FOI 0302-2023/24 - Traveller encampment

Request:

Q1. Please tell me what powers police used in their dealings with the traveller encampment at Ashville College in Harrogate in June this year and whether they used, or considered using, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 or the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994?

Q2. Could you also tell me why NYP media department did not reply to my emails enquiring about it, as I'm struggling to understand the secrecy surrounding this issue?

Response:

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information

To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

Q1. I am exempting any information  to your request pursuant to Section 31 – Law Enforcement. Please see the exemption explanation below.

Q2. Pursuant to Section 8 of the FOI Act, for a request to be valid it must ask for information that is recorded. As your request is asking for ‘reasons why’ a department did not respond, which is not recorded data, then we are not obliged to provide any information.

Exemption Explanation

Section 31 – Law Enforcement

Section 31 is a prejudice-based qualified exemption and there is a requirement to articulate the harm as well as carrying out a public interest test.

Evidence of Harm

As you may be aware, disclosure under FOIA is a release to the public at large. Whilst not questioning the motives of the applicant, releasing any information held regarding the specific powers and legislation used in relation to the traveller encampment, would hinder operational capabilities and may affect any future cases.  

Information that undermines the operational integrity of the police will adversely affect public safety and have a negative impact on both national security and law enforcement.

Factors favouring disclosure under Section 31

Releasing information held relating to the specific powers and legislation used in relation to the traveller encampment would provide an insight into the police operations and enable the public to have a better understanding of the effectiveness of the police.

Factors against disclosure under Section 31

It has been recorded that FOIA releases are monitored by criminals and terrorists and so releasing information held relating to the the specific powers and legislation used in relation to the traveller encampment would undermine and compromise law enforcement operations.

It can be argued that there are risks associated with providing information in relation to any aspects that can be used during police activites, which may be used by those committing crimes.

Balance test

Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing information, there is a strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police resources and operations.  Therefore, it is our opinion that for these issues the balancing test for exempting your request for the specific powers and legislation used in relation to the traveller encampment information is not made out.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in response to part of your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.