Guidance on new offence of interference with key national infrastructure

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.033809

I note you seek access to the following information:

On 30 October, the Metropolitan Police made the first arrests under the new offence of “interference with use or operation of key national infrastructure" created by section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023.

On 6 November, you indicated on social media that "officers are following guidance" on the use of this offence.

Please can you let me have a copy of this guidance issued to officers?

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

I regret to advise that I am not required by statute to release all of the information requested and I have therefore provided some of the information requested in a redacted format.

We have utilised Section 31 Exemption because some of the details contained in the guidance requested have been redacted. Release of all of the information into the public domain would reveal tactical and operational capabilities and provide enough information to those with criminal intent to take steps to disrupt the Met’s ability to police such events by deploying resources safely and efficiently. This would hinder our ability to fulfil our basic law enforcement functions, which cannot be in the public interest.

Some of the details have also been redacted because, although contained in some general guidance, they are not relevant to this request and have therefore been removed.

Section 31(1)(a)(b) - Law Enforcement - In this case, this exemption has been applied because we believe that disclosure of the information requested in its entirety would prejudice areas within law enforcement such as the detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

The MPS has a statutory role in investigating criminal offences and we deploy a range of tactics and investigative techniques to do so and we believe that providing the information requested in its entirety would have an adverse effect on law enforcement. This is because those with criminal intent would gain a better understanding of policing methods and techniques and could utilise this information to undermine the work of the MPS which would be detrimental to law enforcement.

Any information released under the Act which reveals information related to police strategies and tactics as well as police capabilities, would render the police less effective in dealing with any related incidents which would undermine policing.

This would cause operational harm to the MPS and affect our ability to fulfil our core function of law enforcement. The release of such information would reveal tactical operational information which would be to the detriment of providing an efficient policing service and a failure in providing a duty of care to all members of the public.

Disclosure would hinder the ability of the MPS to police effectively in preventing crime if the public become aware of the tactics, resources and capabilities available to the MPS. This is particularly so if the public are aware of what type of tactics, intelligence and resources the MPS are likely to have available, as it also indicates what capabilities and resources they do not have and decisions they may take to overcome the methods used by those wishing to cause harm.

Releasing all of the guidance would have the effect of compromising law enforcement processes and would also hinder the ability of the MPS to fulfil its primary function of enforcing the law and protecting the public. Disclosure would technically release sensitive operational information into the public domain which would enable those individuals intent on committing criminal activity to circumvent methods used to prevent crime and apprehend offenders. This in turn hinders the ability of the MPS to carry out its core functions in law enforcement.

As explained above, some of the information is also not relevant to this request and have therefore been redacted.

The MPS believes that the disclosure of the information requested in its entirety would limit operational capabilities as individuals would gain a better understanding of policing methods and tactics. It may also highlight limitations of policing capabilities in this area, which may further encourage criminal activity by exposing potential vulnerabilities which would undermine the MPS’ policing function and this cannot be in the public interest.

I have determined that disclosure of the guidance provided to officers in its entirety would not be in the public interest, because I consider that the benefit that would result from all of the information being disclosed does not outweigh the considerations favouring non-disclosure. I have also determined that all of the information contained in the documents is not relevant to Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023 and this has been withheld.

Disclosure

Please refer to the 2 PDFs below for your requested information.