Information on officer’s identifying someone’s ethnicity
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.039612
I note you seek access to the following information:
REQUEST 1:
What inferences do officers use in deciding someone's officer identified ethnicity
Could you give a description on how officers make the judgement in deciding what to assign somebody under?
Such as
Skin colour
Name
Look of a person etc.
I am interested particular due to the difference in the IC1 and IC2 categories
REQUEST 2:
What common ethnicities are put under which officer identified ethnicities usually
For instance;
Romanian
Polish
Somebody who is of Roma ethnicity
Italian
Spanish
German
Albanian
Syrian
Iraqi
Iranian
Egyptian
Somebody of mixed black and white heritage Ghanian Congolese Jamaican
Chinese
Indian
Pakistani
Vietnamese
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 21 – Information reasonably accessible by other means
Reason for decision
REQUEST 2:
What common ethnicities are put under which officer identified ethnicities usually
I am pleased to inform you that the information requested is held by the MPS and is already in the public domain.
Information on IC and SDE codes can be found within the 5.9.9.4 of the Blackstone’s Handbook for Policing Students (2022)
Section 21 (Accessible by other means) – REQUEST 2 - Some of the information requested has been identified as being accessible via other means as it is already published. Where information is already in the public domain, we are not required to re-publish the data; instead public authorities are required to direct you to the information, which we have done in this instance. This action is in accordance with section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Disclosure
REQUEST 1:
What inferences do officers use in deciding someone's officer identified ethnicity
Could you give a description on how officers make the judgement in deciding what to assign somebody under?
Police officers are told to refer to Blackstone’s Handbook for Policing Students (2022).
REQUEST 2:
What common ethnicities are put under which officer identified ethnicities usually
In addition to the Blackstone’s Handbook for Policing Students (2022), on the Officers’ Pocketbooks (Book 124) the codes are described as follows:
1. White skinned European appearance e.g. English, Scottish, Welsh, French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Russian.
2. Dark skinned European appearance e.g. Greek, Cypriot, Turkish, Sicilian, Sardinian, Spanish, Italian.
3. African-Caribbean appearance e.g. West Indian, Guyanese, black African (including those with a light complexion).
4. Asian appearance i.e. South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan).
5. Chinese / Japanese appearance including South East Asian, e.g. Malayan, Burmese, Filipino, Mongolian.
6. Arabian / Egyptian appearance e.g. Algerian, Tunisian, Moroccan and North African.
No other information pertaining to your FOIA request is recorded.