Freedom of Information (FOI)

I am committed to openness, and I want to open up information about how my office works, my decisions and the services I provide.

How I respond to Freedom of Information requests is part of this.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have a number of rights. These are:

the right to request and obtain information from any public authority, including the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire
the right to request access to information from me, no matter who or where you are
the right to get help and advice from me in meeting your request for information
the right to receive a response from me within 20 working days, as required by the Act

Information that is already freely available
Before making a request for information, please check my Publication Scheme - for a guide to the information that I routinely publish.

What about information not published under this scheme?
If you are unable to find what you are looking for within the scheme, please contact in writing to:

Freedom of Information Manager
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Harpenden Police Station
15 Vaughan Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire
AL5 4GZ

Or by Email to: commissioner@herts.pcc.pnn.gov.uk

Information and the Law
The full text of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998, can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information website.

Guidance and information concerning the Freedom of Information act, Data Protection Act and other related issues can also be found on the website of the Information Commissioners Office.

Making an FOI Request

How to make a request
Requests for information must be in writing (eg letter, fax or email), stating your name and address for correspondence, and describing clearly the information you are seeking.

Your request can be posted, emailed or faxed to me – please follow this link to my contact details page.

How your request will be handled
Your request will be assessed to check whether we hold the information you are looking for and whether it can be provided without incurring an unreasonable cost.

If I have to withhold the information, I will tell you the reasons why.

I may contact other people who have an interest in the information while we are dealing with your request, or ask other people to deal with your request if we do not hold any or all of the information you need (for example, where the information is held by Hertfordshire Constabulary).

I aim to respond as soon as possible.

For most requests, this will be within a maximum of 20 working days after your request.

Please note that, if I need to contact you to clarify the information you are seeking, the 20 working days will not start until the calrification has been received.

Useful Information

Charging for information
I may need to charge for providing information (because of postage costs, photocopying etc) but I will tell you the total cost before I do this.

Where the cost of answering a request would be more than £450 (an amount based on 18 hours of work), you will receive a refusal notice, asking you to reduce the scope of your request (for example by focusing on one specific element or a narrower timeframe).

What to do if you are unhappy with my response
If you are not happy with my response to your request for information, you have a right to an internal review, done by someone who was not involved in the handling of your request.

We will write to tell you what the review finds out. If you need to seek a review, please write to:

The Chief Executive
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Harpenden Police Station
15 Vaughan Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire
AL5 4GZ

If you are still not satisfied you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Requests for Personal Information

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to ask to see what information I hold about you.

If you want to check whether my office holds such information about you, please contact:

Freedom of Information Manager
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Harpenden Police Station
15 Vaughan Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire
AL5 4GZ

You can ask for a copy of all the information held about you to which the Data Protection Act applies (this is called a Subject Access Request).

A Subject Access Request must be made in writing, and must include enough information to confirm your identity and to help find the information you are looking for.

You will receive a reply within 40 days.

Information Held by the Police

In many cases, it is the police and not the Police and Crime Commissioner that holds personal information.

The Police National Computer includes information on prosecutions, convictions and cautions.

Chief Officers control this information and not the Commissioner.

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to ask to see information about you which is held by Hertfordshire Constabulary.

If you want to see whether Hertfordshire Constabulary hold any information about you, please write to:

Information Services Office
Hertfordshire Constabulary Headquarters
Stanborough Road
Welwyn Garden City
Hertfordshire
AL8 6XF

For guidance on what information is made available by Hertfordshire Constabulary please view the Your Right to Information section on their website.