Misconduct publications 838/2025

FOI Reference: 838/2025

Request

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

1.     (i) What is your current policy regarding the publication of details for upcoming police misconduct hearings?

(ii) Specifically, when are these details made available on your website?

(iii) How long are they retained and publicly accessible prior to the hearing?

2. Following the conclusion of a misconduct hearing:

(i) When is the outcome published on your website?

(ii) How long is the outcome retained in a publicly accessible format?

(iii) What are the reasons and criteria for withdrawing this information from public view?

(iv) At what point is the information removed from a format that is searchable by the public?

3. For each of the following reporting years:      

2020–2021, 2021–2022, 2022-2023, 2023–2024, 2024–2025

Please provide the number of misconduct outcomes in which the name of the police officer involved was published and the number of misconduct hearings where misconduct was found. 

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.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Dyfed Powys 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.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information you have requested. However, we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12(1) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.

Section 12 (1) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit

Section 12(1) states: “…Section 1 (1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.”

The cost of providing you with the information requested in respect of your request is above 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. It is estimated that it would exceed 18 hours (i.e. Between 25 – 29 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of Question 3 of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and manually reviewing 100 records, in order to interrogate each record per year to establish whether they are Gross misconduct ( as opposed to misconduct) the outcome, and whether a public hearing notice was ever generated and attached to the case. Some records contain multiple allegations, officers and outcomes.

It has also been established that it would take between 15 - 20 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request. 

The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

Taking an average of 17.5 minutes per record.

100 records x 17.5 minutes per record = 29 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 29 hours

In accordance therefore with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for the Whole of this request under Section 17(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or section 14 applies must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that fact.

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the time shown above to fall within the 18 hours, should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact the Freedom of Information Unit. Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the public authorities right to cite exemptions if relevant.

Although excess cost removes the forces obligations under the Freedom of Information Act to provide any further information, as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided information, relative to question 1 & 2 of your request which has been easily retrievable and outlined below. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.

Response Q1

(i) There is no Force policy, Dyfed Powys Police adhere to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 and the Home Office Guidance on Conduct, Efficiency and Effectiveness (Statutory Guidance on Professional Standards, Performance and Integrity in Policing).

(ii) Upcoming misconduct hearing notices are published on the DPP website 5 working days before the hearing date.

(iii) As (ii). The hearing notice is then removed after the hearing has concluded.

Response Q2

(i) As soon as the Chair of the misconduct hearing has given permission for the outcome to be published.

(ii) 28 days

(iii) They are removed from the DPP website after 28 days as there is no requirement to keep them on there. Additionally, unless held in private, press are often in attendance and the outcome will often be published in other media formats.

(iv) After 28 days.

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 03/10/2025)