FOI 429/25

REQUEST 

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding police officer misconduct. Please could you provide the following information:

-The total number of police officers accused of misconduct -A breakdown in the gender and ethnicity of the accused officers -A breakdown of the rank of the officer, including their salary bands at the time of the alleged misconduct

- A breakdown of the number that proceeded to a misconduct hearing -The outcomes of cases that proceeded to a misconduct hearing -A breakdown of the type of misconduct alleged, including but not limited to dishonesty, abuse of authority, discrimination, sexual abuse -The outcomes of hearings for each type of misconduct.

-The number of officers who resigned before the proceedings were completed -The number of officers placed on paid vetting leave while awaiting a misconduct hearing or retrial, and the average duration of this leave

I would like this data for the last four years, including 2025.

RESPONSE

We consulted with our Professional Standards department who have provided the below response to your request.

Please find attached document entitled ‘Response data 429_25’.

In relation to your request for salary bands your request for this information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested. The following exemption applies:

Section 40(2) - Personal Information

Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption and therefore the authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.

The Data Protection Act covers processing of personal data about a living individual.  Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be identified-

1. from those data, or
2. from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual.

Information will “relate to” a person if it is about them, linked to them, has some biographical significance for them, is used to inform decisions affecting them, has them as its main focus or impacts on them in any way.

If we disclosed these details, this would provide significant detail which could identify an individual and would breach the first principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.

In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a refusal notice for this part of your request.