Metropolitan Police FOIA - inflexible data systems
Our amended FOIA request (attached below) to the Metropolitan Police about the number of applications and authorisations, arrests and charges, under sectioms 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 has again been rejected, on the grounds that even this cut down request, would still take more than 18 hours to comply with, just like our original FOIA request.
Following a phone conversation with the Metropolitan Police records people, the reasons that even this amended request would, apparently take so long, is interesting, and has implications for any FOIA requests to the Metropolitan Police for any crime statistics.
Apparently in order to determine how many arrests or chrges there have been over a specific timme period, for a specific offence, under any legislation, the Metropolitan Police would need to "look in over 100 places" on their computer systems.
Details of the actual reasons for an Arrest, or the details of any actual Charrges, are, apparently, stored in free text fields on their computer systems, and so this information is not easily automatically cross-referenced - no Google search engine for the Metropolitan Police records, by the looks of things !
There does not appear to be a centralised criminal charge booking system, each Borough withiin the Metropolitan Police does its own.
We have been advised that sending an FOIA request to each Borough, would be interpreted as a "campaign" and the "vexatious requests" Exemption from the FOIA would then apply.
Our only hope of getting what should be the relatively simple information, on what appears to be less than a dozen arrests and/or charges under sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crimes and Police Act 2005, wouild be to submit the request to Westminster Borough Division (most of the Designated Area around Parliament Square) , and then, perhaps a month later to Lambeth Borough which covers the London Eye etc, on the south/east bank of the Thames.
Similarly, our "simple" request for the number of Written Applications for Permission to Demonstrate, and the number of Authorisations by the Commissioner (with ot without attached Conditions), is not handled by a single desk at, say, the Public Order Operational Command Unit, but by each of the Borough Operational Command Units (BOCU). The badly draughted SOCPA legislation allows for Applications to "the Commissioner for Police of the Metropololis", to be sent by recorded delivery postal mail, or to be handed in at any Police Station in the Metropolis.
Therfore again, any search of their records, London wide, involves each of the BOCU, all 34 of them, plus Applications sent to the New Scotland Yard HQ. Even if it only takes about half an hour to deal with an GOIA request at each BOCU, then the "18 hour" limit is almost certain to be breached.
Given the billions of pinds spent on the Metropolitan Police's IT systems over the years, and the insatioable demand for crime statistics by the Home Office, it does semm extraordinary, that the system should be so fragmented, and that a free text search engine has not been installed.
"Freedom of Information Act Request,
Public Access Office
New Scotland Yard
10 Broadway
London
SW1H 0BG
Wednesday 7th September 2005
Sent via Metropolitan Police Freedom of Information Act 2000 online
form:
http://www.met.police.uk/information/metric/index.htm
Copy sent by email to: AAA BBB @met.pnn.police.ukFreedom of Information Act 2000 formal Request for Information
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please provide me with the following information, regarding the new
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act Designated Area sections 132 to
138, which restricts demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament, which
came partly into force on the 1st July and fully into force on 1st
August 2005:Q1) How many written Notifications seeking authorisation to demonstrate
within the Designated Area, under the Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act 2005 section 133 Notice of demonstrations in designated area,
have been received by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis
since the legislation came into force on 1st July 2005 ?Q2) How many written Authorisations have been sent by, or on behalf of
the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis as laid down in Section
134 (6) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, since the
legislation came into force on 1st July 2005 ?Arrests under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 section
132 to section 138Q3) How many people have been arrested, for demonstrating without
authorisation, since the legislation came fully into force on 1st August
2005 ?Q4) How many people have been arrested, for organising a demonstration
without authorisation, since the legislation came fully into force on
1st August 2005 ?Q5) How many people have been arrested, for breaking the Conditions
imposed on an authorised demonstration , since the legislation came
fully into force on 1st August 2005 ?Q6) How many people have been arrested, for use of a loudspeaker, since
the legislation came fully into force on 1st August 2005 ?Arrests under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 section
132 to section 138Q7) How many people have been charged, with demonstrating without
authorisation, since the legislation came fully into force on 1st August
2005 ?Q8) How many people have been charged, with organising a demonstration
without authorisation, since the legislation came fully into force on
1st August 2005 ?Q9) How many people have been charged, with breaking the Conditions
imposed on an Authorised demonstration since the legislation came fully
into force on 1st August 2005 ?Q10) How many people have been charged, with use of a loudspeaker,
since the legislation came fully into force on 1st August 2005 ?---------------------------------------
N.B. according to the reports in the media, the number of people
arrested or arrested and charged, could be less than a dozen, so far,
with nobody arrested for, using a Loudspeaker, Organising, or breaking
any imposed Conditions.--------------------------------------
References to legislation:
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005: Part 4 PUBLIC ORDER AND
CONDUCT IN PUBLIC PLACES ETC.Demonstrations in vicinity of Parliament
132 Demonstrating without authorisation in designated area
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#132133 Notice of demonstrations in designated area
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#133134 Authorisation of demonstrations in designated area
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#134135 Supplementary directions
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#135136 Offences under sections 132 to 135: penalties
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#136137 Loudspeakers in designated area
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#137138 The designated area
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/50015--l.htm#138Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1537 The Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act 2005 (Designated Area) Order 2005
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051537.htm--------------------------------
Please provide the information ideally, by publishing it on your public
world wide website, or alternatively by email.In the unlikely event that this information is not already available in
a standard electronic format, then please explain the reasons why, when
you provide the information in another format.If you are proposing to make a charge for providing the information
requested, please provide full details in advance, together with an
explanation of any proposed chargeIf you decide to withhold any of the information requested you should
clearly explain why you have done so in your response, by reference to
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation.If your decision to withhold is based upon an evaluation of the public
interest, then you should clearly explain which public interests you
have considered, and why you have decided that the public interest in
maintaining the exception(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing
the information.I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as
possible and in any event, within 20 working days of receipt. i.e. by
Wednesday 5th October 2005Thank you in advance for your assistance.
If you require any clarification of this request please contact me as
soon as possible.Yours sincerely
{name]
[address]
[email]