MISCONDUCT

Reference number: 
20110712
Request date: 
12/2011
Response date: 
22/12/2011 (All day)
Request details: 

Would it be possible at all to request the details of each case relating to 'equality and diversity' and 'politeness and tolerance'? Would you be able to tell me what the complaint was in each case omitting names if necessary?

Also, could you tell me how the disciplinary procedure works? Could you rank the outcomes included in the excel spreadsheet in order? For example, how many stages of written warning are there? When are you given management advice etc?
Exemptions Applied: 

NIL

SYP response: 

You will remember that we responded in full to your first request on 20/12/2011. The time taken to locate, retrieve and extract the information for this request was 934.5 minutes.

With regard to your second request: -
South Yorkshire Police holds the information you have requested however I am unable to supply that information.
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:  
states that fact,
specifies the exemption in question and
states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The following exemption applies to the disclosure of the information:
Section 12 – Exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit
I have received the following fro the relevant Department: -
"To extract the full details of the 20 Conduct Matters/Misconducts recorded as 'Equality and Diversity' and 'Politeness and Tolerance' would take an estimated 10 minutes for each file, a total of another 200 minutes. This would take the overall total amount of time to complete the request to 1134.5 minutes."
The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 provide that the cost limit for non central government public authorities is £450. This must be calculated at the rate of £25 per hour, providing an effective time limit of 18 hours.
Guidance from the Information Commissioner to public authorities is that where one part of a request is reasonably estimated to exceed the appropriate limit then the authority is not obliged to consider or comply with the remainder of the request up to the point at which the appropriate limit has been reached. This guidance is contained within the penultimate paragraph of page 4 of the guidance which can be found at: -
If you feel your endeavours can be achieved within the appropriate limit by refining your request South Yorkshire Police would be more than happy to consider any further request.
Although excess cost removes the force's obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved or available before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request neither does it bind South Yorkshire Police to any commitment that it will release information in such a manner in the future .
The following link may be of assistance to you in relation to the last part of your 2nd request: -