West Mercia Police Authority

PUBLICATION SCHEME

Introduction

The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by the Police Authority, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on the Authority. Any person who makes a request to the Authority for information will be informed whether the information is held, and, subject to exemptions, supplied with that information. The effective date of this Scheme is 1 January 2009.

Your rights and our responsibilities

Section 19 of the FoI Act, requires the Police Authority (together with all other public authorities), to adopt an approved Publication Scheme, setting out the information routinely made publicly available. The model scheme, on which this publication scheme is based, has been approved by the Information Commissioner and is reviewed from time to time. In adopting (or reviewing) this Publication Scheme, the Authority is required to have regard to the public interest by:

allowing public access to information held; and
publishing the reasons for the decisions the Authority makes.

This publication scheme lets the public know what information is readily available from the Authority without your needing to ask us for it. Readily available means that the information is available on our website; can be requested by letter, email or telephone call; can be purchased; or can be found in a local library.

Your rights and the Authority’s responsibilities

The FoI legislation gives you a right of access to recorded information held by the Police Authority, subject to certain exemptions. If you ask for information, the Authority will be required to:

let you know in writing whether the information you have requested is held; and
if it is, provide the information to you within 20 working days, unless it is subject to an exemption.

The Authority also has a duty to provide advice or assistance to you or anyone seeking information (for example in order to explain what is readily available or to clarify what is wanted).

Responsibility for the Publication Scheme

The Authority’s Chief Executive has overall responsibility for the Authority’s Publication Scheme. The person responsible for the day to day maintenance and management of the Publication Scheme is:-

Deputy Chief Executive
West Mercia Police Authority
PO Box 487
SHREWSBURY
SY2 6WB
Telephone: 01743 264690
Fax: 01743 264699
E-mail: police.authority@westmercia.pnn.police.uk

Charging for Publications

Free of charge on website - there is no charge made by us, although the user will, of course, have to meet any charges made by their Internet service provider and/or telephone company as well as any personal costs for printing, photocopying etc.
For those without access to the Internet, we will provide a single printout of an individual publication, as shown on the website, free of charge from the above contact address.

Chargeable on website - requests for multiple copies of publications or multiple printouts from our website or for copies of archived material no longer available on the website will attract a charge. The cost will be restricted to 10% of the reasonable marginal costs of complying with the request, together with photocopying costs (currently 5p per sheet) and postage. We will let you know the cost when we receive your request. The charge will be payable in advance.

Where the information is available via the website but a value-added service is requested using that information, a charge will be made.
Comments about the Publication Scheme

If you have any comments on our Publication Scheme or feel that the Scheme could be improved, you should write, in the first instance to the Deputy Chief Executive whose details are set out above.

Complaints about the Publication Scheme

If you think the Authority has failed to supply information in accordance with the Scheme, then you should write, in the first instance, to the:-

Chief Executive
West Mercia Police Authority
PO Box 487
SHREWSBURY
SY2 6WB
Telephone: 01743 264690
Fax: 01743 264699
E-mail: police.authority@westmercia.pnn.police.uk

The Authority will aim to deal with your complaint within 10 working days. If you are dissatisfied with the response you can ask for the matter to be internally reviewed. Internal reviews will be completed promptly and a response given to you within 20 working days of your further request.

If, after the internal review, you remain dissatisfied, then you can complain to the Information Commissioner, whose address appears at the end of this explanatory note.

Availability of this scheme in other formats

Requests for this should be directed in the first instance to the Deputy Chief Executive at the address listed above.

Different bodies might own the copyright of material contained in our Scheme:

West Mercia Police Authority Copyright Material

For material where the Authority owns the copyright, it can be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium for research, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and not being used in a misleading context. Where material is being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the Authority’s copyright acknowledged.

The Police Authority’s logo is also copyrighted and may not be reproduced other than as it appears on copied material.

Other Copyrighted Material

Some material included in the Authority’s Scheme may be the copyright of a third party. The Authority’s rights to hold and use such material do not extend to others. You must obtain authorisation from the copyright holder(s) concerned if you wish to copy or reproduce such material.

Requests for Personal Information

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you already have a statutory right to have access to personal data the Authority holds about you on computer or in a structured manual file (i.e. on paper). You also have the right to expect the Authority, as the data controller, to ensure that data is:

processed fairly and lawfull
obtained for specific and lawful purposes
adequate, relevant and not excessiv
accurate and where necessary kept up to date
not kept for longer than is necessary
processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject
kept secure
not transferred abroad unless to countries with adequate date protections laws.

For the purposes of the 1998 Act, “personal data” is information that relates to a living identifiable person. The person or organisation who controls the purpose and manner in which data is processed is the “data controller”. More information on the Data Protection Act can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner www.ico.gov.uk or from the address given below.

Information where the Police Authority is the Data Controller
Where the Authority is the data controller, you are entitled to be told whether the Authority holds data about you, and if it does:

to be given a description of the data in questio
to be told for what purposes the data is processed
to be told the recipients, or classes of recipients, to whom the data is or may be disclosed

You are also entitled to a copy of the information with any unintelligible terms, acronyms or codes explained. You will also be given any information available to us on the source of the data. The data will be in its latest form.

If you wish to apply for access to your personal data, known as “a subject access request”, you should write to the Chief Executive at the above address. A fee of £10 must accompany your request together with proof of your identity (a current passport or photo driving licence). The Authority will also require the details needed to locate the information you seek. A request for access to personal data will be dealt with promptly and in any event within 40 days of receipt of the request and payment of the fee.

If you consider that a request by you for access to your personal data has not been dealt with properly, you may:

write to the Chief Executive at the above address seeking resolution of your complaint; or
write to the Information Commissioner, who is appointed to consider such complaints at:

Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

An online complaints procedure is also available on the Information Commissioner’s website (link)

The Information Commissioner is empowered to assess whether there has been a failure to comply with the 1998 Act. The Commissioner can issue enforcement proceedings if satisfied that there has been a contravention of the data protection principles. The Commissioner can also recommend that you apply to court alleging a failure to comply with the subject access provisions of the 1998 Act. The court may make an order requiring compliance with those provisions and may also award compensation for any damages you have suffered as well as any associated distress.

Information where the Police Authority is not the “Data Controller”

In many cases, it is the Constabulary and not the Authority who hold personal information. The Police National Computer includes information on prosecutions, convictions and cautions. Chief Officers of Police are the “data controllers” for this information and not West Mercia Police Authority.
You have the right to be told by a Chief Officer whether any information is held about you on the Police National Computer and a right to a copy of that information. The Chief Officer will give that information if he is satisfied as to your identity and on payment of a fee of £10. The Chief Officer may deny access to this information where the information is held for the prevention or detection of crime or for the apprehension or prosecution of offenders and where release of the information would be likely to be prejudicial to any of these purposes.
Police forces provide a form to simplify the exercise of your subject access rights to PNC information. In the case of West Mercia Constabulary you should contact: -

The Chief Constable
West Mercia Constabulary
Information Compliance Unit
P O Box 55
Hindlip
Worcester, WR3 8SP
Telephone: 01905 331565 / 331545
Email: information@westmercia.pnn.police.uk.

Requests under the Environmental Information Regulations

If you wish to make a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), you should write to:

Chief Executive
West Mercia Police Authority
PO Box 487
SHREWSBURY
SY2 6WB
Telephone: 01743 264690
Fax: 01743 264699
E-mail: police.authority@westmercia.pnn.police.uk