FOI 197 / Feb 2023 / Complaints
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 197-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 16th February 2023:
I would like details of official complaints in the following categories, made against serving police officers in the force under your remit in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 so far:
Sexual harassment
Rape
Sexual assault
Child sex offences
Other sexual misconduct
Specifically, for each category, I would like you to disclose:
Q1. How many accusations were made against serving police officers
Q2. How many allegations were upheld
Q3. How many of these upheld charges resulted in formal disciplinary action, and what actions they were
Q4. I'm also requesting that you break this down by a) the sex of the accused, b) the seniority of the accused
Q5. Confirm whether the complaint was made by;
- a member of the public
- a police officer / member of police staff
I'm requesting the above in PDF format, separated out by year and to be sent by email.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Searches were conducted for all Complaint and Conduct cases recorded between 1st April 2018 to 16th February 2023 where the allegation type was recorded as:
- Other sexual conduct
- Sexual assault
- Sexual harassment
- Sexual offence
This identified 26 cases, relating to 33 officers; however, I can advise that 9 of those cases are yet to be finalised, and any further information in relation to those cases has been excluded from the response by virtue of Section 31(1)(g)(2)(b) Law Enforcement - for the purposes of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper.
Section 31 is a qualified, prejudiced-based exemption and as such there is a requirement to evidence the harm caused in disclosure and also to carry out the public interest test.
Harm
Release of information in relation to cases that are still ongoing risks undermining those cases. It is important that public authorities are allowed to fully investigate any allegations of improper conduct without fear of any speculation entering the public domain and undermining the investigation. The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. Disclosing details of ongoing investigations would impact on the effectiveness of police procedures and investigations thereby hinder the prevention and detection of crime.
Section 31 - Factors favouring disclosure
The disclosure of details relating to investigations involving Police Officers would provide the public with reassurance that Warwickshire Police take such matters seriously and that these are managed appropriately, ensuring all relevant enquiries are undertaken. Additionally, the disclosure of investigation details would increase public confidence and could result in more people coming forward with information. Further, investigations are conducted using public funds; therefore, disclosing information provides transparency of the way public money is utilised.
Section 31 - Factors favouring non-disclosure
To release the requested information would undermine and compromise the force’s approach to law enforcement in relation to the investigation of such matters, as a consequence of which any investigation would be prejudiced. This would have an adverse effect not only on any individuals involved, but also on the force.
Balance Test
Any investigations which relate to Police Officers, including the way in which these are conducted, will be of significant public interest. Therefore, providing the details would show openness and transparency which are fundamental elements of the Freedom of Information Act. Where victims and witnesses have confidence that enquiries are being appropriately managed, they would be more likely to come forward and report incidents.
The strongest argument for disclosure therefore is public awareness; however, this needs to be weighed against the strongest argument for non-disclosure, which in this case is effective law enforcement.
Effective law enforcement is the core function of the police service and is of paramount importance. Warwickshire Police has a duty to ensure that it does not disclose information that would undermine or compromise its approach to this core function which would lead to an investigation being prejudiced and an individual’s right to a fair investigation being undermined. The police service will never disclose information that places the public or its staff at risk, unless the public interest in doing so is more powerful than that risk.
Therefore, at this time it is our opinion that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing information in relation to ongoing cases.
The following responses are in relation to the 17 finalised cases, which relate to 24 officers. However, the following exemption applies to the requested format:
Section 40(2) Personal Information
Section 40 is an absolute class-based exemption, which does not require evidence of the harm disclosure would cause and does not require consideration of a public interest test. That being said, where Section 40(2) is engaged, in order to make the exemption absolute, there needs to be evidence that a Data Protection Principle would be breached by disclosure.
This exemption is engaged where disclosure of information relates to personal data of a third party, or could lead to the identification of an individual, either from that information alone or combined with any other information from within the Police Service or public domain. In this case, due to low numbers, providing the responses, broken down by year and category, or, in some cases, by year or category, is likely to identify individuals and provide personal information. Such a disclosure would breach individuals’ rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, in particular Article 5(1) of the GDPR which states that personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.
This letter serves as a refusal notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act for the requested format. Instead, information has been provided in such a way as to ensure that personal information is not disclosed.
Q1 response:
|
Accusations against officers by category |
|
|
Category |
Total |
|
Sexual Harassment |
7 |
|
Rape |
0 |
|
Sexual Assault |
3 |
|
Child Sex Offences |
0 |
|
Other Sexual Misconduct |
14 |
|
Grand Total |
24 |
|
Accusations against officers by year |
|
|
Fiscal Year |
Total |
|
2018/19 |
7 |
|
2019/20 |
2 |
|
2020/21 |
5 |
|
2021/22 |
5 |
|
2022/23 |
5 |
|
Grand Total |
24 |
Q2 response:
|
Not Upheld |
Upheld |
Total |
|
11 |
13 |
24 |
Q3 response:
|
Formal disciplinary action |
|
|
Category |
Total |
|
Sexual Harassment |
1 |
|
Sexual Assault |
0 |
|
Other sexual misconduct |
4 |
|
Grand Total |
5 |
Dismissal x2
Final written warning x3
Q4a response:
|
Category |
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
Sexual Harassment |
7 |
0 |
7 |
|
Sexual assault |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
Other Sexual Misconduct |
11 |
3 |
14 |
|
Grand Total |
21 |
3 |
24 |
Q4b response:
|
Rank |
Total |
|
Constable |
17 |
|
Sgt or above |
7 |
|
Grand Total |
24 |
Q5 response:
|
Public |
Employee |
Total |
|
5 |
19 |
24 |
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB