PCC and Note Book Breach
Dear West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I make this enquiry in relation to the Times newspaper report on 10th October 2020 about the theft of alleged sensitive material contained in a notebook from an unmarked WMP police vehicle on 29th May 2020.
1) When was the PCC and/or his office first alerted to this breach?
2) What correspondence did the PCC and/or his office have with the Chief Constable or senior WMP officers about the breach?
3) Can you release all correspondence (to include letters, emails, memos) in relation to the above?
I am happy to discuss this request further as I don't expect sensitive operational or personal data to be released as part of this request.
Yours faithfully,
Jay Singh-Sohal
Thank you for your correspondence which has been received in the West
Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s office.
Please note, as a result of the government guidelines in connection with
COVID-19 - informing us that all non-essential contact should cease - all
staff within West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are
now working from home, until further notice. Reviews of the situation will
take place in correspondence with any changes in government guidelines.
As a consequence, please note that all staff within West Midlands Office
of the Police and Crime Commissioner may not be working normal office
hours, but will aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for
your consideration during this time.
We will aim to provide a detailed response within 20 working days, however
due to these unprecedented times this may take longer. We offer our
apologies for any inconvenience caused.
There may also be occasions when a response is not appropriate.
Please note that we may not reply to the following:
• Copy letters / e-mails;
• Correspondence which contains comment/s only, and a response
is not required;
• Sales and / or marketing literature;
• Vexatious letters / e-mails; and
• Letters / e-mails containing abusive or discriminatory
language.
In all other instances, including requests for the release of information
using Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation or the Data Protection
Act/General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), please accept this response
as confirmation that your request has been received.
If it is necessary in order to respond to your query we will share the
information you send to us with West Midlands Police. More information on
this can be found in our Privacy Notice and if you have any questions or
concerns about this it is important that you contact us immediately to
discuss. The Privacy Notice and further information about how we use your
personal information can be found at
[1]https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/cook....
Keeping your personal information safe and secure is a priority for us.
We have updated our Privacy Notice in line with the new data protection
regulations (GDPR), and we have made it easier for you to understand all
the information we collect and why we collect it. We will use the contact
details and the information you have provided to respond appropriately to
you.
You may be able to find information to resolve your enquiry on the
Commissioner’s website which can be found here:
[2]http://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/
This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/cook...
2. http://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/
Dear Jay Singh-Sohal,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 21 October 2020 asking for information in relation to a Note Book Breach. The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly and in any case no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. We must consider firstly whether we can comply with section 1(1) (a) of the Act, which is our duty to confirm whether or not the information requested is held and secondly we must comply with section 1(1)(b), which is the provision of such information.
However, when a qualified exemption applies either to the confirmation or denial, or the provision of the information and the public interest test 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 we can confirm relevant information is held but have not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the public interest lies in respect of the provision of the requested information
We estimate that it will take an additional 20 working days to make a decision on where this balance lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 15 December 2020. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, you will be kept informed. The specific exemption which applies in relation this information is 31. (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,
I apologise for any inconvenience. We aim to provide you with a meaningful response as soon as possible.
Kind Regards
Lucy Naylor
Business Support Team Leader
M: 07775005864
DD: 0121 626 6060
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner
Lloyd House, Colmore Circus Queensway
Birmingham, B4 6NQ
www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the government guidelines in connection with COVID-19, staff within West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are working part-time from home and part-time in the office.
If you wish to contact me please call me on my mobile (above). I am still attending meetings, largely virtually. If you wish to contact the OPCC please email [West Midlands PCC request email]
Please note that I may not be working normal office hours but I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your consideration during this time.
Keeping your personal information safe and secure is a priority for us. We have updated our Privacy Notice in line with the new data protection regulations (GDPR), and we have made it easier for you to understand all the information we collect and why we collect it. To find out more about how we use your personal information please look at our Privacy Notice
Dear West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's handling of my FOI request 'PCC and Note Book Breach'.
In the original request, I had outlined that "I don't expect sensitive operational or personal data to be released as part of this request."
In response, you have confirmed that "relevant information is held" but that you require more time (additional 20 working days) to decide on the balance of the public interest.
Given that my request was put in three parts and with the purpose of soliciting information that is not sensitive or operational, I believe you should be now able to respond soonest to question 1, on which you have found that you do have the relevant information. So you should be able to answer : "When was the PCC and/or his office first alerted to this breach?"
I believe you can and should be able to answer this part, which is in the public interest; after which I am content to await responses to question 2 and 3 in the original FOI.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
Yours faithfully,
Jay Singh-Sohal
Thank you for your correspondence which has been received in the West
Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s office.
Please note, as a result of the government guidelines in connection with
COVID-19 - informing us that all non-essential contact should cease - all
staff within West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are
now working from home, until further notice. Reviews of the situation will
take place in correspondence with any changes in government guidelines.
As a consequence, please note that all staff within West Midlands Office
of the Police and Crime Commissioner may not be working normal office
hours, but will aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for
your consideration during this time.
We will aim to provide a detailed response within 20 working days, however
due to these unprecedented times this may take longer. We offer our
apologies for any inconvenience caused.
There may also be occasions when a response is not appropriate.
Please note that we may not reply to the following:
• Copy letters / e-mails;
• Correspondence which contains comment/s only, and a response
is not required;
• Sales and / or marketing literature;
• Vexatious letters / e-mails; and
• Letters / e-mails containing abusive or discriminatory
language.
In all other instances, including requests for the release of information
using Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation or the Data Protection
Act/General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), please accept this response
as confirmation that your request has been received.
If it is necessary in order to respond to your query we will share the
information you send to us with West Midlands Police. More information on
this can be found in our Privacy Notice and if you have any questions or
concerns about this it is important that you contact us immediately to
discuss. The Privacy Notice and further information about how we use your
personal information can be found at
[1]https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/cook....
Keeping your personal information safe and secure is a priority for us.
We have updated our Privacy Notice in line with the new data protection
regulations (GDPR), and we have made it easier for you to understand all
the information we collect and why we collect it. We will use the contact
details and the information you have provided to respond appropriately to
you.
You may be able to find information to resolve your enquiry on the
Commissioner’s website which can be found here:
[2]http://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/
This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/cook...
2. http://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/
Dear Mr Singh-Sohal,
Please find response attached to your request below.
Kind Regards
Lucy Naylor
Business Support Team Leader
M: 07775005864
DD: 0121 626 6060
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner
Lloyd House, Colmore Circus Queensway
Birmingham, B4 6NQ
www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the government guidelines in connection with COVID-19, staff within West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are working part-time from home and part-time in the office.
If you wish to contact me please call me on my mobile (above). I am still attending meetings, largely virtually. If you wish to contact the OPCC please email [West Midlands PCC request email]
Please note that I may not be working normal office hours but I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your consideration during this time.
Keeping your personal information safe and secure is a priority for us. We have updated our Privacy Notice in line with the new data protection regulations (GDPR), and we have made it easier for you to understand all the information we collect and why we collect it. To find out more about how we use your personal information please look at our Privacy Notice
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