Data on Black officers/staff/specials from January 2018 - March 2023

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029438

I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to know a few things.
1) How many black officers/staff/specials were within the Met since January 2018 until March 2023 - this can be monthly

2) What the reason was for the black officers that had left the organisation? Broad category such as; retired, transferred, resigned
This can be shown in a pie chart

3) What the process is for an officer if they resign from working as an officer for the Metropolitan Police Service

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 38(1) - Health and Safety
Section 40(2)(3)&(4) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the parameters set out by the Act within which a request for information can be answered. The Act creates a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if permitted, confirm if the requested information is held by that public authority and, if so, then communicate that information to the applicant.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities to withhold information that is not suitable for release. Importantly, the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.

Section 38(1) - Health and Safety - of the Act provides an exemption from the disclosure of information which would, or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual, or endanger the safety of an individual.

Disclosure of further information regarding deaths during MPS service in relation to your Request 2, may cause their families to be at psychological risk if details relating to their identity were disclosed.

Disclosure of further details of deaths during service could jeopardise the mental state and safety of the individuals. This will not be in the public interest. There is a risk that a disclosure could be used in conjunction with other publically available information such as media reports or local community knowledge to identify specific individuals. This could undermine the integrity of the MPS and the Health and safety of any families of people who have died.

The harm identified above, is reduced by withholding any low numbers of deaths during or following police.

It is imperative that the safety and identity of those captured by this request, was not a factor, when trying to be transparent in disclosing as much information as possible. The MPS has a duty of care to the communities served. I consider that the benefit that would result from the information being disclosed does not outweigh disclosing the information.

Section 40(2)(3)&(4) – Personal Information - Details of an investigation could cause an individual to be identified and is therefore exempted in this case.

Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 confirms that information which relates to an identified or identifiable living individual is Personal Data.

The Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.

Some of the information sought under your Freedom of Information request includes the following which we consider to be Personal Data

• Low numbers of people within the data that could, if disclosed, identify an individual.

Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.

In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2018).

The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.

There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 act and these can be found at section 34.

In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.

Disclosure

The harm of disclosure is reduced by not providing the exact figure for low numbers of people within the table provided for Request 2. A low figure of people under their reason for leaving could make it possible for a person to self-identify.

Data provided for under reason for leaving – Death in service including the year they died would be insensitive for any families of the deceased. I can state that there have been 8 people who have died in service during the 2018-19 to 2022-23.

I would like to know a few things.
Q1 - How many black officers/staff/specials were within the Met since January 2018 until March 2023 - this can be monthly

Years	Police Officer	Staff	Special
Mar-18	989	920	139
Mar-19	1031	990	119
Mar-20	1108	1039	118
Mar-21	1170	1080	109
Mar-22	1219	1066	108
Mar-23	1272	1110	103

Q2 - What the reason was for the black officers that had left the organisation? Broad category such as; retired, transferred, resigned
This can be shown in a pie chart.

The data you have requested is not held in a Pie chart format. The MPS is under no obligation under FOI to create information.

Reason for Leaving	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Death in Service			0
Dismissed		5		5
Gross Misconduct		0	0	0	0
Joining another police force		7		6
Medical retirement			0		23
Ordinary Retirement - Police Officer	22	28	15	42	49
Voluntary resignation	25	28	23	27
Blank			0	0	0
Total	59	71	46	87	83

Q3 - What the process is for an officer if they resign from working as an officer for the Metropolitan Police Service

What to do when resigning from the Met
When you have decided to leave the Met, the main things you will need to do are:

Confirm your resignation – You will need to do this in writing to your line manager. The details must also be completed within the Resignation – Officer Request for Service. When completing the Request for Service ensure you click on the banner ‘Notice of resignation without pension’ within the section of the same name to open up the form further for completion.

Raise the Resignation – Officer Request for Service. Be aware that there are circumstances where your resignation may be stopped even after the RfS has been submitted. Complete the appropriate fields in order to submit the Official Secrets Act Declaration and the Pension Form.

A certificate of service will need to be requested separately on a Certificate of Service Request for Service. Further detail regarding certificate of service can be found on the Recognising Good Work page.

Returning Met property – Work with your line manger to return all Met property. The Leavers Process Request for Service should be completed by your line manager.

In addition you should follow the advice in the Warrant Cards and Staff Passes page regarding warrant card destruction.

Outstanding advances of pay – You can contact the HR Contact Centre for advice regarding arrangements for any outstanding advances of pay and their repayment. This will help ensure any under/over payments are avoided. See also the Met Rewards pages for further details.

Annual leave – You can use advice in the Helpful Resources page to work out your pro rata annual leave. You must agree with your line manager when you will take any leave that you are owed, see the What you need to know page for further information.

Change line management responsibilities - If you are a line manager you will need to ensure your line manager responsibilities are passed onto another line manager on PSOP. If you need help changing your line manager responsibilities see the Manager Self Service – Change Manager online help to assist you.