FOI 252-24 Phrase From the river to the sea
Enquiry Reference: 252- 24
I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request. Below is your request and our response.
1) What is your force's policy with regards to the phrase "From the river to the sea"?
- a) No information held.
2) Where your force's policy is that this statement is not always unlawful, under which circumstances could it be unlawful?
- a) No information held.
3) Where your force's policy is that this statement is not always unlawful, under which circumstances could it be lawful?
- a) No information held.
4) If there is no formal policy: please instead share any instructions, emails, or other documentation that may have been shared with officers with regards to what action should be taken when this statement is used by members of the public.
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1 (1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Sec 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon s17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
For question 4 this would require a whole Force search for instructions, emails and documentation to ascertain if any information is held regarding this and this would take in excess of the appropriate time stipulated by the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Lord Falconer on the 18th Of October 2004, that is, eighteen hours. This falls under the exemption of 'Compliance exceeding the appropriate limit' covered by Section 12 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and as such this work could not be undertaken.
Therefore, please treat this as a refusal notice under S17 of the Freedom of information Act.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act we have a duty to provide advice and assistance however on this occasion we cannot offer any suggestion on how you could refine this request.
The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.
If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The APP College of Policing guidance states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Decision Maker