Cases of misconduct referred to DPS from April 2020 to April 2023

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.034704

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. Grievances about Police Officers made across Transformation during the below dates: 1 April 2020 to 01 April 2023.
2. Breakdown of results by rank of person being complained about, and whether a uniform or a detective police officer: For example grievances made about PCs & DCs, Sgts & DSs, Inspectors & Detective Inspectors, Chief Inspector & Detective Chief Inspectors - during those 3 time frames.
3. How many cases were referred to DPS for Conduct Investigation and of that number - a breakdown according to rank and whether the person complained about was a uniform or a detective officer?
4. Grievances finalised because the person subject of the grievance refused to engage the grievance process and breakdown according to rank and whether uniform or detective.
5. Breakdown to show how many Grievances were found against the subject being complained about. Response to include the rank and whether uniform or detective please.
6. Breakdown of the gender of the complainant.

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)(a)(b) and (3)(a)(i) – 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 Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) within which a request for information can be answered.

When a request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), a public authority must inform you, when permitted, whether the information requested is held. It must then communicate that information to you. If a public authority decides that it is cannot comply with all or part of a request, it must cite the appropriate section or exemption of the Act and provide you with a suitable explanation. It is important to note that 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 40(2)(a)(b) and (3)(a)(i) - Personal Information - 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 3(a), 3(b) and 4(c) 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 specific information could lead to the identification of individuals which is 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

Q1 - Grievances about Police Officers made across Transformation during the below dates:

1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 – 1 grievance received
1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 – 6 grievances received
1 April 2022 to 01 April 2023 – 4 grievances received

Q2 - Breakdown of results by rank of person being complained about, and whether a uniform or a detective police officer: For example grievances made about PCs & DCs, Sgts & DSs, Inspectors & Detective Inspectors, Chief Inspector & Detective Chief Inspectors - during those 3 time frames.

During this time frame (1 April 2020 to 01 April 2023) the following ranks, have been subject of grievances:

PC, DC - 0
PS, - 3
Insp, D/Insp - 4
C/I, DCI - 6
Supt, D/Supt – 4

C/Supt information cannot be shared, low count and therefore may allow the subject of the grievance to be identified. For the same reason I have not provided this information split by uniform / detective. Breaking down the numbers to that extent may enable individuals to be identified.

Q3 - How many cases were referred to DPS for Conduct Investigation and of that number - a breakdown according to rank and whether the person complained about was a uniform or a detective officer?

Two cases were referred for investigation by the DPS. Providing the rank details may enable individuals to be identified.

Q4 - Grievances finalised because the person subject of the grievance refused to engage the grievance process and breakdown according to rank and whether uniform or detective.

One case was closed for non-engagement as either the aggrieved or subject did not engage. Providing rank details may enable individuals to be identified.

Q5 - Breakdown to show how many Grievances were found against the subject being complained about. Response to include the rank and whether uniform or detective please.

Grievances are not recorded if upheld, just manor in which they were addressed.

In this time period:

Report disclosed - 5
Informally resolved - 1
Non-engagement - 1
Investigation - 1
Closed - 2
Not within grievance remit - 1

Q6 - Breakdown of the gender of the complainant.

Grievances raised by Females - 5
Grievances raised by Males – 6

Please note that gender is self-declared field and not everyone has completed the self-declared fields, so we can only provide what's reported on our system