Referrals to Channel

The request was refused by Merseyside Police.

Dear Merseyside Police,

Please can you tell me the number of referrals made since January 2915 through the multi-agency counter-radicalisation 'Channel' process that were made specifically for individuals
allegedly at risk of being drawn into 'extremism' through involvement in anti-fracking campaigns?

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Blowe

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.

 

*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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Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

2 Attachments

Dear   Mr Blowe

 

Response Letter - FOI Application SM295/15 (please quote in all
correspondence)

 

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on  19/10/15   I note that you seek access to the
following information:

 

Please can you tell me the number of referrals made since January 2915
through the  multi-agency counter-radicalisation 'Channel' process that
were made specifically for individuals allegedly at risk of being drawn
into 'extremism' through involvement in anti-fracking campaigns?

 

 

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. 

To locate the information relevant to your request, searches were
conducted in the Data Access Unit

 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.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Sandra Miller

Disclosure Analyst

Data  Access Unit

Merseyside Police

PO BOX 59

LIVERPOOL  L69  1JD

Tel: 0151 777 1978

Fax: 0151 777 1674

E-mail:  [1][Merseyside Police request email]

 

 

 

 

 

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

It 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. He 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

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

 

 

 

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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
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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.

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References

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

Dear Merseyside Police,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Merseyside Police's handling of my FOI request 'Referrals to Channel'.

In your response, you said that publishing specific Channel data would “provide information to those who seek to challenge the process”, adding that “allegations of ‘spying in the community’ and ‘targeting Muslims’ misrepresent and undermine the intention of Channel and ultimately the Prevent programme”. This response are particularly strange, as I had not mentioned the targeting of Muslim communities and my question had been specifically about anti-fracking campaigns.

You also said that the release of data could also potentially lead to local partner organisations “disengaging from the referral process” if they are named. Again, as you will note, I had not requested the names of any organisation or any individual that might perhaps provide a link to an organisation.

You also insisted that “figures on the associations of participants, when compiled, may fuel perceived grievances such as the view that certain groups are being targeted.” Bearing in mind that Channel is purportedly a voluntary process, this is positively Kafkaesque: in the context of my specific request about opponents of fracking, this argument means individuals cannot know to what extent their political beliefs and activism leads to referrals to Channel as possible 'domestic extremism', because they might feel understandably aggrieved at finding out their lawful political activity has been targeted.

As I am sure you are already aware, similar requests were made to the other four forces that are part of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. The responses from all five forces were identical and all ignored the fact that my inquiry was not generalised to Prevent as a whole but very specific – my question was not about 'terrorism' but concerned particularly with individuals' involvement in political opposition to oil and gas exploration and extraction.

The standardised nature of all five responses to questions on Channel strongly suggests individual Freedom of Information requests on this subject are not considered on their merits or on a genuine test of the public interest by the five police forces. Instead, there is evidently a policy of automatic rejection of any FOIA request relating to Channel.

I therefore believe you have failed to carry out a proper public interest test at all in relation to my question on Channel, evidenced by the uniformity of all replies from North West regional police forces, including your own, that contain explanations unrelated to the original question and that point to a joint policy of immediate refusal.

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

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Blowe

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

Dear Mr Blowe,

FOI: Our Ref SM294/15

I acknowledge receipt of your email received today requesting that Merseyside Police review its response to your request for information concerning:
The number of referrals made since January 2015 through the multi-agency counter-radicalisation 'Channel' process that were made specifically for individuals allegedly at risk of being drawn into 'extremism' through involvement in anti-fracking campaigns?

I understand that you have raised a query regarding the handling of your FOI request 'Referrals to Channel'.

An internal review will be undertaken surrounding our FOI response - this will be considered independently by the Information Governance Manager. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Merseyside Police review procedure and every effort will be made to have a response to you no later than the 21st March 2016 (20 working days from receipt of internal review request, as advocated by the ICO).

However, if it becomes clear that the review will not be completed by this date you will be contacted.

Kind Regards
Vivien Jaymes

Vivien Jaymes
Data Access Supervisor
Direct Line 441517771748
Force Website www.merseyside.police.uk
Force Twitter @merseypolice

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Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Dear Mr. Blowe,

I acknowledge receipt of your email received today requesting that Merseyside Police review its response to your request for information concerning referrals to Channel since January 2015.

I understand that you have raised a query regarding the use of the exemptions cited and have provided some information in support of your case.

An internal review will be undertaken surrounding our FOI response - this will be considered independently by the Information Governance Assurance Coordinator. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Merseyside Police review procedure and every effort will be made to have a response to you no later than the 03/03/2016 (20 working days from receipt of internal review request, as advocated by the ICO).

However, if it becomes clear that the review will not be completed by this date you will be contacted.

Yours sincerely,

Graham Thomas
Information Assurance Coordinator
Direct Line 441517778412
Force Website www.merseyside.police.uk
Force Twitter @merseypolice

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Thomas Graham Edmund, Merseyside Police

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Blowe,

 

Further to our email of 04/02/2016  acknowledging receipt of your request
for Merseyside Police to conduct an internal review of your Freedom of
Information, I confirm that I have completed my review.

 

You requested a review providing specific points and asserting that we had
 failed to carry out a proper public interest test at all in relation to
my question on Channel, evidenced by the uniformity of all replies from
North West regional police forces, including your own, that contain
explanations unrelated to the original question and that point to a joint
policy of immediate refusal.

 

Decision

I have decided to uphold in principle the original decision.

 

Section 17, Freedom of Information Act, 2000, requires Merseyside Police,
when refusing to provide such information (because the information is
exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

(a) states that fact,

(b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and

(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

 

Reason for Decision: . Having taken into account your representations I
provide an amended response table and public interest test. I find that
the liaison with other forces in order to explore the public interest
fully (i.e. with other recipients of your request and not solely
Merseyside Police) enhances the public interest considerations and
provides a broader view upon which decisions about public interest can be
made. There is no joint policy nor was the refusal immediate.

 

Additional information

 

Complainant Rights:

Should you disagree with this decision you have a further right of appeal
to the Information Commissioner the contact details for whom are below.

 

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,

 

 

Graham Thomas
Information Assurance Coordinator
Direct Line  +441517778412
Force Website   [2]www.merseyside.police.uk
Force Twitter @merseypolice

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

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. file:///tmp/www.merseyside.police.uk