16/01/2024 TVP’s response for a request relating to the disclosure of police reports:
The request:
The information sought is
- The 4 options with any accompanying explanation, advice, guidance (or similar) provided to the requestor
- The date this disclosure procedure commenced
- Any guidance/instruction or similar provided to TVP staff about the procedure
- Any disclosure of the process, for example, to the insurance industry
- The consideration TVP gave to the disclosure that resulted in the ‘4 options’ procedure.
Response
“Subject access request”
under section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998
Your client can request personal information relating to him or her by this process. Full details and an
application form can be downloaded from our website at:
Application for access to your personal data held on Thames Valley Police Information Systems
However, you will be aware that on a subject access request, information relating to other people has to be considered separately and may well be removed from any documents provided to your client. Depending on the purposes for which your client needs the documents, this may make them unsuitable for use in civil proceedings.
Consent
If you can provide the written consent of a person who has provided information to the police, we would
normally agree to provide that information to you. There may be some limited exceptions, for example,
where we consider that providing the information would be likely to prejudice an ongoing criminal
investigation or prosecution.
Court order
Subject to the following conditions, we would not normally object to an application for a court order requiring us to disclose information for the purposes of civil proceedings:
The conditions are as follows:
- The application should set out precisely what information is sought and this should be limited
to the evidential material gathered by the police, eg. Witness statements; records of interview;
experts’ reports and documentary exhibits. It is most unlikely that we can agree to or comply with an
order expressed in general terms, e.g. “all material” or “the file”. - The order should make provision for the payment of our reasonable costs and expenses in complying with it (these will be charged by us in accordance with the schedule enclosed with this
letter). - The order should give us a reasonable time (normally 28 days) to provide the information requested. The order should be provided to us as soon as possible after it is made.
Interview of Attending Officer
The reporting officer can be interviewed by a solicitor/insurance company only if civil proceedings are
commenced and the interview is necessary to obtain proof of evidence. The interview will be granted on the strict understanding that a copy of the proof will be supplied to the Chief Constable, who may, at their discretion and to avoid unnecessary interviews, provide a copy of it to other solicitors, who are
legitimate enquirers in any proceedings arising from the collision.
If an interview with the officer concerned is allowed by the Chief Constable, a scale of charges commencing at £169.90 for the first two hours and £84.95 per hour / part hour thereafter will be charged. The charges apply in respect of each interview arranged, unless adequate notice of any postponement of the interview is received.
No Police Officer will be allowed to give evidence in civil proceedings unless served with a subpoena.
2-5.
- 2. The date this disclosure procedure commenced
- 3. Any guidance/instruction or similar provided to TVP staff about the procedure
- 4. Any disclosure of the process, for example, to the insurance industry
- 5. The consideration TVP gave to the disclosure that resulted in the ‘4 options’ procedure.
No information held.
The four options listed are not considered to be a procedure.