Whistleblower Status

Request Number: FOI/13331 

Category: Discipline, Complaints and Legal Discipline 

Subject: Whistleblower Status

Request and Answer:

Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold some information to which your request relates and this is being provided to you.
We further consider the information you seek in request number 2 is exempt by virtue of Section 40 of FOIA and have detailed our rationale as to why this exemption applies.
We have also provided you with links to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office which we have followed in responding to your request.

Request 1
How many police officers and police staff have whistle-blower status in PSNI?

Answer
A total of 6 whistleblowing reports have been received, of which 2 come from currently serving officers.

Request 2
Please provide breakdown of districts/areas

Answer
The decision has been made not to provide the information requested. This is due to the fact that this data is considered a low level and there is a significant risk that this level of detailed breakdown could potentially lead to the identification of Officers and thus a breach of Data Protection regulations. Therefore, Section 40(2) of the FOI Act applies as articulated below.

Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the Police Service of Northern Ireland, 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 not otherwise apparent) why the exemption applies.

The full text of exemptions can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk and further guidance on how they operate can be located on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk .
The exemption/s, as well as the factors the Department considered when deciding where the public interest lies, are listed below:

Section 40(2)(a)(b) by virtue of Section 40(3)(A)(a) – Personal Information.

Section 40(2) of the FOIA is an absolute exemption which means there is no requirement on PSNI to consider whether there is a public interest in disclosure. It is an interface exemption and we must consider whether release of the information would breach the General Data Protection Regulations (‘GDPR’) or the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘DPA’) Third party personal information constitutes ‘personal data’ under the GDPR (Article 4) and DPA (Part 1 s.3).

Under the Freedom of Information Act, PSNI must consider if information can be released into the public domain. We have therefore considered whether the disclosure of this personal data is subject to the exemption at Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by virtue of s40(3)(A)(a). As information is ‘personal data’, PSNI considered whether disclosure would contravene any of the six data protection principles contained within the GDPR or DPA.

The six data protection principles are good information handling standards which PSNI must comply with in relation to how it handles personal information, including deciding whether to disclose it or not.  In particular, the first principle requires personal data to be processed in a lawful and fair manner. In considering whether it is ‘fair’ to any individual to release information about them, PSNI considered the likely expectations of those individuals and the nature of the information involved and the material you have requested. Individuals must have confidence that their information is treated sensitively and appropriately by PSNI. The PSNI has a duty to protect the personal data which includes not only members of the Public but also PSNI Staff and Officers. PSNI Officers would not have any reasonable expectation that PSNI would disclose any information of this nature about them. We consider it would be extremely unfair to those individuals and therefore a breach of the first principle of data protection legislation. This information is therefore exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA as it contravenes data protection legislation to release it.

The release of information under the Freedom of Information Act is considered a release into the public domain and not just to the individual requesting the information. Once information is disclosed by FOI there is no control or limits as to who or how information is shared with other individuals, therefore a release under FOI is considered a release to the world in general.