PSD investigations 148/2026

FOI Reference: 148/2026

Request

Please provide the information for each of the last five completed financial years (or the closest equivalent period for which data is held).

1. Volume of PSD investigations

For each financial year, please provide:

• • The total number of Professional Standards Department (PSD) investigations opened The total number of PSD investigations closed

2. Source of investigations

For each financial year, please provide the number of PSD investigations arising from:

• • Public complaints
  • Internally generated conduct matters

3. Nature of allegation / complaint

For each financial year, please provide a breakdown of PSD investigations by the nature of the allegation or complaint, using the closest available allegation categories recorded by your force.

This may include (where applicable), but is not limited to:

• • Discreditable conduct
  • Honesty and integrity
  • Use of force
  • Abuse of authority
  • Discrimination, harassment, or equality-related matters
  • Sexual misconduct
  • Corruption-related matters
  • Other categories used by your force

- Please provide category labels as recorded by your force.

4. Standards of Professional Behaviour (where recorded) Where recorded, for each financial year please provide a breakdown of PSD investigations by the primary alleged breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour (or equivalent professional standards framework used by your force). If your force does not record alleged breaches of specific standards in a structured format, please confirm this.                                                                                                          
5. Outcomes of PSD investigations

For each financial year, please provide the number of PSD investigations concluded with each of the following outcomes (or closest equivalent categories used by your force):

• • No case to answer
  • Management action / reflective practice
  • Misconduct meeting
  • Gross misconduct hearing
  • Dismissal
  • Resignation or retirement while under investigation Referral to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

6. Investigation duration

For PSD investigations concluded in each financial year, please provide:

• • The average duration (in days)
  • The median duration (in days)
  • Clarifications

This request is for aggregate statistical information.

 

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. minimum of 32 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 questions 1,2,4 & 5 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 379 conduct investigation records, in order to obtain the information.

It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 5 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:-

Number of conduct investigation records

2021-2022- Total 39

2022-2023- Total 43

2023-2024- Total 98

2024-2025- Total 91

2025-2026- Total 108

Total = 379

379 records x 5 minutes minimum per record = 31.5 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 32 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 the IOPC police complaints statistics for England and Wales (see below link), relative to questions 3 & 6 of your request which is already accessible via other means. 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.

Police complaints statistics | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) - https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics/police-complaints-statistics

                                 

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 16/04/2026)

Os oes angen y wybodaeth yma arnoch yn Gymraeg, cysylltwch â: [email protected] If you require this information in Welsh, please contact: [email protected]