Arrests of journalists 930/2022

FOI Reference: 930/2022

Request:

I'm writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) to ask that you please disclose to me the amount of people arrested by your constabulary whose occupation was listed as journalist, reporter, correspondent, columnist, writer, or blogger - or however this is logged within your organisation at time of arrest - during any policing of protest action that your officers attended within the last three years 2020, 2021, 2022.

I do not need the names of those arrested, or their organisations, but I would like to include anyone taken into custody or who had equipment seized from them during these protests, be they covid, climate, women's rights, anti-military, far left/right, black lives matter or any other major relevant protest across this timeframe. This would include people who were ultimately released without charge subsequent to being arrested - a famous recent example would be Hertfordshire police arresting a journalist from LBC for covering the Just Stop Oil protests.

I'd also like to know the percentage of these instances in which further action either was or was not taken if possible.

Response:

I can confirm that there is no information held by Dyfed-Powys Police due to the fact that zero (0) people were arrested by Dyfed-Powys Police whose occupation was listed as journalist, reporter, correspondent, columnist, writer or blogger, or anything resembling a journalist during any policing of protest action during the timeframe specified.

                                                                                                          

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 29/12/2022)