Reasons officers leave the service
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.036559
I note you seek access to the following information:
- Can you please tell me if you keep track of the reasons why your officers are leaving?
- How do you try to motivate police officers to serve as long as possible?
- Do you still have access after how many years the services are leaving?
- Alternatively, when are police officers entitled to a pension allowance in your country?
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 8(1) - Act any reference to a "request for information" is a reference to such a
Section 84 - Act as 'information recorded in any form'
We have decided that the requirement outlined by Section 8(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act has not been met in relation to part of this request, namely Q’s. 2 & 3. However, we have provided a response to Q’s.1 & 4 below.
Reason for decision
Please refer to ‘Duty to Advise and Assist’ session below.
Disclosure
Q1 - Can you please tell me if you keep track of the reasons why your officers are leaving?
The Met does keep track of the reasons why officers leave and an example of this can be found via the following link: Police Officers who have left the MPS from 2009 to 2023
Q4 - Alternatively, when are police officers entitled to a pension allowance in your country?
Pension allowances are based on 3 Pension schemes with the MPS for officers. Rules vary depending on which scheme they are a member of:
a) Police Pension Scheme 1987 (PPS) - The earliest date that a pension can generally be paid is 50, depending on length of service (if you have 30 years’ pensionable service, you may retire with an immediate pension before age 50 and an ill health pension is payable immediately)
b) New Police Pension Scheme 2006 (NPPS) - The earliest date that a pension can be paid is 55.
c) Police Officer Pension Scheme 2015 - The normal pension age is 60 but can be paid from age 55 subject to a reduction being applied.
DUTY TO ADVISE & ASSIST
Under Section 16 of the Act, there is a duty to advise and assist applicants in making requests for information and I have provided some advice below with reference to Q’s.2 & 3.
Section 8(1) of the Act applies to Q2 - How do you try to motivate police officers to serve as long as possible? and this is because the Act does not require public authorities to answer questions generally, unless the information is already ‘held’. However, as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided a link below to a MPS published document (Keeping London Safe) which you may find useful in reference to this question. The Mets direction - Our Strategy 2018-2025.pdf
Section 8(1) of the Act also applies to Q3 - Do you still have access after how many years the services are leaving? and this is because this question is not clear or specific.
In general, any response provided under FOIA is based on information held by a public authority. Under FOIA, the MPS is not obligated to create new information to satisfy a FOIA request if there is no specific policing purpose for that information. I am guided by Section 84 of the Act which states the following:
"Information is defined in section 84 of the Act as 'information recorded in any form'. The Act therefore only extends to requests for recorded information. It does not require public authorities to answer questions generally; only if they already hold the answers in recorded form. The Act does not extend to requests for information about policies or their implementation, or the merits or demerits of any proposal or action - unless, of course, the answer to any such request is already held in recorded form."
In order for the MPS to proceed with any future FOIA requests, questions should be clear and specific and relate to ‘recorded’ information, rather than requests for opinions, understanding, new information or context.
For future requests, you may wish to consider the ICO’s guidance titled ‘How to access information from a public body’, in particular the guidance under the headings ‘How should I word my request to get the best result’ and ‘Information do’s and don’ts’ which is available via the link below: