Refusal to provide data to the subject under Subject Access Request
Reference: 18027
Date Added: Monday, February 18, 2019
Category:
Disclosure Details
Question
On 29 May 2018 & 18 October 2018 PC 1834 used his BWV to record occasions when I attended a police station to make victim statements for ongoing investigations in other forces. I had not encountered Burns before but on both occasions his conduct was intentionally destructive to the purpose of each meeting.
I made 2 SAR requests to obtain copies of the recordings. I was told the first time that his BWV unit had failed to record. This was a lie as during the second meeting the PC admitted that he'd had the recording all along. I added this information to the second SAR request to obtain copies of both.
Gwent police initially agreed to provide copies, then refused to provide those copies as Burns withheld permission. ICO supported Gwent's decision to prioritise PC's rights above mine, which means that I have no evidence to report the PC to Professional Standards for his aggressive abusive provocative behaviour unprovoked by me. I was not able to complete the statements I attended to make because of his disruptive attitude, comments, questions and actions. Had he behaved appropriately, this situation would not have arisen.
The PC's face is not on the footage as he was wearing the BWV unit in operation. On what basis is he permitted to remain unreported for misconduct when the deemed owner of the videos is me, as the person who appears in them?
The PC has repeatedly abused his position. His seniors, and ICO, are condoning an abuse of position, which brings Gwent police into disrepute. As Commissioner, this is a matter for your attention.
Answer
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act (the FOIA).
The FOIA only covers recorded information held by an organisation; you have not actually requested any information that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Gwent may hold and as such the FOIA process is not the correct one to use. Gwent Police are responsible for compliance with requests for personal information in their own right as a data controller, it is not within the remit of the OPCC to review the decisions they have made. If you are not satisfied with the response you have received from Gwent Police and have followed the internal complaints process, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) who, I understand from your email, you have been in contact with. As such I am unable to assist you any further under the FOIA.
Based on the content of your email, it seems that you are also unhappy with the conduct of the officer mentioned. If you wish to make a complaint about an officer or staff member of Gwent Police, you need to contact the Professional Standards Department, the details which can be found on the Gwent Police website, I have included the link below:
https://www.gwent.police.uk/en/contact-us/your-opinion-counts/making-a-complaint/
Also, please note that under Section 8 (1)(b) of the FOIA, it is a requirement for all requests to be submitted with the requesters real name; you are unable to sign a request with your initials. The guidance in this area issued by the ICO states that "the requester must provide enough of their real name to give anyone reading that request a reasonable indication of their identity". Paragraph 25 of this guidance states that "Any variation of the requester's title or first name combined with their surname (e.g. Mr Smith or John Smith) will be sufficient to meet this requirement. However, a first name or surname provided in isolation, or a set of initials, will not". The link to this guidance can be found on the ICO's website below:
The ICO provides guidance on submitting FOI requests to the public on the following link ico.org.uk/for-the-public/official-information/ which you may find useful.
The OPCC are aware of your request for a copy of the body worn video that you have submitted to Gwent Police as you have copied the Police and Crime Commissioner into your emails. As a result, we have requested and received an update from Gwent Police as to the action they have taken and why they have taken it. As mentioned previously we are not able to influence the outcome of your request but understand that the correct processes have been followed and that you have also been in contact with the ICO who are the independent regulator in this area. If you are not content with the way you have been treated by the officer mentioned and have not already done so, then please submit a complaint to the Professional Standards Department, details of which have been provided above.