Data for traffic offence reports, cameras and allegations so far in 2023

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.031214

I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to request data for traffic offence reports, cameras and allegations so far in 2023 including the offence date, details, location, gender, age and "disposal completion method" aka the outcome.

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 40(2)(3) - Personal Information

Reason for decision

You have requested data broken down by:
• Date
• Descripton
• Location
• Gender
• Age
• Disposal Completion Method

We have not been able to provide you with a breakdown of all of the data as requested. This is due to the fact that the provision of the data as above would lead to the possible identification of individuals.

Therefore we have withheld the release of the ‘Date’ of the offence and have provided the month and year. In relation to ‘Age’, we have aggregated the data and provided age ranges (eg 17 to 25, 26 to 40, 41 to 55 etc), as opposed the precise age.

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 Freedom of Information, any information disclosed is released into the wider public domain, effectively to the world and not just to one individual.
The MPS, like all UK public authorities are obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and this includes the protection of personal data.

If you marry all the data that you’ve requested, we believe the release of this data would make it less anonymous and likely to lead to the identification of living individuals.

This type of information can fairly be considered "personal data" and sensitive, with a clear identifiable link. In most cases, personal data is exempt from disclosure under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act.

Where an individual is requesting third party personal data the MPS must ensure that any action taken adheres to the principles of GDPR/ the Data Protection Act 2018.
To clarify, the Freedom of Information Act only allows disclosure of personal data if that disclosure would be compliant with that law.

It is legitimate for the MPS to consider the cumulative effect of disclosing information of a similar nature in respect of the occupations of the offenders under the Freedom of Information Act, and the effect this has on public perception and how it responsibly and sensitively handles personal data in a public forum.

Section 40(2)(3A)(a) - Personal Information - I consider that Section 40(2) and 40(3A)(a) is applicable in this case, as any further disclosure at this level of detail, would breach the 1st data protection principle that requires personal data to be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals.

There is no presumption of disclosure in relation to ‘personal data’ which is defined as: ‘any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual’

“Identifiable living individual” means a living individual who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to—

(a) An identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or
(b) One or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the individual.’

For such disclosure to be lawful, it would be necessary to satisfy a condition within Article 6 of the GDPR. Article 6 sets out the six lawful bases, applying to all processing; one of which must be in place in every case of disclosure of personal data, in accordance with the first data protection principle. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance provides:

‘In all circumstances, you must have an Article 6 lawful basis for processing.

There are six lawful bases for processing in Article 6, but only (a) consent or (f) legitimate interest are relevant to disclosure under FOIA or EIR.

In order to assess whether this lawful basis is engaged you need to consider three key questions:

(i) Purpose: what is the legitimate interest in disclosure of the information?
(ii) Necessity: is disclosure necessary for that purpose?
(iii) Balancing test: does the legitimate interest outweigh the interests and rights of the individual?’

Here, we need to balance the rights and freedoms of the individuals involved with any legitimate public interest in disclosure. Any further disclosure of the requested information complete with the date and specific age, under FOIA legislation is not necessary to meet a legitimate interest, particularly when considering the distress that is likely to be caused to victims and individuals with the disclosure of wholly personal information via an FOIA request.

With this in mind, the data subjects in the circumstances of your request would have a legitimate expectation that this type of personal data would not be used for non-policing purposes (i.e. FOIA requests – disclosures for which are also placed on the MPS website Publication Scheme).

Any further disclosure in the circumstances of your request would be unlawful and would therefore contravene the first data protection principle. I have therefore applied the exemption provided under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act to this information as the first condition, defined in subsection (3A)(a) of Section 40 has been satisfied. This therefore, becomes an absolute exemption.

Disclosure

Please find below aggregated data in answer to your request.