Arrests of over 70s | South Yorkshire Police

Reference number:

20090455

Request date:

09/2009

Response date:

11/09/2009 (All day)

Request details:

I'm interested in finding out the number of men and women aged 70 and above who have been arrested between September 2007 and September 2009.

If possible, I would like the information broken down into the following:

1. Age and sex of person arrested
2. Nature of offence
3. Month of arrest
4. Consequences, if any, of the arrest

Exemptions Applied:

Section 40(2) provides that information is exempt if the information is the personal data of someone other than the applicant, ‘third party data', and disclosure of the information would breach any of the data protection principles. The term ‘personal data' includes information about a living individual from which that individual can be identified.

SYP response:

Your request for information has been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires South Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 40(2) Personal Information:

Section 40(2) provides that information is exempt if the information is the personal data of someone other than the applicant, ‘third party data', and disclosure of the information would breach any of the data protection principles. The term ‘personal data' includes information about a living individual from which that individual can be identified.

The definition of personal data as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998:

‘...data which relate to a living individual who can be identified

a) from those data, or

b) from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller, and includes any expression of opinion about the individual and any indication of the intention of the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual.'

Section 40 (2) has been applied as, to provide all the information you request i.e. age, gender, nature of offence and the month of arrest, could lead to the identification of an individual. Even though the information does not directly identify individuals, providing data to such a degree, when combined with other information already in the public domain could make identification possible. This would constitute a release of personal data and contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

However, I am prepared to release the information requested for the period specified as a whole. A spreadsheet is attached - please note that the information is for those arrested during this time, regardless of when the alleged offence occurred.