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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 982-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 24th October 2023 as follows:
I wanted to ask for data, between 2019 and 2022, on
Please find the Warwickshire police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that Warwickshire Police do not use a bespoke system to record details relating to FOI requests. Instead, a spreadsheet is used to record basic details for each request; however, this does not capture all information relating to specific exemptions and outcomes. It is practice to complete the notes section of the spreadsheet with any exemptions that may have been applied; however, this is not mandatory and can therefore not be considered entirely accurate. Therefore, in order to determine an accurate response for this request, it would be necessary to individually review each and every FOI response, in detail, to determine the exact number of times an exemption has been applied under Section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act. Such work would exceed the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e., the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. For Police forces in the UK, the ‘appropriate limit’ is up to 18 hours of work on one request.
In order to provide assistance searches have been conducted of the spreadsheets for where one of the following keyword terms are recorded within the notes section; ‘Vex’, ‘s14’, ‘section 14’ and the response to Q2 and Q3 is based on this search.
Q1 response:
2019 – 1045
2020 – 952
2021 – 1060
2022 – 951
Q2 response:
2019 – Zero*
2020 – Zero
2021 – Zero
2022 – 2 (one in part)
*For 2019, the spreadsheet for September to December is no longer held and information is therefore based on searches for January to August.
Q3 response: Please see the two relevant requests and responses set out below. Please note that the second only contains the extract relevant to the Section 14 response.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 418-2022
Request: From 1st January 2022 to the day this request is processed, I would like to request all internal and external correspondence and communications that contain the words (i) “Just Stop Oil” or “JSO” (ii) “Extinction Rebellion” or “XR”.
Response: Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.
I can advise that Warwickshire Police do hold the requested information. However, in accordance with Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this request, under section 14(1) -Vexatious Requests.
Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious.
The Information Commissioner’s guidance on the subject of vexatious requests, makes it clear that Section 14(1) may be applied where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. The ICO further advises that the key question to consider is whether the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress based on the impact on the authority, weighed against any evidence about the purpose and value of the request.
Please be advised that, as this request is for all internal and external correspondence and communications, it would first be necessary to contact each and every member of staff and request them to identify any electronic or paper-based communication held, which may fall within the scope of the request. In order to assess the likely volume of information held, a scoping exercise was carried out regarding electronic communication only. This involved 3 staff members, over a period of more than 10 hours, and has shown that there are approximately 13,400 emails held, which contain the stated words/combination of words. This does not account for any other type of communication that may be held.
Each email contains information which will be exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, and therefore, each email will need to be individually reviewed prior to disclosure. Any personal information will need to be identified and redacted. In addition, any information that falls under an exemption for example, Section 31 Law Enforcement, will need to be considered. This information is not easily identified as it will be scattered throughout the emails and cannot be isolated via a keyword search.
It has been estimated that at an estimate of 3 minutes per email, to review and identify personal data and any information that falls under an exemption, apply redactions, and save the changes, such work would equate to 670 hours. This is the equivalent of 92 working days, for one staff member to review and prepare the information for disclosure. It is therefore considered that the breadth of the request, which captures substantial volumes of information, and the work involved in reviewing it, would cause an unjustified and disproportionate burden on the force, and it is therefore considered to fall under section 14 of the FoIA.
It is also relevant to note that Warwickshire Police is a small force, and the Information Compliance Unit consists of only two FOI decision makers.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request. Due to the breadth of the request, you may wish to consider reducing its scope by identifying a specific type of communication (such as email), as well as a specific subject type, and restricting this request to communication sent to and/or from a specific named individual. However, please note that it is possible such a request could exceed the fees limit or exemptions may apply.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 866-2022
Request: Q2. You have advised that there is no force procedure for MSHT and that the force utilises the APP guidance. However, within the policy document for MSHT it says:
4.14 The following documents will provide specific information to support our workforce in implementing this policy:
This indicates that there are force procedures for dealing with MSHT used in addition to the APP guidance. Please can the documents listed within 4.14 of your policy be disclosed as part of the FOI request?
Response: Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.
I can advise that Warwickshire Police hold the information. However, in accordance with Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this request, under section 14(1) -Vexatious Requests.
Section 1(1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the request is vexatious.
The Information Commissioner’s guidance on the subject of vexatious requests, makes it clear that Section 14(1) may be applied where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. The ICO further advises that the key question to consider is whether the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress based on the impact on the authority, weighed against any evidence about the purpose and value of the request.
Please be advised that in regard to Q2 (a), ‘Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (MSHT) investigation procedures’, the documentation is owned by the NPCC Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime unit (MSOIC) and contains some information suitable for release, however, a reasonable amount of information would present harm if released, therefore, disclosure can only be in redacted format. There is a total of 575 pages, which would need to be individually reviewed, assessed, and redacted, in live consultation with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime unit (MSOIC), prior to any disclosure, due to the specialist nature of the content, the fact that the documentation is produced by them, and their unique expertise.
It has been estimated that at 8 minutes per page, to review/consult, identify any information that falls under an exemption, apply redactions, and save the changes, such work would equate to in excess of 76 hours of work for this element alone. This is the equivalent of 10 working days, for one person from MSOIC with specialist knowledge and expertise, to review and prepare the information for disclosure. in addition, as this would need to be a collaborative effort, a staff member within the force would also need to be involved in this process, which would double the amount of time spent. It is therefore also relevant to note that Warwickshire Police is a small force, and the Information Compliance Unit consists of only two FOI decision makers.
Furthermore, MSOIC have advised that they have identified that there is a duplication of some information within the documentation, and, as a result it is currently being reviewed and aggregated into a new investigative guide to address these duplications.
Although the applicant is not required to provide any information regarding the purpose of their request, there is likely to be a significant public interest in the investigation procedures relating to Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (MSHT). This is because offences relating to MSHT, often involve serious and complex criminal investigations, which impacts on police resources. In addition, a greater public awareness around MSHT may lead to increased reporting, victim identification and successful prosecutions of offenders.
On balance, whilst the public interest is acknowledged, it is considered that to spend a significant amount of time and resources preparing the documentation for release, which will imminently be obsolete, would cause an unjustified and disproportionate burden on both the MSOIC Unit and the force, and it is therefore considered to fall under section 14 of the FoIA.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request. Although there is no exact timeline for the completion of the revised and streamlined guidance, the unit has indicated that they are hoping this will be within 3 months. Therefore, after this time you may wish to submit a request directly to the MSOIC Unit.
I can however advise that a further document entitled “Modern Slavery First Contact Booklet” is only sensitive when completed, therefore, in its current sterile format MSOIC have confirmed that it can be released in full. As a gesture of goodwill, I attach a copy of this document along with the responses to your remaining questions below. […]
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