List of all operational buildings owned or leased by MOPAC

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023552

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. A list of all operational buildings owned or leased by MOPAC:
a) As at 31/12/2018; and
b) As at 01/01/2010.

Please could the data include, if available:
a) the name of the building;
b) the borough in which it is / was located;
c) the type of building (using whatever classification you utilise for distinguishing different types of facility); and
d) whether the building had, at the time, an operational front counter.

2. If the information above is readily available also for each year from 2011 to 2017 inclusive, I would be grateful also for that, but this is of secondary importance, and need not be provided if to do so would exceed the relevant 18 hour limits.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 31(1)(a)(b) - Law Enforcement
Section 24(1) - National Security

Reason for decision

At your question 1.c) you have asked for

“The type of building (using whatever classification you utilise for distinguishing different types of facility”.

Please be advised that the above information is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a)(b) of the Act, which provides an exemption to refuse information prejudicial to Law Enforcement, and Section 24(1) of the Act which provides an exemption to refuse information prejudicial to National Security.

Whilst the locations of operational police buildings are in the public domain it would be prejudicial to law enforcement and national security to disclose how each building is utilised, i.e. the nature of the functions or teams that reside in any given building outside of the front counter services and custody suites. Any such disclosure would be likely to provide enough information for individuals (or groups of individuals) with criminal or malicious intent to disrupt our ability to deploy resources safely and efficiently which would hinder our ability to fulfil our basic law enforcement functions.

Furthermore, given the current national threat level and the threat to officer safety this information also has the potential to impact negatively upon national security, if viewed by those with necessary intent.

Where disclosure will likely jeopardise the primary functions of the MPS, that are to prevent and detect crime, information needs to be protected.

In this instance, the current threat level for the UK is 'substantial', therefore to provide any information about the specific resources and capabilities the MPS has available to respond in specific areas could highlight potential weaknesses and allow individuals wishing to carry out terrorist attacks to identify locations as targets for planned attacks, and develop tactics to combat the known response capability.

Disclosure of how every operational police building in London is utilised, for example, where response teams are deployed from, would place those stations at risk from organised crime groups who could plan a malicious attack and could disrupt the effective operation of our emergency provision across the MPS.

Disclosure would give an indication of which areas to target if someone wanted to delay the police response. This could therefore compromise the ability of the MPS to respond to incidents as well as compromise the security of our operational buildings and the safety of our officers and staff, and the general public.

Disclosing the requested information would have a detrimental impact upon operational policing.

Highlighting a list of all the operational police buildings in London and outlining how they are utilised and which units are based in each one would reveal both the operational and tactical capabilities of the MPS and would allow the geographic mapping of resources. This would compromise law enforcement tactics and hinder the prevention and detection of crime and the successful prosecution of offenders.

Disclosure would provide those individuals or groups within the criminal fraternity who wish to attack the police with a significant operational advantage and the information could also be used to target locations perceived as less well-resourced or to develop tactics to divert resources away from locations that they wish to target. This would clearly jeopardise the ability of the MPS to respond appropriately to criminal activity and thereby protect the public.

The requested information could be used to compromise law enforcement capabilities by decreasing the ability of the MPS to fight crime, which would increase the commission of crime and subsequently have a detrimental impact on public safety as well as decrease public confidence in the police force.

Please see the disclosure section below for information that has been located and assessed as suitable for disclosure.

Disclosure

Q1 - A list of all operational buildings owned or leased by MOPAC:
a) As at 31/12/2018;

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 Column I

b) As at 01/01/2010.

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 Column A

Q - Please could the data include, if available:

a) The name of the building;

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 Column J

b) The borough in which it is / was located;

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 Column K

d) Whether the building had, at the time, an operational front counter.

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 in columns P for 31/12/2009 and Y for 31/12/2018. Front Counter information is recorded annually as of the 31st December, therefore the dates are for 31/12/2009 onwards

Q2 - If the information above is readily available also for each year from 2011 to 2017 inclusive, I would be grateful also for that, but this is of secondary importance, and need not be provided if to do so would exceed the relevant 18 hour limits

Information is provided on the attached spreadsheet. Tab 023552 shows status for all properties leased or owned in columns B to H. The date information for Front Counters is in columns P to Y.