Modern Slavery Officers 841/2023
FOI Reference: 841/2023
Request:
1) As of 6th September 2023, how many specialist modern slavery and trafficking police officers are employed by the force? Please provide a breakdown by both rank, and by PIP level, where applicable.
2) As of 6th September 2023, how many vacancies are there for specialist modern slavery and trafficking police officers in the force? Please provide a breakdown of the vacancy rank and PIP level, where applicable
3) Does the force have a specialist modern slavery and trafficking unit? Please provide the name of this unit, and its budget for the last five financial years
4) (a) How many a) officers and b) police staff does the force employ and, as of 6th September 2023
4) (b) how many of these have received specialist modern slavery training during their employment to date? Please distinguish between officers and staff in your answer
5) As in question 4, how many a) officers and b) police staff have received modern slavery training in the past year, the past two years and the past three years? Please provide separate answers for each time period and please only include current employees
6) How many staff work in a procurement function, and how many of these have completed specialist modern slavery training?
7) How many staff working in a procurement function have received modern slavery training in the past year, the past two years and the past three years? Please provide separate answers for each time period and please only include current employees
Response 1:
I can confirm that there is no information held by Dyfed-Powys Police due to the fact that we do not employ Modern Slavery and trafficking officers.
Please note: some officers receive training in this specialist area. The majority of officers across the force have MSHT training and deal with this type of crime within their normal investigative duties.
Response 2 & 3:
A response to Q2 & 3 is not applicable, which is based on the response provided in Q1.
Response 4a:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
|
As at 6th Sep 2023 |
Total |
|
Police Officers |
1317 |
|
Police Staff |
782 |
Response 4b:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, however a Section 31(1)(a)(b) Law Enforcement exemption has been applied to the requested information thereby exempting its release.
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.
Where exemptions are relied upon section 17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which:
a) States that fact
b) Specifies the exemption(s) in question and
c) State (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies
Section 31(1)(a)(b) Law Enforcement:
(1) Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to prejudice -
(a) the prevention or detection of crime
(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
Section 31 is a prejudice based qualified exemption and as such there is a requirement to provide details of the harm as well as the public interest test.
Evidence of Harm
Disclosure of information on operational resources in specific areas, such as modern slavery
investigations, could be of intelligence value to a person with criminal or malicious intent. The disclosure could be used to identify the team capabilities and enable targeted malicious
actions, be that some form of attack on the operational team or avoiding that team for example where strengths and weakness may be perceived (whether incorrectly or not).
Public Interest Test Section 31 - Factors favouring disclosure
Providing this information would make members of the public more aware of the level of police resources used to protect themselves and members of the public against Modern Slavery. Disclosure would encourage public awareness and debate and may reduce crime or lead to more information being provided to Dyfed-Powys Police from the public for the prevention and detection of crime. Disclosure could be seen how Dyfed-Powys Police are using its resources to prevent crime.
Furthermore, there is always a need to disclose information which relates to the spending of
public money. It is in the public’s interest to see how resources are balanced across Dyfed-Powys Police.
Section 31 - Factors favouring non-disclosure
To provide such information on a specific operational resource could compromise law
enforcement tactics which would hinder Dyfed-Powys Police’s ability to protect themselves and members of the public against modern slavery. The threat of crimes will increase as more crimes are committed because of criminals gaining knowledge about the capabilities of the operation.
Therefore, the public will be placed at a greater risk. A fear of crime will be realised as criminals identify different levels of police resources and exploit this resulting in the public being in fear of more criminal activity occurring. The safety of the public is of paramount importance to Dyfed-Powys Police and to release the requested information would compromise the safety of the community that Dyfed-Powys Police serve to protect and place individuals at risk.
Balancing test
When balancing the public interest, Dyfed-Powys Police must consider whether the
information should be released into the public domain. Arguments need to be weighed against each other. The most persuasive reason for disclosing the information would be openness. However, this needs to be weighed against the strongest reason for non-disclosure which is the fact that individuals may be placed at risk and the affect it may have on the prevention and detection of crime and protecting the people and communities we serve.
Having considered all the factors for and against disclosure, the reason against disclosure
outweighs the reason for disclosure and so the decision at this time to maintain the above
exemption and withhold the information from disclosure. In accordance with the Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for those pieces of information.
Response 5:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
|
Year |
Officers |
Staff |
|
2020 |
0 |
0 |
|
2021 |
28 |
34 |
|
2022 |
14 |
15 |
|
2023 |
0 |
0 |
Response 6:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
Dyfed-Powys Police has 4 staff members under procurement – 2 new members of staff started Sept/Oct 2023, code of ethical supply chain familiarisation is included in procurement meetings but specialist formal training has not been undertaken.
Response 7:
I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below.
A total of zero (0) members of procurement staff have received specialist formal training.
It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 10/06/2024)