chapter 9.15 of the Stautory Guidance on
the Police Complaints System, reported to Greater Manchester Combined
Authority, or any part thereof, against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in
that period.

Together with the number of complaints of serious corruption reported
against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins that the Greater Manchester Combined
Authority referred to the IOPC in accordance with the mandatory criteria
as prescribed in Chapter 9.4 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police
Complaints System.

The number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins in
that period that were referred to the IOPC in accordance with the
complaints and conduct matters concerning chief officers pursuant to
Chapter 9.29 and 9.30 of the Statutory Guidance on the Police Complaints
System.

We trust that this is now sufficient information for you to now fulfill
the FoI request

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

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Greater Manchester Combined Authority

1 Attachment

[1]GMCA logo
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 22 December 2020.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely,
Zach White
Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

I appreciate that GMCA are not the appropriate authority to conduct an investigation into conduct matters concerning chief officers, but they are the appropraite authority in respect of the initial handling and recording of complaints in accordance with the Police Reform Act, The Police (Misconduct and Complaints) Regulations and the Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System, and where appropriate for referring complaints of serious corruption etc reported against GMP chief officers to the IOPC. Investigations would be conducted by the IOPC themselves or chief officers from an outside force.

Thank you very much for your response to my FoI Request Ref: 1395828 however it appears that you have only answered part of the request in providing the whole number of complaints reported against GMP chief officer Ian Hopkins, specifically 26 during his term of office.

As previously requested please provide the number of complaints of serious corruption within the meaning of serious corruption as defined within s.9.15 of the Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System that have been reported against chief officer Ian Hopkins.

Please provide the grounds for each individual complaint of serious corruption that GMCA relied on for failing to refer the complaints of serious corruption reported against chief officer Ian Hopkins in accordance with the Mandatory Critera as prescribed under s.9.4 of the Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

[1]GMCA logo
 
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Your request for information was received by us on 12th January 2021,
regarding 
 
Please provide the grounds for each individual complaint of serious
corruption that GMCA relied on for failing to refer the complaints of
serious corruption reported against chief officer Ian Hopkins in
accordance with the Mandatory Critera as prescribed under s.9.4 of the
Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System

We are processing it in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act
2000. 
 
We aim to respond as soon as possible and no later than 20 working days (9
February 2021) following the date of receipt. If the timescale needs to be
extended you will be notified of this.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal review and
to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
us, quoting your reference number.
 
Yours sincerely,
Zach White
Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Greater Manchester Combined Authority

[1]GMCA logo
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your recent query regarding:
 
...Thank you very much for your response to my FoI Request Ref: 1395828
however it appears that you have only answered part of the request in
providing the whole number of complaints reported against GMP chief
officer Ian Hopkins, specifically 26 during his term of office.
 
As previously requested please provide the number of complaints of serious
corruption within the meaning of serious corruption as defined within
s.9.15 of the Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System that
have been reported against chief officer Ian Hopkins.
 
We have searched our records and can confirm there have been no complaints
of serious corruption that have been recorded against the Chief Constable
Ian Hopkins during his term of office. As no complaints of serious
corruption has been recorded against the Chief Constable, we have no
information to provide.
 
The following paragraph has been logged has a new request for which you
have received a separate email acknowledging this:
Please provide the grounds for each individual complaint of serious
corruption that GMCA relied on for failing to refer the complaints of
serious corruption reported against chief officer Ian Hopkins in
accordance with the Mandatory Critera as prescribed under s.9.4 of the
Statutory Guidance for the Police Complaints System.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Zach White
Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Greater Manchester Combined Authority's handling of my FOI request 'Number of Complaints Reported Against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and other Chief Officers of GMP'.

GMCA response only identifies the number of complaints of serious corruption that have been recorded against Chief Constable Ian Hopkin during his term of office, which is not the correct answer to my FoI request.

My FoI request was specific in regard as to the number of complaints of serious corruption reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins during his term in office. Given that there were only 26 complaints reported against Ian Hopkins during his tenure as chief constable it should be straightforward to identify and confirm how many of them were complainst of serious corruption in accordance with the definition prescribed under the Statutory Guidance.

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

Yours faithfully,

David Tomlinson

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

[1]GMCA logo
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 1 February 2021. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 1 March 2021.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Amy Higginson
Senior Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Greater Manchester Combined Authority

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[1]GMCA logo
Dear Mr Tomlinson
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 21 January 2021.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely,
Zach White
Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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Greater Manchester Combined Authority

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[1]GMCA logo
Dear David Tomlinson
 
Please find attached response to your request for an internal review, sent
on behalf of Lisa Lees, Strategic Planning Manager.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Amy Higginson
Senior Information Governance Officer
[email address]
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

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David Tomlinson

Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

Thank you

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

David Tomlinson

Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

FTAO Ms Lees, Strategic Planning Manager

Ms Lees thank you for your internal review, subsequent response and amendment to the number of complaints recorded against Ian Hopkins during his tenure as Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. However, the FoI request was for the number of complaints reported against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins during his tenure, not the number of complaints recorded against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.

I appreciate that there is a subtle difference between reported and recorded but as GMP have recently and so publically discovered it is a very important difference.

I look forward to receiving the requested information

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Dear Mr Tomlinson,
 
Please see our response to you query below.
 
We can confirm that GMCA only records complaints against police officers
in the position of Chief Constable. The appropriate authority for all
complaint's against police officers except the Chief Constable, is the
Professional Standards Branch. Therefore all complaints held by GMCA
against Ian Hopkins, those that have been provided to you, are whilst he
held the position of Chief Constable.

If a complaint was submitted whilst an individual was at a lower rank than
Chief Constable it would be recorded and dealt with by the Professional
Standards Branch

We trust this answers your query.
 
Yours sincerely,
Amy Higginson

Senior Information Governance Officer
Greater Manchester Combine Authority

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Dear Greater Manchester Combined Authority,

FTAO Ms Lees, Strategic Planning Manager

Ms Lees thank you for your internal review, subsequent response and
amendment to the number of complaints recorded against Ian Hopkins during
his tenure as Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. However, the
FoI request was for the number of complaints reported against Chief
Constable Ian Hopkins during his tenure, not the number of complaints
recorded against Chief Constable Ian Hopkins.

I appreciate that there is a subtle difference between reported and
recorded but as GMP have recently and so publically discovered it is a
very important difference.

I look forward to receiving the requested information

Yours sincerely,

David Tomlinson

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