‘The Others’ … are you among them?

Police Report Disclosure – the ICO, the NPCC and … ‘The Others’.

They say communications were sent. Important ones. A police constabulary is adamant they contacted key individuals. But, ask for names, and there are none. Request the addresses, ask to see the messages… and the silence is deafening. No records. No replies. No trace. No information held.

Contradictions surface. Official memory grows foggy as one mystery takes hold: who are these people the police claim to have liaised with, simply, teasingly, referred to as ‘The Others‘?

Amidst concerns that any trace of the paper trail will disintegrate, explanations falter, the chilling possibility emerges -they may never have existed!

Were they ghosts of bureaucracy? Convenient inventions to close a file, dodge scrutiny, or bury inconvenient truths?

And so, the hunt begins – not just for the missing correspondence, but for the very reality behind it. In a system built on accountability, who are ‘The Others‘?

The issue of police report disclosure and the 2022 ABI/NPCC (CoLP) MoU was again questioned at the end of 2024. A constabulary, taking issue with a Consent/SAR approach, appeared unsure of their stance; they had approached:

• The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), were awaiting the response
• The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), this would be followed up that evening – we would be copied in

This was a current matter; ‘OTHERS’ had been raising the issue of disclosure, attempting to secure information. Seemingly, their requests were also repelled. Weeks passed – nothing.

Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) requests were made for the information:

• The ICO held no information.
• The NPCC held limited information, nothing related to 2024, but concerns about ‘abuse’.
• The constabulary concerned, explaining who they had approached and who had approached them, held no information supporting their conduct.

To date, ‘The Others’ have yet to be identified … could this be you?

Despite being a documented process established in 2022, the MoU continues to be interpreted differently by constabularies. Responses range from the unhelpful ‘non-disclosure due to a lack of staff ‘ to the efficient ‘we will act upon written consent’.