Single Point of Contacts Being Overruled

Research

The following table has been established using the Freedom of Information Act. We have sorted the data of those forces who have responded by the forces making the highest use of RIPA to access communications data between 2009-12.

Some forces have provided data in different ways, for example some forces have provided data broken down by financial year, others calendar year. Some forces have provided figures covering the three year period but no breakdown, while others have not provided the full data requested. Some forces did not respond to our request.

The significant variations in the level of use of communications data and the variations in the numbers of requests internally rejected starkly highlights a clear issue around training and education within forces about making best use of information available, where necessary and proportionate, and also raises questions about the consistency of oversight.

Single Point of Contacts being overruled

Following our oral evidence to the Joint Committee we asked for clarification from two forces who provided data and fell within the statutory appeal process for clarification.

Kent Police

1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012:

Total number of applications: 4,891

Those rejected internally:

By SpOC: 1,206

By Authorising Officer: 42

Essex police:

In 2011 Essex began using a new recording system in conjunction with Kent Police. Data before the financial year 2011/12 is not available. From that period:

Total applications: 5164

Rejected by SPoC: 1478

Reject by Authorising Officer: 71

Offences being investigated with communications data

Humberside Police was also able to give us a breakdown of the offence categories it has used communications data for:

HMRC use of Communications Data

We also asked HMRC for details of their use of communications data:

According to the FOI response, the 15,271 requests made in 2011 related to 5,000 applications and the response claims “these initiatives protected about £850m of revenue”.

Communications data requests and refusals by force