Submitting a request for information?
Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) sets out what constitutes a request for information under the Act. A request must be:
- Submitted in writing
- State the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence
- And describes the information requested
As highlighted above a valid Freedom of Information request must contain the name of the applicant and an address, which can be an e-mail address. The provision of any other contact details is optional, however should you wish to provide a contact telephone number it might assist the process should we need to discuss or clarify your request with you.
Before you submit an FOI request you may wish to consider the following:
- The information you require may already be available via the Dyfed-Powys Police website.
- The information may be available via other websites.
- It will assist the progress of your request if you are able to provide, at the time you submit your request, details of the time period your request covers for example the preceding twelve months, the preceding five years etc. It is also helpful to the process if you can stipulate when you submit your request whether you require information by financial year or calendar year. However it should be noted that in some instances the information may only be held in one format.
- Should you wish to discuss your request for information prior to submission then please feel free to contact the Freedom of Information Unit, by telephone. Freedom of Information staff within the unit will be pleased to provide advice and assistance to you. Contact details are included below.
Information concerning police investigations
Police investigations are conducted with due regard to the confidentiality and privacy of victims, witnesses and suspects. Such investigations may also frequently involve the use of policing tactics or techniques that, if widely known, would hinder the ability of the police service to prevent and detect crime. It is further recognised that the release of information concerning current investigations may compromise any subsequent court proceedings.
For these reasons the police service will, in most cases, seek to apply an exemption to prevent the release of information concerning investigations when requested under the Freedom of Information Act, 2000.
Whilst adopting this general position, there is full recognition that in some cases there will be significant and compelling issues of public interest that require the disclosure of information. However, to override issues of personal privacy and possible harm to individuals involved in the investigation, this public interest must be significantly more than mere curiosity or interest in a particular investigation.
In order to ensure that these public interest issues are fully considered, all applications for information concerning investigations will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
Requests for Personal Data
Information disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is considered as being disclosed to the World at large and the request process is considered both applicant and purpose blind. It should be noted therefore that where Dyfed Powys Police receive a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or a request for information is directed to the Freedom of Information Unit that relates specifically to the applicant ie personal data a ‘Neither Confirm Nor Deny’ response will be issued citing Section 40(5) (personal information exemption). In addition the applicant will be provided with details of the subject access process and provided with the relevant subject access form or directed to the relevant form in respect to Police Certificates, as appropriate. For further information in respect to requesting personal information please see the section “Making a Data Protection Request”. Further information in respect to an individual’s rights under the Data Protection Act can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website at the following link: www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/your_personal_information.aspx.
Information Commissioner’s Office Guidance
The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced a guidance document for anyone considering submitting a request for information, which may assist you further and can be accessed via the link below:
The ICO charter for responsible freedom of information requests (PDF)
General Information
Crime statistics
It should be noted that police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted therefore that if you submit the same request to more than one police force that for these reasons any response provided to a request you might submit to Dyfed-Powys Police should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.
Other Welsh Police Forces
Dyfed Powys Police Force covers the areas of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys. Requests for information in respect of other parts of Wales can be submitted to one of the other Welsh forces. Freedom of Information contact details for the other Welsh forces can be obtained via the relative websites hyperlinked below, follow the links to Freedom of Information.
Transfer of requests
Some requests for information received may require either full or partial transference to another public authority in order to answer the request in the fullest possible way. If this is the case in respect of any request you may submit you will be informed. In most cases this will involve informing you that the information is held by another public authority, we will provide contact details of the public authority concerned, we will alternatively transfer the request on your behalf with your consent. We will take into consideration the Code of Practice under section 45 of the Act in this regard
Section 12 – Exemptions where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit
Dyfed Powys Police will issue a refusal notice in respect of a request where it is estimated that the cost of compliance exceeds the appropriate limit as set out within Section 12 of the Act and the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. However this does not affect an applicant’s right to request an internal review.
The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004
Please feel free to contact the Dyfed-Powys Police Freedom of Information Unit should you wish to discuss your request prior to submission.
