FOI 207150
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 207150
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 31st October 2022. Please find below the response to your request:
Please can I ask whether or not any of your detainees in your custody centre have ever been given a room to speak to their solicitor that either has a microphone / intercom unit in? and if so what were the conditions?
Reply
Your request for information has been considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), and I am not obliged to provide the information requested.
S.12(1) of the Act states that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”. For police forces in England and Wales, the "appropriate limit" is £450 or 18 hours of work as set by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
The information you have requested, “Whether or not any of your detainees in your custody centre have ever been given a room to speak to their solicitor that either has a microphone / intercom unit in?” is not available in a readily retrievable format.
West Mercia Constabulary / Police was formed in 1st October 1967, therefore would this request would require the review of 55 years’ worth of custody records. Each custody record would need to be manually reviewed for free text allocation regarding consultation locations/microphone/intercom unit. On average West Mercia Police current yearly figure is approximately 14,500 custody records per year. Even based on 2 years’ worth of electronic custody records that would be approx. 29,000 custody records at 40 minutes per individual review which would take in excess of 18 hours. In accordance with s.17(5) of the Act, this acts as a Refusal Notice.
Under s.16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request. Unfortunately, due to the volume of records that would need to be reviewed I am unable to identify information that could be supplied within the fees limit.