Structures of Met and Specialists Operations

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.21.022343

I note you seek access to the following information:

I am writing to you in connection to a previous freedom of information request that was made pertaining to the structure of the Met and Specialist Operation(s) business group(s).

Could you;

A. Outline each officer and how much of them are in each subgroup (e.g x1 Superintendent, x2 Inspectors for MO19)

B. Give a hierarchy of Constable to Assistant Commissioner within the business group (outlining chains of command)

C. Outline what portfolios senior officers within subgroups may hold (e.g Superintendent for MO19 as Strategic Firearms Commander, etc)

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

Reason for decision

A disclosure under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is a disclosure to the world.

That means that any information disclosed in response to a request must be suitable for any individual in the public domain to view. This is demonstrated by the fact that all MPS disclosures made under the Act are published on our external website.

With regards to question A, you have asked for an outline of each officer and how much of them are in each subgroup, broken down to a significant level of granularity. Were we to disclose the information broken down as you have requested, it would be likely to provide enough information for individuals (or groups of individuals) with mal-intent to disrupt our ability to fulfil our basic law enforcement functions and our ability to deploy resources safely and efficiently.

For these reasons, Section 31(1)(a)(b) of the Act is engaged in respect of question A.

Section 31(1)(a)(b) – Law Enforcement - Our previous disclosure gave a breakdown of units within Met Operations that included amongst others, MO3 - Covert and Intelligence, Major Operations - MO6 Public Order Planning, Uniformed Operations - MO19 Specialist Firearms Command, SO - National Co-Ordination NCTPOC - National Counter Terrorism Police, SO - Protection Command - Parliamentary & Diplomatic Protection.
To disclose the number of Police Officers in each subgroup could cause harm to the Police service’s ability to protect the public it serves and could prejudice its ability to perform core functions such as the prevention and detection of crime.

This information would consequently increase the capability for criminals, including extremist networks, to target innocent members of the public. If this information were in the public domain those wishing to do so could, for example, see our capability and would be more likely to be able to commit a crime without being apprehended or detected.

Releasing this data would give individuals with criminal intent the intelligence required to disrupt police activity and target innocent members of the public. Criminals would be able to identify in which areas within the MPS, resources are weak and use this knowledge to their advantage in furthering criminal activity around the MPS and country as a whole.

The disclosure of information which is likely to undermine the Police service’s ability to serve the public in preventing and detecting crime can only be considered as being harmful to the public.

To release the requested information would be likely to hinder the ability of the Service to prevent and detect crime, as well as hinder our ability to apprehend offenders. If the disclosure of information through FOIA would be likely to cause harm and have such a negative impact on crime levels, the public's fear of crime, or public safety it cannot be seen to be in the public interest.

Specific information regarding police numbers broken down by each subgroup is a valuable commodity to individuals (and/or organisations) wishing to commit crime, as it provides an insight into tactics and resources available to the MPS. Therefore, those seeking to commit criminality could counter any future policing tactics by seeing patterns in our deployments and thus elude justice. This will ultimately have a detrimental impact on innocent members of the public living or travelling within the

MPS district - as the levels of crime would increase, and consequently so would the public's fear.

Releasing the requested information would be likely to leave the MPS vulnerable to criminals utilising the information for malicious intent, including potential terrorist threats. This could lead to an increase in crime if offenders believed they were less likely to be apprehended.

The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. The Police Service will never divulge our resources in this capacity, if to do so would place the safety of an individual(s) at risk, or undermine the policing purpose in the effective delivery of operational law enforcement.

With regards to question B. Give a hierarchy of Constable to Assistant Commissioner within the business group (outlining chains of command).
Please be advised that the information was already disclosed in the previous request. This can be found in the link you have provided as part of your request.

Disclosure

Please see the attached spreadsheet for Question C - Outline what portfolios senior officers within subgroups may hold (e.g Superintendent for MO19 as Strategic Firearms Commander, etc)