Information about Met Operations 3

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.025943

I note you seek access to the following information:

I am requesting the following:

1. A thorough description of the role of Met Operations 3
2. The organisation of Met Operations 3 (How many officers, the commander and what units are inside of the division)

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

The Exemptions listed above have been utilised in relation to Question 2. This is because we believe that providing the information requested on workforce strength and the composition of this unit would be harmful to national security. We believe that those with criminal intent who take an interest in such matters can use it maliciously to the detriment of operational policing and this could compromise our law enforcement capabilities and undermine its effectiveness.

Section 24(1) – National Security - Information which does not fall within section 23(1) is exempt information if exemption from section 1(1)(b) is required for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Section 31(1)(a)(b) – Law Enforcement - provides that any information is exempt if its disclosure under the Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

A Freedom of Information Act request is not a private transaction. Both the request itself, and any information disclosed, are considered suitable for open publication. This is because under the Act, any information disclosed is released into the wider public domain, effectively to the world, not just to one individual. Once the information is published the MPS has no control over what use is made of it.

To provide the information requested on the strength and composition of this Command would be harmful to national security. Although the request itself may seem harmless, if pieced together with other information in the public domain and/or gathered from other sources, it may be useful to the criminal fraternity and those seeking to cause harm. This would be to the detriment of operational policing.

Whilst national security is not defined under the Freedom of Information Act, it does include the security of the United Kingdom and its people. Disclosing information held in regards to your FOIA request would inform the general public but would also inform those with criminal intent who would wish to cause harm.

As outlined above, disclosure of the requested information may be used as intelligence to exploit any perceived vulnerability and this could undermine the ability of the MPS to protect national security by those with the intent to do so. This would place individuals and officers at risk in the event that they were targeted by criminals and terrorists. Criminals could gain an enhanced knowledge of the MPS’ operational capabilities highlight and policing tactics could highlight as well as reveal any deficiencies. This would be detrimental to law enforcement.

Modern-day policing is intelligence-led and this is particularly pertinent with regard to both law enforcement and national security. The public expect police forces to use all powers and tactics available to them to prevent and detect crime or disorder and maintain public safety. However, any information released cannot be to the detriment of national security or law enforcement.

The public interest is defined not as what the public might find interesting, but there must be some tangible benefit to the public in the disclosure of the information. The MPS appreciates the public interest in this matter, however, we believe that it is not in the public interest to disclose information that may compromise our ability to fulfil our core function of law enforcement, especially when providing information in relation to protection and security of its officers and staff.

I have determined that providing the information requested would not be in the public interest. The MPS considers that the benefit that would result from the information being disclosed does not outweigh the harm arising from disclosing the information requested.

Disclosure

MO3 Covert Policing is the Command within the MPS that provides covert policing support. Further details are already available and in the public domain and I have provided a link below for your reference.

Q1 - A thorough description of the role of Met Operations 3

With reference to Q.1, some information is available via the link below:
Covert Policing Standards - Policy (met.police.uk)