FOI Firearms Complaints (1333-2023/24)

Request
Q1. The total public complaints lodged against officers in your force’s firearms unit(s), broken down by unit name and calendar year dating back to 2018.
Q2. The total internal complaints (known as ‘conduct matters’) flagged against officers in your force’s firearms unit(s), broken down by unit name and calendar year dating back to 2018.
Q3. The current number of officers serving in your force’s firearms unit(s), and, if possible, historic staffing figures dating back to 2018.
Q4. The net total number of investigations launched into officers in your force’s firearms unit(s) as a result of public complaints, as well as a result of internal ‘conduct matters’ each year dating back to 2018.
Q5. The outcomes of those investigations – and in particular the number of officers dismissed as a result of those investigations – broken down by year dating back to 2018. 

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 & Q2. Please see the table below which details the number of complaints and conduct matters made against North Yorkshire Police Firearms unit officers from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2023, broken down by year. I am exempting the individual breakdown of complaint and conduct matters pursuant to section 40(2) of the act. Please see the full exemption explanation below.

Q3. Please see the table below which details the number of North Yorkshire Police Firearms unit officers from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2023, broken down by year. These figures are as of 31 December for each year except 2024, this figure is as of 22 March 2024.

Q4. All complaints and allegations of misconduct are investigated, as per Q1 – 37.

Q5. Please see the table below which details the number of investigations and their recorded outcomes, into North Yorkshire Police Firearms unit officers from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2023. I am exempting an annual breakdown of these recorded outcomes pursuant to Section 40(2) of the act. Please see the full exemption explanation below.

Exemption Explanation

Section 40 – Personal Information
Where an individual can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject.

Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire 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.

Section 40(2) is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require a public interest test, but requires the balancing of the legitimate interests of the public against the interests of the individual under the first Data Protection Principle; in that processing of personal data must be lawful and fair (DPA 2018 35(1), EUGDPR Article 5(1)).

This exemption applies because the right given under the FOI Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to the personal data of third parties where disclosure of that information would not be fair to the individual, and where there is no legitimate public interest in disclosure.

In all the circumstances of the case it has been determined that the duty to the individual under the Data Protection Act 2018 & EU General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the force in such instances, outweighs the public interest in disclosure.  In this instance, personal information can only be disclosed to the individual concerned. 

Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would not only breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights it may also breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to 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.