10/01/2025, in the last 12 months the ICO has issued FOIA enforcement notices to the following police constabularies:
- City of London
- Surrey
- Devon and Cornwall
- South Wales
- Dyfed Powys
- Metropolitan Police Service
- South Yorkshire
- Sussex
- Greater Manchester
10/01/2025, in the last 12 months the ICO has issued practice recommendations to the following police constabularies:
- Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary
- Staffordshire – more information about Stafordshire’s service level issues can be found in an ICO disclosure following an FoIA request.
Specific Constabulary Responses
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
- 11/2024, in response to an FoIA request: ‘Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). You will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act. Due to an increase in the volume of work received by Data Rights we regret to inform you that we have fallen behind in our processing and are experiencing delays. We can assure you we are working as fast as we can to process your request and we are looking into ways to increase our staffing to accommodate the increase of work received by the MPS’.
Northamptonshire Police
- 09/2024: ‘Unfortunately Northamptonshire Police are operating under high levels of demand for information, and we have not been able to complete the response to your request within 20 working days. Every effort is being made to ensure that you receive an appropriate response as soon as possible but at this time we are unable to identify a specific date by which your request will be completed’.
Staffordshire Police – read more about the constabulary’s ‘unforeseen (for over a year!) problems here.
Warwickshire Police
- 09/2024: ‘Unfortunately, there has been an increase in FOI requests, and therefore a demand on resources which has resulted in delays in accessing information and providing responses. We currently have a backlog of outstanding requests’
The ICO is aware – read the audit here.
West Mercia Police – appear to have overcome an issue – read more here. The responses to an FoIA request can be read here. They have been advising:
- 08/2024 – understood to be in relation to a request for a RTC/collsion report: ‘Please note, following a change in advice from the National Police Chiefs Council and the Information Commissioners Office, we are no longer able to provide you with third party details and therefore this information has been redacted from the enclosed report’.
The history associated with the NPCC ‘advice’ can be read here.
West Midlands Police
collision requests – CJ_RTC_Disclosure@westmidlands.police.uk & civil_disclosure@westmidlands.police.uk
- 07/2024 – request for a collsion report: ‘We are currently suffering an 8 week backlog, we will respond to your request as soon as possible. Please do not chase within this 8 week timeframe, as this will cause further delays’
- 08/2024: ‘I apologise for the delay in getting back to you, we are receiving an unprecedented amount of emails and due to staffing levels we are experiencing a severe backlog of up to 6 months before being able to respond to requests’.
- 09/2024 – request for a collion report: Whilst we do not doubt your payment has or will be made; it will still need to be confirmed by our Banking Team. They receive regular spread sheets from our finance department and have to confirm every BACS payment being made to us (the Traffic Investigation Unit). They are currently actioning these amounts (early August 2024), but they have been SEVERELY delayed. If and when your payment has been confirmed, we will answer/update you accordingly