Information released in March 2011
Request re: Officers/Staff disciplined for improper use of Force systems
Response:
In 2009 a total of 16 police officers and 3 police staff members were disciplined for improper or inappropriate use of the Force internet/data systems. 8 police officers were disciplined for internet misuse. The remaining 8 police officers and 3 members of police staff were disciplined for data protection issues. You should note that none of these cases related to inappropriate sites being accessed.
In 2010 a total of 6 police officers and 1 police staff member were disciplined: 6 cases were for internet misuse and one was for misuse of secure force systems. Again, no inappropriate sites were accessed
In terms of resolution, in 2009, 16 officers were dealt with via Formal Misconduct and one resulted in Advice. Police officers are dealt with under the Police (Conduct) (Scotland) Regulations 1996 and I have broken down the outcomes as follows: one case was unsubstantiated; three officers were counselled; one officer was cautioned; one officer was warned under regulation 5(2); six officers were warned under regulation 6 (6); four were warned under regulation 5(3).
Two members of police staff were given a written warning and one was given a verbal warning.
The dates the incidents took place are listed below. You will note that these are not always exact, in that they relate to a period rather than a specific date:
April 2008; January – July 2008 (x2), July 2008, September 2008, December 2008, May 2003 – November 2008, October 2008 – May 2009, September 2007 – October 2007, October 2007 (x3), January 2009, September 2007, and April 2009. November 2009 and December 2009 (x2)
In 2010, four officers were dealt with by way of Formal Misconduct and two resulted in advice. Three were warned under regulation 5(3) warning, and one retired prior to completion of the process. The police staff member resigned prior to a disciplinary hearing.
The dates of the incidents were: August-November 2006, May 2005-March 2008, November 2008-February 2009, December 2009 (x3), February 2010, and July 2010
Request re: Examples of weapons under-16s were found in possession of
Response:
Having looked through a sample of the under 16s offensive weapon reports I can confirm that weapons categorised as an offensive weapon have included: a large pole, glass bottle, spade, golf club, baseball bat, file and wooden stick.
The 9 and 10-year-olds were both boys. One was in possession of a broken snooker cue and the other had a small metal folding key-ring, with a bottle opener, nail file and 4cm dull blade. I would like to remind you of the definition previously supplied about an offensive weapon and would again note that how an instrument is used will contribute to its classification as an offensive weapon.
Request re: Sexual Offences
Response:
Please note, criminal law in Scotland differs from that in England and Wales and as a result, Scottish Police Officers have no power to "arrest on suspicion". As a result Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Information Not Held, applies to question 1 of your request.
However, Lothian And Borders Police publish monthly crime statistics on its website, which include some of the sexual offence types you are interested in. These figures show both the total number of recorded crimes and the number of these which have been solved i.e. an accused was identified and report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal (PF) for consideration. It is this authority which then decides the course of action to take, with the Courts then determining the outcome of each case. The link to these statistics is: http://www.lbp.police.uk/freedom-of-information/pl_performance.asp and Section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Information Otherwise Accessible, applies.
When comparing the data, I am sure you will be aware of the introduction of the Sexual Offences Scotland Act which, as of 1st December 2010, provided a statutory footing for all sexual crimes and, obviously, has consequently effected how crimes of this nature have been recorded by the force. In relation to sexual offence types specifically involving children, the figures are found in the attached document. Please note, however, that children may also have been victims of previous common law crimes included within the published statistics above (e.g. Rape, Lewd, Indecent and Libidinous practices and behaviour etc).
You should also note that these figures relate to the number of these crime types reported during these years, therefore the figures may also include historical offences which were only brought to Police attention at a later time. You should also note that the figures relate to the number of crime reports and not individual accused. To explain, a crime report would be created for each individual offence committed, and therefore had an accused committed more than one offence, a report will exist in relation to each crime. Therefore the number of reports may be higher than the number of accused.
'Cautions' do not exist in Scottish Law as they do in England and Wales; an accused is either charged with an offence and reported to the PF, or released without charge. Therefore, Section 17 of the Act again applies to question 2b.
In regards to those released without charge, this information would be held within our custody system, which unfortunately cannot be searched for individuals arrested for specific crime types. As a result, the only way to retrieve this information would be to read through every custody report created in the years you are interested, to ascertain those where the arrested person was released without charge, having been detained on suspicion of a sexual offence. I am sure you can appreciate, given the volume of custody records created in a year, that this would be a huge task to complete and would result in Section 12 of the Act, Excessive Cost of Compliance, applying.
[PLEASE ALSO SEE ATTACHMENT]
Request re: Officers suspended in the past 3 years
Response:
1. The number of officers suspended in each of the last three years while a criminal case against them was pending. Can you specify if this is on full pay.
2. The number of officers suspended in each of the last three years while an internal investigation was pending. Can you specify if this is on full pay.
All officers who have been suspended over the period requested are subject to criminal investigation and have been suspended pending the outcome of these enquiries or subsequent misconduct processes on full pay.
The following are per calendar year:
2008 - 9; 2009 – 3; 2010 – 6; 2011 – Nil
3. The total number of days lost as a result of these suspensions (i.e. three officers suspended for 20 days each would be 60 days in total).
The total number of days lost for the 18 officers suspended is 6,572.
4. The number of officers who went on to be dismissed following (A) a criminal case and (B) an internal investigation.
No officers were dismissed; however 1 officer was required to resign in relation to a criminal case.
5. The number of officers who resigned following suspension for (A) a criminal case and (B) an internal investigation.
6 officers resigned as a result of criminal cases.
6. The number of officers who returned to work following suspension for (A) a criminal case and (B) an internal investigation.
3 officers returned to work: 1 after a criminal case and the other 2 after internal investigations.
Request re: Vehicle accidents involving Police vehicles
Response:
Please find four attached spreadsheets that answer the questions in your request for the years of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Please note that some of the minor damage may not have costs against them. This will either be because the damage was so minor it was not repaired, or, it may have been repaired in-house, rather than being sent to the coachworks.
Our Fleet department have confirmed that the figures for 2006 are no longer held due to a
change in the system used to record this data. This part of your request is therefore exempt under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, information not held.
[PLEASE ALSO SEE ATTACHMENTS]
Request re: Officers who are/were members of ACPOS and SCPOSA since 2005
Response:
1. The number of police officers in the force who are or were members of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
2004/2005 = 3
2005/2006 = 4
2006/2007 = 6
2007/2008 = 4
2008/2009 = 4
2009/2010 = 5
2. The number of police staff in the force who are or were members of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
2004/2005 = 2
2005/2006 = 2
2006/2007 = 2
2007/2008 = 1
2008/2009 = 1
2009/2010 = 1
3. The individual annual subscription for membership of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA, for police officers, for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
No annual subscription is paid and therefore Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Information not Held, applies.
4. The individual annual subscription for membership of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA, for police staff, for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Please see response to Question 3.
5. Whether the force (or police authority) has paid in full or part any proportion of the individual annual subscription for police officer members of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and if so how much?
As above
6. Whether the force (or police authority) has paid in full or part any proportion of the individual annual subscription for police officer members of ACPO(S) and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and if so how much?
As above
7. Whether the force (or police authority) has made any additional payments on behalf of police officer members of ACPOS and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and if so how much? (for example personal indemnity insurance or legal protection insurance)
As above
8. Whether the force (or police authority) has made any additional payments on behalf of police staff members of ACPOS and/or SCPOSA for each of the years 2005, 2006,2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and if so how much? (for example personal indemnity insurance or legal protection insurance)
As above
9. Whether the force (or police authority) makes or made any payments on behalf of any police officer or police staff member to any other staff association or trade union for each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and if so how much
and for what purpose?
The Force make payments to CPOSA for legal expenses insurance for the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and the Assistant Chief Constables.
Request re: Schools were a Police Officer is stationed
Response:
Please list the schools at which a police officer is stationed within your force's area
Please find the requested information below broken down into our four divisional areas. Please note that the dedicated school liaison officers in A and F division will start their duty at a police station and then parade at the relevant school. They have access to an office or desk at the school in order to work from there. Whilst they will also cover the primary schools attached to the high school they are allocated to, they are deemed to be stationed at the relevant high school.
City of Edinburgh (A Division)
The following schools have a dedicated school liaison officer, who works in the high school. Local Community Beat Officers regularly work with the remaining local schools and there are also three officers who deliver Drug and Alcohol Education to all schools in the city.
Boroughmuir High School
Broughton High School
Firrhill High School
Liberton High School
Portobello High School
Tynecastle High School
East and Mid Lothian (E Division)
No dedicated officer, although the community police officers regularly work with their local schools. There is also an officer who delivers Drug and Alcohol Education to schools in the division.
West Lothian (F Division)
The following schools have a dedicated school liaison officer, who works in the high school and their associated primary schools. Local Community Beat Officers regularly work with the remaining schools and there is also an officer who delivers Drug and Alcohol Education to all schools across the division.
Bathgate Academy
Deans Community High, Livingston
Whitburn Academy
Scottish Borders (G Division)
.
There are no officers dedicated to single schools within the division however there are what is termed Locality Officers based within Education Localities. They cover the broad spectrum of schools across the Borders from Primary to Secondary education.
For each of those schools please provide a list of the crimes recorded in the academic year so far, 2010/2011. Please do break the statistics up by schools
As per our phone conversation, your request has been amended to include the full year (including school holidays and weekends) and to include crimes that were reported outside school hours. I have taken the generally accepted start date of the school term in Scotland to be 18th of August and so the two years I have provided are 18/08/2009 to 17/08/2010 and 18/08/2010 to 01/03/2011.