Police report for cyclists death on Heaton Road, Newcastle
Dear Northumbria Police,
Could you please share your authority's documentation (reports, logs, exchanges of communications) for the event that occurred on Heaton Road late November 2011 and tragically resulted in a cyclist's death in early December 2011.
To me it seems logical that an incident report, a report explaining the causalities which determined further necessary actions, and which led to the inquest held recently, should be readily available.
The Newcastle Cycling Campaign would like to understand what happened, and hopes that additional information from official sources such as yours will help make a fuller picture.
As usual with FoI requests it's hard to pinpoint exactly what to ask for, as I am not a police officer and have not carried out police reporting in the past. I trust you can 'translate' my request into police language. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Yours faithfully,
Katja Leyendecker
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 20/06/12.
Yours sincerely
Jan Mcewan
Disclosure Section
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Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
Thank you for your email dated 18th May 2012 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:
Could you please share your authority's documentation (reports, logs,
exchanges of communications) for the event that occurred on Heaton Road
late November 2011 and tragically resulted in a cyclist's death in early
December 2011.
To me it seems logical that an incident report, a report explaining the
causalities which determined further necessary actions, and which led to
the inquest held recently, should be readily available.
The Newcastle Cycling Campaign would like to understand what happened, and
hopes that additional information from official sources such as yours will
help make a fuller picture.
In response:
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and I
provide a response for your attention.
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the
Disclosure Section of Northumbria Police. I can confirm that the
information you have requested is held by Northumbria Police however will
not be disclosed and by withholding we rely on the following exemption.
Section 30 (1) Investigations and proceedings conducted by Public
authorities
Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it has been
held by the authority for the purposes of-
(a) any investigation which the public authority has a duty to conduct with
a view to it being ascertained-
(i) whether a person should be charged with an offence, or
(ii) whether a person charged with an offence is guilty of it
(b) any investigation which is conducted by the authority and in the
circumstances may lead to a decision by the authority to institute criminal
proceedings which the authority has the power to conduct, or
(c) any criminal proceedings which the authority has the power to conduct.
(2)
Information held by public authority is exempt information if -
(a) it was obtained or recorded by the authority for the purposes of its
functions relating to -
(i) investigations falling within subsection (1) (a) or (b)
Section 30 is a qualified exemption and requires the application of a
public interest test which I have set out below.
Public Interest Test
For Disclosure:
Accountability: The information could relate directly to the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Force and its individual officers, showing the public
either positively or negatively that offences are robustly investigated by
Northumbria Police. There is a legitimate public interest in knowing that
Northumbria deals lawfully with any individual who is investigated for any
offences.
Public Participation: The Police Services handling of investigations is
subject to much debate and the information may enhance the public debate on
such issues.
Against Disclosure:
Exemption Provisions: Where one or more of the exemption provisions apply
and give rise to a public interest consideration favouring non-disclosure
of the information.
Investigations: It is the Association of Chief Officers (ACPO) view that
information relating to an investigation will rarely be disclosed under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Whilst such information
may be released in order to serve a core policing purpose (i.e. to protect
life and property and/or assist in prevention and detection of crime and/or
in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders), it will only be
disclosed following a freedom of information request if there are strong
public interest considerations favouring disclosure. The further the
considerations favouring disclosure are from a core policing purpose, the
less the considerations will be.
Information already available As I'm sure you are aware, this incident was
reported in the media, where the circumstances of the incident were
published, as was information from the coroner.
I have provided the links to this information below
ttp://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/communities/heaton/2012/04/21/tyneside-vicar-s-death-sparks-changes-to-heaton-road-72703-30809512/
Balancing Test
As the circumstances were disclosed by the coroner, and are freely
available, it is my view that sufficient information is already available
in the public domain, and further disclosure will not serve any policing
function. Additionally, any information which was gathered solely for the
purposes of the coroner would not be captured by this request as HM
Coroners do not fall under the auspices of the Freedom Of Information Act.
It is not sufficient that information will be of interest to the public;
its release must be beneficial to the community as a whole.
In this case it is my view that the Public Interest in maintaining the
exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
You should consider this to be a refusal notice under section 17 of the Act
for your request outlined above.
You may be interested to know that Northumbria Police routinely publish
information via the Disclosure Log. The aim of the Disclosure Log is to
promote openness and transparency by voluntarily placing information into
the public arena.
The Disclosure Log contains copies of some of the information that has been
disclosed by Northumbria Police in response to requests made under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Whilst it is not possible to publish all responses we will endeavour to
publish those where we feel that the information disclosed is in the public
interest.
The Disclosure Log will be updated once responses have been sent to the
requester.
I have provided the relevant link below.
http://www.northumbria.police.uk/foi/dis...
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,
Thanks for your reply. I'd be very grateful if you could communicate this in plain English to me. Specifically:
1) Are you asking me to contact the coroner as they have placed this information into the public domain? Or if not the coroner, then who?
2) You are stating a number of exemptions, which one are you claiming prevents you from sharing the information?
Thanks for the link to the Chronicle article, which in fact alerted me to the case. However relying on info published in the local media is not a way forward for this. I do not deem the local media an an official source in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Katja Leyendecker
Dear Ms Leyendecker
I shall address the points you raised in turn:
1. We are not suggesting you contact the coroner. Our response merely
pointed out that the Coroner's Office is not subject to the requirements
of the Freedom of Information Act. We have not suggested an alternative
source for the information you requested.
2. We have only engaged one exemption as outlined in section 30 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have attached a link below to the full
content of this exemption as stated in the Act.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000...
When engaging this exemption, the public authority must carry out a public
interest test. This test was outlined in our original response to you.
Please note, a response to a Freedom of Information Act request is classed
as released into the public domain and responses are routinely published
on the Northumbria Police web-site. It would not serve a core policing
function to publish the details requested at this time. As the argument
favouring disclosure was not made out and the requested information was
withheld.
I hope that this clarifies this matter for you.
Yours sincerely
Michael Cleugh
Data Protection & Disclosure Advisor
From: Katja Leyendecker
<[FOI #117019 email]> on 08/06/2012 07:47
To: [Northumbria Police request email]
cc:
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) Request 439/12
- Cycling accident [NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED]
Dear Northumbria Police,
Thanks for your reply. I'd be very grateful if you could
communicate this in plain English to me. Specifically:
1) Are you asking me to contact the coroner as they have placed
this information into the public domain? Or if not the coroner,
then who?
2) You are stating a number of exemptions, which one are you
claiming prevents you from sharing the information?
Thanks for the link to the Chronicle article, which in fact alerted
me to the case. However relying on info published in the local
media is not a way forward for this. I do not deem the local media
an an official source in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Katja Leyendecker
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