Statistics on Wildlife Crime reports to PSNI and rate of convictions
Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,
I would like to request, under Freedom of Information legislation, your statistics for the number of Wildlife Crime reports received by PSNI in the last five years to date. Under the same legislation I also request that PSNI reveal the percentage of Wildlife Crimes which have resulted in prosecutions.
I also request information on what training NI police officers receive in investigating Wildlife Crime.
Yours faithfully,
Conor F McGuinness
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
8th November 2021
Dear Mr. McGuinness,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 8th November
2021 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
on 8th November 2021. I note you seek access to the following
information:
Wildlife Crimes
This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. A response should be sent to you within 20 working
days however I would like to advise you that PSNI are currently
experiencing a delay in the processing of requests and we aim to respond
to your request as soon as possible.
If your request is unclear and clarification is required the 20 day
legislative time limit dictated by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
will be stopped until we receive clarification of your request. The ICO
guidance at paragraph 40 of the link below sets out that the clock begins
anew the day after the clarification is received. It states
“If the requester subsequently provides enough detail to enable the
authority to identify and locate the information, then the authority must
respond to the clarified request within a new 20 working day time limit
with the ‘clock’ starting the day after it receives the required
clarification. “
The link for this is:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the
“appropriate level”, which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of
Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the
request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an
opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.
If your request requires either full or partial transference to another
public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be
notified.
If you have any queries regarding your request please write to the
Corporate Information Branch vie email or the address below. Please
remember to quote the reference number listed above in any future
communications with the Corporate Information Branch.
If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you
have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as
possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can
do so by writing to the Head of Corporate Information Branch, PSNI
Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing
[email address].
If, following an Internal Review carried out by an independent decision
maker, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may
make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, under Section
50 of the Freedom of Information Act, and ask that they investigate
whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at ‘Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF’, or use the ICO self-service portal available at
[2]http://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/o...
In most circumstances, the Information Commissioner will not investigate a
complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out
however, the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at
their discretion.
Yours sincerely,
David
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
References
Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/o...
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Subject: FOI-2021-02655
2nd December 2021
Dear Mr. McGuinness,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 8th November
2021 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 8th
November 2021 concerning:
Wildlife Crimes
Please find attached response to your request.
Yours sincerely
Kelly
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,
I am surprised and confused by your reply to my FoI regarding Wildlife Crime stats in NI. You have sent me 7 attachments relating to road traffic accidents near Armoy, Co Antrim. This has no relevance to my enquiry and is slightly concerning in regard to your standards in data handling and protection. Please now reply correctly, with the info I requested in my FoI, without further delay.
Yours faithfully,
Conor McGuinness
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Good Afternoon Conor,
I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and confusion my error has
caused.
I will endeavour to respond to your FOI request as promptly as possible.
Kind Regards,
Kelly
Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Good Afternoon Mr McGuinness,
Firstly I would like to apologise for the continued delay in responding to
your FOI request.
I have been assigned to your case and am waiting clarification from one of
the record owners.
I will endeavour to release your respnse as soon as possible.
Regards,
Kelly
Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
Tel: 02890 700164
8th November 2021
Dear Mr. McGuinness,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 8th November
2021 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
on 8th November 2021. I note you seek access to the following information:
Wildlife Crimes
This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. A response should be sent to you within 20 working
days however I would like to advise you that PSNI are currently
experiencing a delay in the processing of requests and we aim to respond
to your request as soon as possible.
If your request is unclear and clarification is required the 20 day
legislative time limit dictated by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
will be stopped until we receive clarification of your request. The ICO
guidance at paragraph 40 of the link below sets out that the clock begins
anew the day after the clarification is received. It states
“If the requester subsequently provides enough detail to enable the
authority to identify and locate the information, then the authority must
respond to the clarified request within a new 20 working day time limit
with the ‘clock’ starting the day after it receives the required
clarification. “
The link for this is:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the
“appropriate level”, which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of
Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the
request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an
opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.
If your request requires either full or partial transference to another
public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be
notified.
If you have any queries regarding your request please write to the
Corporate Information Branch vie email or the address below. Please
remember to quote the reference number listed above in any future
communications with the Corporate Information Branch.
If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you
have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as
possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can
do so by writing to the Head of Corporate Information Branch, PSNI
Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing
[email address].
If, following an Internal Review carried out by an independent decision
maker, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may
make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, under Section
50 of the Freedom of Information Act, and ask that they investigate
whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at ‘Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF’, or use the ICO self-service portal available at
[2]http://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/o...
In most circumstances, the Information Commissioner will not investigate a
complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out
however, the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at
their discretion.
Yours sincerely,
David
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
References
Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/o...
Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Police Service of Northern Ireland's handling of my FOI request 'Statistics on Wildlife Crime reports to PSNI and rate of convictions'.
It is now 7th December, almost 3 weeks after the date upon which I reasonably expected your reply in full to my query. This does not provoke a feeling of trust in this process and undermines my faith in your ability and willingness to be open and honest with the public.
Please provide me with a full and frank explanation of what has gone so badly wrong in the handling of my FoI submission. I am still waiting for the information I originally requested and I would appreciate a more timely response to this message.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...
Yours faithfully,
Conor McGuinness
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Subject: FOI-2021-02655
20^th December 2021
Dear Mr. McGuinness,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 8th November
2021 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 8th
November 2021 concerning:
Wildlife Crimes
Please find attached response to your request and apologies for the delay
in providing this response.
Yours sincerely
Kelly
Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
Tel: 02890 700164
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Dear Mr McGuinness,
Freedom of Information Request – F-2021-02655 - Statistics on Wildlife
Crime reports to PSNI and rate of convictions
Thank you for your below email.
Timeliness
Your FOI request was received by the PSNI on the 8^th November 2021 and a
response was issued to you on 20^th December. The response to your initial
request has not been completed within the timescales permitted within the
FOIA. PSNI has not complied with Section 10(1) of the FOIA ie 20 working
days. PSNI’s Corporate Information Branch is currently dealing with a high
volume of requests which has impacted our ability to issue responses
within the 20 working day legislative time-frame. I understand that the
response to your request was 10 working days overdue, for which I
sincerely apologise. This is due to the significant request backlog that
PSNI is currently experiencing.
Once again, please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in the
processing of your request.
Yours sincerely
Mrs E Finlay
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI
Headquarters
Brooklyn
65 Knock Road
BELFAST
BT5 6LE
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