This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

7th February 2024

Dear Bailey Dawson,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated 7th February
2024 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
on 7th February 2024.  I note you seek access to the following
information:

Stop and Search Reasonable Grounds Performance

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. The Freedom of Information team will advise you in writing if there
are any delays in responding to your request and will keep you advised of
progress.  

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/for-organisations/gui...

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 request again, you will be
notified.

If you have any queries regarding your request please write to the
Corporate Information Branch via 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 Corporate Information Manager, 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 unhappy about how your request has been handled you have
the right to apply in writing to the Information Commissioner at
‘Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. There are a number of other platforms you can use to
contact the ICO and these can be found on the ICO’s website at the
following link: Make a complaint | ICO
([2]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/).

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
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn

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References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...
2. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];

25th March 2024

Dear Bailey Dawson,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated 7th February
2024 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
on 7th February 2024.  I note you seek access to the following
information:

Stop and Search Reasonable Grounds Performance

To enable the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to meet your
request could you please provide further clarification on the following

Your Requested

I would like to request any data that you hold on your officers stop and
search reasonable grounds performance. Can this be expressed both
numerically and as a percentage for the years 2022 and 2023.

Clarification Requested

We are unclear as what you request is asking for. 

To assist the  statistical report Use of Stop and Search Powers by the
Police in Northern Ireland, 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, can be
found at the following link:
[1]https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-...

This report contains various statistics on the PSNI’s use of stop and
search powers.  Section 2 presents the number of persons stopped and
searched/questioned during 2022 and 2023.  Page 2 of the report provides
an introduction to those powers that require reasonable grounds.

If your request is referring to information other than what is provided in
the link can you advise please.

You should be aware that the 20 day legislative time limit dictated by the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 has been stopped. Once we receive
clarification of your request a new 20 working day time limit will
commence.

Please send clarification of your request by writing to Corporate
Information Branch, PSNI Headquarters, 65 Knock Road Belfast BT5 6LE or by
email to [email address]. Alternatively, if you wish to discuss your
request or have any additional queries you can contact the Corporate
Information Branch on 028 9070 0164.

Yours sincerely,

ARW
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-...