FOI 374550

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 374550

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 26^th November 2024. Please find below the response to your request:

(a) How many NCHIs have been received by West Mercia Police during the last 12 months?

(b) Following receipt of an allegation of an NCHI being received what is the process for dealing

with them?

(c) An estimate of the total hours spent dealing with NCHIs during the last 12 months?

(d) An estimate of the total cost involved in dealing with NCHIs during the last 12 months?

Reply

West Mercia Police holds some of the information you have requested

1. How many NCHIs have been received by West Mercia Police during the last 12 months?

(b) Following receipt of an allegation of an NCHI being received what is the process for dealing

with them?

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires West Mercia Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

The exemption applicable to the information is:

Sec 21(1) Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means

This is an Absolute, class based exemption.

The information that you require is already available on the College of Policing website

(c) An estimate of the total hours spent dealing with NCHIs during the last 12 months?

Please be advised that this is not a valid request for information under the Freedom of information Act 2000 (“the Act”) as it does not fulfil the requirement of s.8 of the Act. It is not a request for specific recorded information and West Mercia Police does not have to answer your request if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion or judgement that is not already recorded. The Act only extends to requests for recorded information. It does not require public authorities to answer questions generally and does not extend to requests for information about policies or their implementation, or the merits or demerits of any proposal or action unless the answer to any such request is already held in recorded form.

(d) An estimate of the total cost involved in dealing with NCHIs during the last 12 months?

Please be advised that this is not a valid request for information under the Freedom of information Act 2000 (“the Act”) as it does not fulfil the requirement of s.8 of the Act. It is not a request for specific recorded information and West Mercia Police does not have to answer your request if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion or judgement that is not already recorded. The Act only extends to requests for recorded information. It does not require public authorities to answer questions generally and does not extend to requests for information about policies or their implementation, or the merits or demerits of any proposal or action unless the answer to any such request is already held in recorded form.