Please do not use the Freedom of Information Act to make a
request for your own personal information, which may be held on
Suffolk Constabulary Computer systems. You will need to contact the
Data Protection Team and request a Subject Access Form.
The Freedom of Information Act allows access to recorded
information, such as emails, meeting minutes, research or reports,
held by public authorities in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and
some authorities located in Scotland. Scottish public authorities
are subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
>>View
the Guide to Published Information
Subject to the application of an exemption, any individual in
the world can request information from Suffolk Constabulary,
providing that information is held in an easily retrievable
format.
If you would like to request information from Suffolk
Constabulary that you cannot access via the publication scheme,
please submit a request to the Freedom of Information team.
To ensure that the request is valid under the terms of Section 8
of the FOI Act, your request must:
- Be made in writing, by email to information@suffolk.pnn.police.uk or
via our online
form
- State the name of the applicant and an address for
correspondence (You can also give us your telephone number, should
we need to discuss the request with you directly, however this is
optional)
- Describe the information requested as clearly as
possible.
In accordance with the requirements of the Act, Suffolk
Constabulary routinely publishes information on its website. Most
information provided in this way is freely available for
downloading.
To establish whether or not the information you require is
already published, please view the Guide to Published
Information.
Once Suffolk Constabulary’s Freedom of Information Team has
received a request, it will be acknowledged by the applicants
preferred method of communication, within 24 hours or the next
working day. Suffolk Constabulary’s FOI Team will also confirm a
date to when you can expect to receive a response to your
request.
If a request requires clarification, Suffolk Constabulary will
request further advice from the applicant and the clock will be
‘stopped’ for 20 working days. Once this has been received Suffolk
Constabulary will continue with your request and commence the 20
working day guideline. Unfortunately, if no clarification is
received the request will then be closed.
The FOIA requires that Suffolk Constabulary respond to requests
as soon as practicable, and in any case within 20 working days.
There are rare occasions when this deadline cannot be achieved.
Under the terms of the Act, an extension of up to an additional 20
working days can be requested, if a qualified exemption is being
considered. If an extension is required, the Constabulary will
advise the applicant as soon as practicable.
If Suffolk Constabulary does not hold the information requested,
a ‘no information held’ response will be provided. Section 16 of
the Act obliges Public Authorities to assist the requester and, if
it is established that the information could be obtained from
another Authority, the Constabulary will advise the applicant of
this.
For further details about the Constabulary’s obligation under
the Act, please view the Introduction and charging pages for information
relating to the exemptions and the cost for compliance.
Where a request for information under the individual right of
access is denied, the applicant has the right to appeal the
decision. Appeals should in the first instance be made to Suffolk
Constabulary, where they will be subject to independent scrutiny by
a senior manager independent of the original decision making
process.
The information Commissioner’s Office and the Association of
Chief Police Officers recommend that a response should be made in
20 working days.
If the applicant is still unhappy with the decision they have
the right to appeal against the decision of non-disclosure to the
Information
Commissioner.
For further information relating to your right to appeal, please
view our complaint rights.
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