Recorded requirement for an appropriate adult for adult suspects

The request was successful.

Dear Merseyside Police,

I am seeking up-to-date information about the proportion of police detentions/interviews of suspects in which the requirement for an appropriate adult (as defined by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Codes of Practice, principally Code C paragraph 1.4) was recognised and recorded by officers.

I would be grateful if you could provide the following data for your force area, for the period of the year to March 2018, and limited to adult (persons aged 18 or over) suspects only:

1. The total number of authorised detentions
2. The total number of authorised detentions in which the need for an appropriate adult was recorded
3. The total number of voluntary interviews
4. The total number of voluntary interviews in which the need for an AA was recorded

If this data is not held (or cannot be compiled within the cost limits) for the requested period, please provide any relevant data for the most recent possible period.

If this data is not held (or cannot be compiled within the cost limits) for any period, I would be grateful for any information by way of explanation (e.g. no records of voluntary interviews are held; the requirement for an AA is not systematically stored in custody information systems).

It would be very helpful if the data could be provided in Excel readable format (i.e. XLS, XLSX or CSV).

Forces kindly shared similar data in relation to 2012/13 and 2013/14 to inform the Home Secretary's commission on AAs for vulnerable adults (the There to Help report 2015). In defining this request I have consulted with the NPCC and APCC to seek to ensure that the request was proportionate and relevant to national efforts to improve AA provision for vulnerable adult suspects.

Thank you for your efforts in relation to this request.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Bath

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

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The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

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and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Dear Chris Bath,

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Your request has been allocated the reference
SMC-2018-785 (please quote in all correspondence).

Before I proceed any further with your request, I just wanted to clarify
the time frame that you require the information for. In your request you
state “for the period of the year to March 2018” – I’m not sure what you
mean by this, do you mean January 2018 to March 2018 (i.e. 01/01/2018 –
31/03/2018)? Or are you referring to the full financial year ending in
March 2018 (e.g. 01/04/2017 – 31/03/2018)?

Your request is currently suspended, pending clarification. Once a reply
has been received, I will ensure you are provided a response within a
timely manner.

Kind Regards

Sarah

S. McMeekin
Disclosure Analyst
Merseyside Police
Data Access Unit (FOI)
PO BOX 59
LIVERPOOL L69 1JD
E-mail:  [Merseyside Police request email]

show quoted sections

Dear Sarah

Thank you for your query. I was referring to the full financial year ending in March 2018 (I.e. 01/04/2017 – 31/03/2018).

Yours sincerely,

Chris Bath

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

1 Attachment

Dear Chris Bath,

 

Response Letter - FOI Application SMC-2018-785 (please quote in all
correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on 23/07/2018. I note that you seek access to the
following information:

 

(paraphrased) Information relating to Appropriate Adults

 

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that the information that you requested is held by Merseyside
Police.

 

To locate the information relevant to your request, searches were
conducted in the Criminal Justice Unit

The searches located the records relevant to your request.

 

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.  Please
find attached my full Response Table.

 

Complaint Rights

 

Your attention is drawn to the information following this response, which
details your rights of review and of complaint.      

 

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
to or e-mail me at the below address, quoting the reference number above.

 

Making a complaint or appeal about your Freedom of Information response

We accept that sometimes you may not agree with the decision we’ve made
about your Freedom of Information request. If this is the case there is an
internal complaints procedure that should be followed.

You should make your complaint in writing to:

Information Access Unit

Information Bureau

Merseyside Police

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL

L69 1JD

 

Your complaint should detail:

·         What the original request was

·         The nature of the complaint

·         Why you feel you should have received more information

Your complaint will be fully investigated and will be dealt with by a
staff member who was not involved in the original decision. We will write
to you to advise the outcome of your complaint.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the results of your complaint you have the
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at:

The Office of the Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

More information is available from the Information Commissioner's website

[1]http://www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

 

 

S. McMeekin

Disclosure Analyst

Merseyside Police

Data Access Unit (FOI)

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL L69 1JD

E-mail:  [2][Merseyside Police request email]

 

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[Merseyside Police request email]

Dear Freedom Of Information,

Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Bath

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================