Police Departments & Callsigns

The request was refused by Cheshire Constabulary.

Dear Cheshire Constabulary,

I wish to obtain the two following pieces of information:

1) What are the names of your main local policing, roads policing and firearms departments?

2) What callsigns do those three primary divisions operate, notably in the Crewe area?

Yours faithfully,

Liam Mitchell

Freedom of Information, Cheshire Constabulary

Dear Sir/Madam

I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence received 31/08/2019 which is
being dealt with as a request for information in accordance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I am in the process of dealing with your request and will respond in due
course and in any case by 30/09/2019.

Please note that you will not receive a response if you have previously
been issued with a notice under section 14 of the act relating to the
subject of this request.

Please contact us by email at [1][email address] if you
have any further enquiries.

Regards

The Requests Team
Information Compliance
Cheshire Constabulary HQ
Clemonds Hey
Oakmere Road
Winsford
Cheshire
CW7 2UA

Tel :: 01606 362384

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Requests, Cheshire Constabulary

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Mitchell,

 

YOUR REQUEST
 

1) What are the names of your main local policing, roads policing and
firearms departments?

2) What callsigns do those three primary divisions operate, notably in
the Crewe area?

 

OUR RESPONSE:

 

In answer to question one of your request I am uncertain what information
is being requested. Cheshire Constabulary operate local policing units,
roads policing department and firearms units however their names are just
that.

 

I can confirm that information in relation to question 2 of you request is
held however its disclosure is exempt by virtue of the following
exemption:

 

•           S31(1)(a)(b) - Law Enforcement

 

The above exemption is a prejudice based qualified exemption as such there
is a requirement to articulate the harm that would be caused in supplying
the information held as well as considering the public interest.

 

Harm in providing the Information held

Knowing call signs for specific roles/vehicles/teams would allow
individuals to speak on the policing network with a level of validity that
could lead to major disruption to the force communications network thereby
engaging s31(1)(a)(b) Law Enforcement.  Furthermore, it would also
encourage criminals to try and disrupt events involving these areas.

 

Intelligence led policing is an essential part of day to day policing
overall.  Disclosure of this information may prejudice police activities
and also has potential to reveal tactical information.  This information
could be deemed valuable to criminals, in Serious and Organised Crime
gangs including terrorists.

  

Public Safety is of paramount importance and the Police Service will not
disclose information which would jeopardise the prevention of crime and/or
the safety of individuals under any circumstances

 

Public Interest Considerations

Factors favouring supplying information held

Suppling information relevant to this request would lead to a better
informed public which may encourage individuals to provide intelligence in
order to reduce crime.

 

Factors against supplying information held

Supplying this information could compromise law enforcement tactics which
would lead to a hindrance on the Police Force's ability to prevent and
detect crimes. Vulnerable areas could be identified by disclosure leading
to more criminal activity placing the public in harm's way. If information
is released this may impact police resources e.g. vulnerable areas may
need to increase their resources to reassure the public and protect the
surrounding community.

 

Balancing Test    

The points above highlight the merits of supplying the requested
information. The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law,
preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. 
As part of that policing purpose, information is gathered which can be
highly sensitive relating to high profile investigative activity.   

Weakening the mechanisms used to monitor any type of criminal activity,
would place the security of the country at an increased level of danger. 

In addition anything that places the public’s confidence  in the police
service at risk, no matter how generic, would be likely to undermine any
trust or confidence individuals have in the Police Service. 

 

Therefore, at this moment in time, it is our opinion that for these issues
the balance test favours not supplying the information referred to above.

If you are not satisfied with the decision applied in this case I enclose
for your attention a copy of the Constabulary's appeal procedures.

 

Regards,

 

 

Stuart Basford – Information Officer

Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service Joint Corporate
Services

Information Compliance | Cheshire Constabulary | Clemonds Hey | Oakmere
Road | Winsford | Cheshire | CW7 2UA

Phone: 01606 365585 | Visit [1]www.cheshire.police.uk |
[2]www.cheshirefire.gov.uk | Follow [3]@cheshirepolice and @CheshireFire
on Twitter | Like [4]Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
on Facebook

 

[5]cid:image001.png@01D336C2.D0FEEF40

 

 

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cheshire.police.uk/
2. http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/
3. http://www.twitter.com/cheshirepolice
4. http://www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice

Dear Cheshire Constabulary,

Thank you very much for your quick response to my freedom of information request. I understand fully the issues raised by yourselves in response to my request.

I partially retract my second question in order to try and ascertain alternative information. I assume your force is divided into different regions based on location, this may likely be that the areas run under two phonetic letters (eg: CW, EK, CN in the Metropolitan Police Service). Would you be able to inform me of the area codes used for the Crewe and Chester area?

Yours sincerely,

Liam Mitchell

Freedom of Information, Cheshire Constabulary

Dear Sir/Madam

I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence received 04/09/2019 which is
being dealt with as a request for information in accordance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I am in the process of dealing with your request and will respond in due
course and in any case by 02/10/2019.

Please note that you will not receive a response if you have previously
been issued with a notice under section 14 of the act relating to the
subject of this request.

Please contact us by email at [1][email address] if you
have any further enquiries.

Regards

The Requests Team
Information Compliance
Cheshire Constabulary HQ
Clemonds Hey
Oakmere Road
Winsford
Cheshire
CW7 2UA

Tel :: 01606 362384

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Requests, Cheshire Constabulary

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Mitchell,

 

YOUR REQUEST:

​​ Thank you very much for your quick response to my freedom of
information request. I understand fully the issues raised by yourselves in
response to my request.

I partially retract my second question in order to try and ascertain
alternative information. I assume your force is divided into different
regions based on location, this may likely be that the areas run under two
phonetic letters (eg: CW, EK, CN in the Metropolitan Police Service).
Would you be able to inform me of the area codes used for the Crewe and
Chester area?

 PREVIOUS REQUEST 11904

 1) What are the names of your main local policing, roads policing and 
firearms departments?

 2) What callsigns do those three primary divisions operate, notably in 
the Crewe area?

OUR RESPONSE:

In accordance with section 1(1) (b) of the Act, our response is as
follows:

 

I can confirm that this information is held however its disclosure is
exempt by virtue of the following exemption:

 

•           S31(1)(a)(b) - Law Enforcement

 

The above exemption is a prejudice based qualified exemption as such there
is a requirement to articulate the harm that would be caused in supplying
the information held as well as considering the public interest.

 

Harm in providing the Information held

Knowing call signs for specific roles/vehicles/teams would allow
individuals to speak on the policing network with a level of validity that
could lead to major disruption to the force communications network thereby
engaging s31(1)(a)(b) Law Enforcement.  Furthermore, it would also
encourage criminals to try and disrupt events involving these areas.

 

I acknowledge the reduced scope of this request that that which you
previously submitted. However it is still felt that providing this
information would prejudice this exemption. This is because providing that
prefixed area codes that form part of operational call signs could early
be combined with other numbers leading to impersonation. This could carry
significant risks of undermining the polices function as described above.

 

Intelligence led policing is an essential part of day to day policing
overall.  Disclosure of this information may prejudice police activities
and also has potential to reveal tactical information.  This information
could be deemed valuable to criminals, in Serious and Organised Crime
gangs including terrorists.

  

Public Safety is of paramount importance and the Police Service will not
disclose information which would jeopardise the prevention of crime and/or
the safety of individuals under any circumstances

 

Public Interest Considerations

Factors favouring supplying information held

Suppling information relevant to this request would lead to a better
informed public which may encourage individuals to provide intelligence in
order to reduce crime.

 

Factors against supplying information held

Supplying this information could compromise law enforcement tactics which
would lead to a hindrance on the Police Force's ability to prevent and
detect crimes. Vulnerable areas could be identified by disclosure leading
to more criminal activity placing the public in harm's way. If information
is released this may impact police resources e.g. vulnerable areas may
need to increase their resources to reassure the public and protect the
surrounding community.

 

Balancing Test    

The points above highlight the merits of supplying the requested
information. The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law,
preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. 
As part of that policing purpose, information is gathered which can be
highly sensitive relating to high profile investigative activity.   

Weakening the mechanisms used to monitor any type of criminal activity,
would place the security of the country at an increased level of danger. 

In addition anything that places the public’s confidence  in the police
service at risk, no matter how generic, would be likely to undermine any
trust or confidence individuals have in the Police Service. 

 

Therefore, at this moment in time, it is our opinion that for these issues
the balance test favours not supplying the information referred to above.

If you are not satisfied with the decision applied in this case I enclose
for your attention a copy of the Constabulary's appeal procedures.

 

If you are not satisfied with the decision applied in this case I enclose
for your attention a copy of the Constabulary's appeal procedures.

 

Regards,

 

 

Stuart Basford – Information Officer

Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service Joint Corporate
Services

Information Compliance | Cheshire Constabulary | Clemonds Hey | Oakmere
Road | Winsford | Cheshire | CW7 2UA

Phone: 01606 365585 | Visit = | [1]www.cheshirefire.gov.uk | Follow
[2]@cheshirepolice and @CheshireFire on Twitter | Like [3]Cheshire Police
and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service on Facebook

 

[4]cid:image001.png@01D336C2.D0FEEF40

 

 

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/
2. http://www.twitter.com/cheshirepolice
3. http://www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice