Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 78-2024
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 18th January 2024 as follows:
I am writing to request information regarding the organisation of local policing and the local response to crime and disorder.
I am interested in the unit of organisation commonly referred to as Local Policing Areas, Divisions, Districts or Basic Command Units. They are typically aligned to local authority or community safety partnership boundaries.
For each of these areas within your force, I would like to know:
Q1. The name of the area, any corresponding ONS geographical code (these are typically a 9-digit string comprising the letter E followed by 8 numerical characters), and any short string code used by the force as shorthand to represent the geography.
Q1 response: Warwickshire Police have North, South and East policing areas consisting of Local Authority areas which align with ONS Census 2021. The borders are the same.
Policing Area North
North Warwickshire - E07000218
Nuneaton and Bedworth - E07000219
Policing Area South
Stratford Upon Avon - E07000221
Warwick - E07000222
Policing Area East
Rugby - E07000220
Q2. The first and last name and rank of the current senior officer responsible (often known as the 'local commander' or similar) for the policing of that area, the date they were appointed, and an email address for the individual or position.
Q2 response: Warwickshire Police organisational structure is arranged by departments, led by Chief Superintendents or Heads of Departments, rather than by policing areas. However, it should be noted that Heads of Department are not always officers, as shown by the following link on the Warwickshire Police website:
Warwickshire Police senior management chart (October 2023)
As you will see from the chart, the Head of Local Policing is Chief Superintendent Emma Bastone.
With regard to the date of appointment, this information is exempt by virtue of Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act – Personal Information. Please see the exemption explanation provide in response to Q3 which also applies here.
With regard to the personal email address, this information is exempt from disclosure. Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire 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 in question and
(c) States (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
Section 31(1)(a)(b) – Law Enforcement
Section 31 is a prejudice-based qualified exemption and, as such, there is a requirement to evidence the harm disclosure would cause and to carry out a public interest test.
Section 31 - Evidence of Harm
Effective law enforcement is the core function of the police service and is of paramount importance to Warwickshire Police and this must be considered in respect of every release. In this case, disclosing the personal email address of the Chief Superintendent of Local Policing into the public domain could result in them being bombarded with unnecessary correspondence, resulting in delays and backlogs to essential work.
Public Interest Considerations
Section 31 - Factors favouring Disclosure
Providing the requested information suggests that Chief Superintendent of Local Policing is contactable directly. This may offer reassurance to the public.
Section 31 - Factors favouring Non-Disclosure
If the requested information is disclosed, this could lead to a significant increase in the public making direct contact. This could result in the Chief Superintendent of Local Policing facing increasing backlogs and demands and having less time to devote to their critical role.
Balancing Test
As always, the Freedom of Information Act has a presumption in favour of disclosure, unless, when balancing the competing public interest factors, the prejudice to the community outweighs the benefits. In this case, the strongest argument for disclosure is reassurance to the public. However, this needs to be weighed against the strongest argument for non-disclosure, which, in this case, is the negative impact on law enforcement due to correspondence which would remove the Chief Superintendent from their core roles and responsibilities. Further, there are already appropriate channels in place for those wishing to make contact with Warwickshire Police.
Therefore, having considered the arguments for and against disclosure, I have concluded that the argument in favour of maintaining the exemption is stronger and outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
In accordance with Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this acts as a refusal notice with regard to this element of your request.
In order to provide assistance, I can advise that contact can be made via the Force Website:
https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/ or by calling 101 for non-emergency enquiries.
Q3. The first and last name and rank of the last two senior officers in that post, and the dates they were in the roles.
Q3 response: The last two individuals in this post prior to Chief Superintendent Emma Bastone are set out below, both were also of the rank of Chief Superintendent in this role.
Alexander Franklin-Smith
Benjamin Smith
With regard to the dates in post, I can advise that the requested information is held; however, it is not considered suitable for disclosure. The exemption applicable in this case is:
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, giving the exact dates of appointment is personal information in relation to an individual.
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 in relation to this element of your request.
In order to provide assistance I have set out below, the link to the Chief Officer profiles, available on the Warwickshire Police website. This has a write up for both of the above individuals which provides some information relevant to your request.
Chief officers | Warwickshire Police
Q4. If no ONS code is provided: a description of the geographic extent of the area and the boundaries to which it is aligned (this might be one or more local authorities, or community safety partnerships, or similar).
Response: Please see the response to Q1.
Q5. Further, for each of the above areas a list of the smaller geographic areas that your force uses to organise and deliver local policing (these might commonly be called 'neighbourhoods' and will typically either be an individual ward or a collection of wards), including:
Q6. The name of the area, any corresponding ONS geographical code, any short string code used by the force as shorthand to represent the geography
Q7. If no ONS code is provided: a description of the geographic extent of the area and the boundaries to which it is aligned (this might be an individual ward or a collection of wards).
Q5, Q6 & Q7 response:
Policing Area North
North Warwickshire
Neighbourhoods:
Nuneaton and Bedworth
Neighbourhoods:
Policing Area South
Stratford Upon Avon
Neighbourhoods:
Warwick
Neighbourhoods:
Policing Area East
Rugby
Neighbourhoods:
With regard to boundaries for the Neighbourhoods, section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire 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 in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable to the information is:
Section 21 - Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means
This is an Absolute, class based exemption.
Information with regard to Warwickshire Police SNT divisions, Inspectors, Sergeants and SNT boundaries is already available in the public domain via the police.co.uk website and the link below:
https://www.police.uk/pu/your-area/warwickshire-police/
On the first page there is a section titled ‘Neighbourhoods in this force area’ with the list of SNTs underneath. By clicking on any of the neighbourhoods you will be able to see all members of the SNT team, including the relevant policing area Inspector. There is also a button entitled ‘View area boundary’ which will take you to an interactive map showing each area boundary.
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