The 2021 review of Public Protection strands in Frontline Policing

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.033059

I note you seek access to the following information:

With reference to page 55 of the Force Management Statement 2022, please could you publish the 2021 review of Public Protection strands in Frontline Policing comparing caseload across Local Investigations and Public Protection.

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

Section 31(1)(a)(b) – Law Enforcement - In this instance, disclosure of the redacted information would be likely to prejudice our ability to successfully police the area of public protection, as it may reveal vulnerabilities in our current practices, stop the free and frank discussion of issues and potential remedies, and reduce public confidence – thus inhibiting our ability to fulfil our core policing functions of preventing and detecting crime, and apprehending those responsible. Therefore Section 31 is engaged.

The information redacted from this document is both textual and pictorial, including charts showing workloads broken down by crime type and BCU, comments from staff about issues and challenges, and potential options for change – which themselves include both the potential positive and negatives outcomes.

Disclosing this information, first and foremost, may show which areas and which BCUs are dealing with higher workloads / less staff – which may be useful information to someone who wishes to commit such crimes. They may believe that such information means they are less likely to be investigated and their crimes detected in specific areas, which could lead to additional crimes being carried out.

Also, disclosing this information is likely to inhibit staff and officers from being able to be as frank about the challenges being faced and any potential options that may be available to them should this information be disclosed in its entirety. This would mean that those responsible would be less likely to be able to be completely honest regarding the situation, which may mean key innovative ways to resolve said challenges are missed.

Disclosing the information in its entirety may be likely to impact upon public confidence in the MPS. This review was undertaken in 2021, and changes have been implemented to address areas of concern and improve the service we offer. Disclosing out of date information may cause the public to lose confidence in how we police this area, which could result in underreporting. This would be detrimental to the core policing functions we aim to undertake.

Disclosing the document in full would be likely to lead to reduced public confidence, which could lead to underreporting in this business area. Disclosure would therefore be likely to hinder our ability to prevent and detect crimes of this nature, and apprehend those responsible for them.

Disclosing review documents may mean it more likely that future reviews are not carried out as in depth or as honesty, for fear that exposing any potential areas of risk may reduce public confidence. This may result in areas of policing that need review, opting to not do so, or not do so thoroughly. This cannot be seen to be in the public interest, as it is imperative that we constantly aim to operate as efficiently and effectively as we can with the resources we have available to us.

I believe that the disclosure made today satisfies the commitment to openness and transparency, whilst not negatively impacting upon our ability to conduct our fundamental law enforcement functions.

This document is an in depth review of the challenges that were facing the area of Public Protection in the middle of 2021. It contains detailed insight into the work undertaken by the Unit, with focus on staffing, workloads, and broader issues facing policing nationally. It was designed to give an honest and frank account of the issues faced, with a view to ascertaining how, in the current financial climate, these issues could be successfully remedied in order to further improve our ability to police this important area.

Some information contained within this document, if released, could reveal potential vulnerabilities in the policing model, which could be exploited by those wishing to avoid detection / apprehension for crimes policed by these teams. Furthermore, it may mean officers and staff are less able to be free and frank in their contributions to such reviews in future, if they were to believe that such information would be open to the public view. This may mean that such reviews are less beneficial, and necessary change may not come about – thus impacting upon the ability of the MPS to provide their core policing functions.

Disclosure

Please find attached a redacted copy of the document titled “Review of Public protection – FLPHQ”.